dotfiles

My replicable personal computing setup

Background

What started as a home for my Emacs config, collided with a spreadsheet containing a collection of software packages, quickly began to shift its shape, soon turning into a comprehensive dotfiles project to host configuration for much more than just Emacs. The majority of it still mostly comprised of Emacs configuration, so to make things simpler, I decided to extract it into an independent project of its own. At one point, I even extracted the setup scripts into their separate projects here and then later here. Maintaining it was still tricky with its complex arrangement of configuration files for four operating platforms at once at one point in time! What you see now is an attempt to keep only what is relevant to my primary setup across all my active workstation. This helps make updates less painful and effortless.

I still keep scripts around macOS around as it gave me a fresh perspective during my four years exclusively using an Apple computer. It also serves as a reference for work computers that barely align with my preferred setup. Finally, it also allows me to continuously compare my custom setup with a fully functional operating system like macOS and fill in the gaps iteratively.

There still is some inseparable residue related to other platforms. This might either eventually disappear, or otherwise bring in more complexity in the future, leading to another project branching out of this one.

Design Principles

This setup also follows the following principles:

1. Lean: It should contain only the software that I need, with minimal to no tolerance for bloat. There’s only one software for one thing, with exceptions, of course, and I run regular optimizations to make sure that is still the case. These changes could be either replacing a tool with a better alternative, or one from within the operating system itself, or dropping it altogether.
2. Reproducible: I should be able to reproduce the same setup on as many machines as I need to, at any point in time, as many times as I need or want, with minimal to no manual configuration. This means not only the fetching of software is scripted, but also configuration and often execution.
3. Composable: The elements of the setup should be interchangeable with other alternatives when a better-suited one is identified. Usually, following the UNIX philosophy (which is to have a tool for one job only) helps, with exceptions like Emacs.
4. Portable: The setup should be portable such that (a) it should self-contain all other assets like code libraries, multimedia files, etc., with minimal to no external dependency, and (b) it should not contain elements bound to a particular Linux distribution, potentially preventing it from working elsewhere.
5. Well-Documented: The entire setup should contain sufficient documentation for my future self, because my older self has always had trouble aligning with my younger self from the past.

Init

Simply run the below command on the new computer to be adopted:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/myTerminal/dotfiles/master/bootstrap)"

OR the lazy version

/bin/bash -c "$(curl https://gh.myterminal.me/setup)"

For macOS, the shell needs to be changed from Zsh to Bash and there needs to be a sudo xcode-select --install before anything else.

Setup

Software setup for multiple operating platforms is included and it is performed if a known OS is detected.

To start the setup, run the following command in a terminal running bash: (provided forge was fetched as a part of the init)

.setup/start

Software selection

Core packages

Use-Case	Void	openSUSE Tumbleweed (GNOME)	macOS
Base	Void	openSUSE	macOS
Package managers	xbps, flatpak	zypper, flatpak*	(native), Homebrew, Cask
Bootloader	grub, os-prober	grub*, os-prober	(native)
Encryption	cryptsetup, cryfs	cryptsetup*, cryfs	–, cryfs
Session manager	elogind	elogind*	–
Process authorization	polkit	polkit*	(native)
Message bus system	dbus	dbus*	–
UEFI management	efibootmgr	efibootmgr	–
Interface	tmux	tmux	tmux
Shell	fish	fish	fish
File system tools	fd, eza, bat, ncdu	fd, eza, bat, ncdu	fd, eza, bat, ncdu
Text Searcher	ripgrep	ripgrep	ripgrep
Fuzzy finder	fzf	fzf	fzf
Text editor	GNU Emacs, vim	GNU Emacs, vim	GNU Emacs
Audio player	mpv	mpv	mpv
Spell checker	Aspell	Aspell	Aspell
GNU Make	make	make	make
SCM	Git, Tig	Git, Tig	Git*, Tig
File manager	–	–	–
Archive managers	zip, unzip, 7zip, unrar	zip, unzip*, 7zip*, unrar	(native), 7zip, unrar
Process management	btop, psmisc	btop, psmisc	btop
Disk management	udisks, smartmontools	udisks, smartmontools	udisks, smartmontools
Network tools	networkmanager, iwd, bind-utils, nfs-utils, sv-netmount, tailscale	networkmanager*, bind-utils*, nfs-utils, tailscale	–
Communication tool	WeeChat	WeeChat	WeeChat
Language runtimes	Node.js, sbcl	Node.js, sbcl	Node.js, sbcl
Hardware	brightnessctl, acpi, fprintd	brightnessctl, acpi, fprintd	–
System clock	chrony	chrony*	–
Filesystem tools	btrfs-progs, ntfs-3g, dosfstools, mtools, exfat-utils	btrfs-progs*, ntfs-3g*, dosfstools*, mtools, exfat-utils*	–
Mobile device	android-platform-tools	android-platform-tools	android-platform-tools
Cron daemon	cronie	cronie	(native)
TTS	piper	piper	piper
Large-Language model	ollama, fabric	ollama, fabric	ollama, fabric
Misc	rlwrap, sed, jq, fastfetch, wget, curl, socat, ssh, avahi	rlwrap, sed*, jq, fastfetch, wget*, curl*, socat, ssh*, avahi*	rlwrap, sed, jq, curl, socat, fastfetch, avahi

