Dotfiles

This repository keeps nvim and tmux at the repo root (not inside .config) so users can choose how to install them.

What this repo contains

• nvim/ -> Neovim config directory
• tmux/ -> tmux config directory
• bash/ -> bash prompt (pure-bash powerline-style prompt with git status)

Dependencies

These need to be on PATH before Neovim starts (or on first plugin sync).

Required — Neovim will not fully bootstrap without these:

• git — lazy.nvim clones itself and every plugin on first run
• make and a C compiler (gcc or clang) — plugin build steps (telescope-fzf-native, LuaSnip) and :TSUpdate for tree-sitter parsers

Required for core workflows:

• ripgrep — backs Telescope's live_grep, grep_string, and find_files (--hidden --no-ignore-vcs flags)
• node ≥ 18 — copilot.vim runtime; also required by Mason to install pyright and bashls
• curl (or wget), unzip, tar, gzip — used by Mason to fetch LSP servers

Required for the active efm formatters/linters (C/C++):

• clang-format
• cpplint (pip install cpplint)

Recommended:

• fd — gitignore-aware file-finder backend for Telescope find_files (nicer defaults than the built-in find; comparable in speed to ripgrep, which it shares a traversal engine with)
• A Nerd Font + a true-color terminal — nvim-web-devicons, lualine, and bufferline render glyph icons

tmux bindings that shell out:

• lazygit — Prefix + g opens a popup running lazygit (tmux/utility.conf)

One-command bootstrap

After cloning, run this from the repo root — it handles backups, symlinks, and verification automatically:

./scripts/bootstrap-symlinks.sh

Optional: override the source path explicitly (must be absolute):

DOTFILES="/absolute/path/to/dotfiles" ./scripts/bootstrap-symlinks.sh

This replaces the manual steps below. Use the manual steps only if you need finer control.

Install after cloning (recommended: symlink model)

Use symlinks so ~/.config remains the live location while real files stay in your clone.

1. Clone the repo and set an absolute source path

   git clone <your-repo-url> ~/src/dotfiles
   cd ~/src/dotfiles
   export DOTFILES="$PWD"

2. Create ~/.config if needed

   mkdir -p ~/.config

3. Back up existing configs (if present)

   mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) 2>/dev/null || true
   mv ~/.config/tmux ~/.config/tmux.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) 2>/dev/null || true

4. Link live paths to the repo

   ln -sfn "$DOTFILES/nvim" ~/.config/nvim
   ln -sfn "$DOTFILES/tmux" ~/.config/tmux

5. Ensure tmux loads from ~/.config/tmux

   ln -sfn ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

6. Reload tools

   # Neovim: reopen nvim
   # tmux: reload config in a session
   tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

bash prompt

A self-contained, pure-bash powerline-style prompt (vendored from riobard/bash-powerline — no Python, no daemon, no dependency beyond git). To the right of the cwd it shows:

• ⑂<branch> — current branch (or tag/short-hash when detached)
• * — working tree has uncommitted changes
• ↑N — local is N commits ahead of upstream (you need to push)
• ↓N — upstream is N commits ahead (origin ahead; you need to pull)

The trailing $ turns green on success and red when the last command exited non-zero.

The bootstrap script symlinks ~/.config/bash -> bash/. To enable the prompt, add this line to the end of ~/.bashrc (after any existing PS1 setup, since it takes over the prompt via PROMPT_COMMAND):

[ -f ~/.config/bash/bash-powerline.sh ] && source ~/.config/bash/bash-powerline.sh

Then source ~/.bashrc (or open a new shell). Customize by exporting any COLOR_* / SYMBOL_* / PS_SYMBOL variable before that line, or set POWERLINE_GIT=0 to disable git info. Note: because the prompt is rebuilt every command via PROMPT_COMMAND, it replaces the stock xterm window-title PS1.

Verify setup

• ~/.config/nvim is a symlink to your clone
• ~/.config/tmux is a symlink to your clone
• ~/.config/bash is a symlink to your clone (and ~/.bashrc sources bash-powerline.sh)
• ~/.tmux.conf points to ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf

Quick checks:

ls -ld ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/tmux
ls -l ~/.tmux.conf
ls ~/.config/nvim/init.lua ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

Daily workflow

1. Edit only inside your clone.
2. Commit and pull in your clone.
3. Reload tmux with tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf.
4. Reopen Neovim (and run :Lazy sync after plugin spec changes).

Reliability guardrails

1. Always set DOTFILES to an absolute path.
2. If you move the clone, recreate symlinks.
3. Commit nvim/lazy-lock.json with plugin changes.

Alternative: move-based install

If you prefer moving files into ~/.config (no symlinks), use this variant. Set DOTFILES to your clone path first.

export DOTFILES="/absolute/path/to/your/clone"
mkdir -p ~/.config
mv "$DOTFILES/nvim" ~/.config/nvim
mv "$DOTFILES/tmux" ~/.config/tmux
ln -sfn ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

Note: with this approach, git pull updates will not automatically reflect in ~/.config — you would need to copy files again after each pull.