dotfiles

Reusable macOS shell, Git, Vim, terminal, and editor configuration. Inspired by Mathias Bynens’ dotfiles.

Install

Clone this repository, then preview the explicit file list:

./symlink-setup.sh --dry-run
./symlink-setup.sh

Run the script from any directory. It preserves existing files and reports conflicts with a nonzero exit status. Back up and move conflicting files yourself before retrying. It refuses symlinked parent directories; if your current setup links all of ~/.config, ~/bin, or ~/.ssh into another checkout, migrate those directories separately before installing. It never links those whole directories.

Shell configuration and selected individual configuration files are symlinked. VS Code settings, npm/pnpm configuration, and the SSH template are copied so application changes stay outside the checkout. Copies that later change are preserved on reruns. Vim plugins can be installed with :PlugInstall after installing Vim-plug.

./setup-a-new-machine.sh offers optional installation of development tools and macOS preferences. Review its steps before running it. No bootstrap or installer steps run automatically when cloning.

Private settings

Keep personal identity, internal hosts, work configuration, and credentials outside this public repository. Optional files loaded by the public configuration are:

• ~/.gitconfig.local for Git identity and private Git settings.
• ~/.zshrc.local and ~/.bash_profile.local for shell overrides.
• ~/.aliases.local for private aliases.
• ~/.ssh/config.local for SSH hosts and identities.

Copy .gitconfig.local.example to ~/.gitconfig.local and fill in your identity. A separate private companion repository can contain these files under private-overlay/. Install it explicitly with:

./symlink-setup.sh --dry-run --private-dir /path/to/private-repository
./symlink-setup.sh --private-dir /path/to/private-repository

Application authentication stores, databases, logs, and caches belong outside Git. Load actual credentials from a credential manager at runtime. Keep private repository contents and its Git history out of this checkout.

Checks before committing

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v
git add <explicit-files>
python3 scripts/check-public.py
gitleaks git --pre-commit --staged --redact

To enable the supplied commit hook, install Gitleaks and run:

git config core.hooksPath .githooks

CI checks the file policy, installer tests, and complete published Git history. Secret scanners cannot establish that arbitrary configuration is safe to publish; review new files and staged diffs before committing.

This repository starts with an independent, sanitized snapshot. Previous private commits, application data, and credentials are intentionally absent from its history.