Graphical packages

Use-Case	Void (Xorg)	Void (Wayland)	openSUSE Tumbleweed (GNOME Wayland)	macOS
Desktop utils	xdg-utils, xdg-desktop-portal	xdg-utils, xdg-desktop-portal	xdg-utils*, xdg-desktop-portal*	–
Display server	Xorg	–	–	(native)
Display drivers	(machine-dependent)	(machine-dependent)	(machine-dependent)	(native)
Display manager	–	–	gdm*	(native)
Screen color temperature	sct	gammastep	(native)	(native)
Onscreen keyboard	onboard	??	(native)	–
Compositor	picom	–	–	(native)
Graphical environments	i3	sway	mutter*	(native)
Status bar	i3status	waybar	–	(native)
Output manager	xrandr	wlr-randr, wdisplays	–	(native)
Lockscreen	i3lock, xs-lock	swaylock	(native)	(native)
Wallpaper manager	feh	swaybg	–	(native)
Application launcher	Rofi	fuzzel	(native)	(native)
Dock	–	–	(native)	(native)
Desktop widgets	[pending]	[pending]	[pending]	(native)
Desktop theme	Obsidian	Obsidian	(native)	(native)
Icon packs	Obsidian	Obsidian	(native)	(native)
Mouse cursor	Bibata	Bibata	(native)	(native)
Terminal	rxvt	foot	Console*	Terminal (native), Alacritty
Clipboard helper	xsel	wl-clipboard	(native)	pbcopy/pbpaste (native)
Notification daemon	dunst	mako	(native)	(native)
Disk management	udiskie, GParted	udiskie, GParted**, gsmartcontrol	udiskie, GParted**, gsmartcontrol	Disk Utility (native), Mounty, gsmartcontrol
File managers	thunar (with gvfs)	thunar (with gvfs)	Nautilus*	Finder (native)
File sync client	Syncthing	Syncthing	Syncthing	Syncthing
File/folder compare	Meld	Meld	Meld	Meld
Note-taking interface	logseq	logseq	logseq	logseq
Writing interface	Obsidian	Obsidian	Obsidian	Obsidian
Web browsers	waterfox, Chromium, Mullvad Browser, Tor Browser	Waterfox, Chromium, Mullvad Browser, Tor Browser	Waterfox, Chromium, Mullvad Browser, Tor Browser	Waterfox, Chromium, Mullvad Browser, Tor Browser
Password manager	KeePassXC	KeePassXC	KeePassXC	KeePassXC
Email clients	Betterbird	Betterbird**	Betterbird**	Mail (native)
eBook reader	calibre	calibre	calibre	calibre
Messengers	telegram-desktop	telegram-desktop	telegram-desktop^^	telegram-desktop
Cloud storage clients	pCloud	pCloud**	pCloud**	pCloud
Torrent client	Transmission	Transmission	Transmission	Transmission
REST client	Postman	Postman**	Postman**	Postman
Virtualization	Virt-Manager	Virt-Manager	Virt-Manager	VirtualBox
Office suite	LibreOffice	LibreOffice	LibreOffice*	LibreOffice
Bluetooth interface	blueman	blueman	(native)	(native)
Drawing tool	krita	krita	krita	krita
Picture viewers	Shotwell	Shotwell	Loupe*	Preview (native), XNView MP
Picture editor	GIMP, darktable	GIMP, darktable**	GIMP*, darktable**	GIMP, darktable
Audio player	Clementine	Clementine	Clementine	Clementine
Audio frontend	pavucontrol	pavucontrol	–	(native)
Audio backend	GStreamer, pipewire, easyeffects	GStreamer, pipewire, easyeffects	–	LAME, FFmpeg
Audio editor	Audacity	Audacity	Audacity	Audacity
Video player	VLC	VLC**	VLC**	VLC
Video editor	HandBrake, Blender	HandBrake, Blender	HandBrake, Blender	HandBrake, Blender
YouTube video downloader	yt-dlp	yt-dlp	yt-dlp	yt-dlp
Multimedia tool	KODI	KODI	KODI	KODI
Screenshot tool	flameshot	grim, slurp, swappy	(native)	(native)
Screencast tool	OBS Studio, peek	OBS Studio**, ??	OBS Studio**, ??	OBS Studio, LICEcap
Keystroke echoing tool	–	??	??	keycastr
Startup disk creators	balenaEtcher	balenaEtcher**	balenaEtcher**	balenaEtcher
Gaming clients	Steam, lutris	Steam**, lutris	Steam**, lutris	Steam, Origin, Sony Remote Play
Misc	numlockx, qFlipper	numlockx, qFlipper**	qFlipper**	qFlipper

Cloud Tools, Platforms & Services

Use-Case	Personal	Collaboration
To-Do / Planning	TickTick^	ClickUp^
Email	Exchange (Mailbox.org)	–
Contacts	Exchange (Mailbox.org)	–
Calendar	Exchange (Mailbox.org)	–
Web Bookmarks	Raindrop.io^	–
Messaging	Telegram, Matrix, WhatsApp^	Discord^, Matrix, Zulip^
IP Telephony	Google Voice^	–
Fediverse (Social Networking)	Fosstodon^, PixelFed^, Lemmy.zip^	–
File Sync	Syncthing^$	–
File Storage	Google Drive^, pCloud, USB HDDs	–
Source Code Hosting	Github^	GitHub
Home Automation	Home Assistant^$	–
Home Security	Ring^	–
AI Agent	Hermes$, Hermes Web UI^$	–

Fonts

Font
Font Awesome
Open Sans
Inconsolata
Roboto Mono
Droid
Fira Code
Liberation

Legend

* - in-built, ** - through XWayland, ^ - web-client, $ - self-hosted

Open Gaps in Wayland

• Missing alternative for peek
• onboard doesn’t work
• No screen recording tools
• Broken sharing
• No way to set Numlock
• Wallpaper doesn’t randomize after first load
• Need to set shell colors?