Dotfiles

What is Dotfiles?

Dotfiles is a collection of configuration files that provides a consistent development environment across different machines. It follows the "spilled coffee principle," "snowball method," and "versioning mindset" to ensure reproducibility, continuous improvement, and iterative progress.

How to use Dotfiles?

Clone the repository to ~/ppv/pillars/dotfiles and run ./setup.sh to create symlinks, set up secrets from a template, and apply configurations. The script requires git and curl but does not install packages.

Key features of Dotfiles

• Modular shell configuration with automatic lazy loading
• Secret management via untracked ~/.bash_secrets file
• Platform-based repository organization (Arch Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc.)
• Hybrid category/use-case organization within platform directories
• REPL-based development workflow support with MCP integration
• Detection-based implementation for automatic hardware optimization

Use cases of Dotfiles

• Quickly recovering a development environment after a system failure
• Setting up a new machine with consistent configurations
• Managing environment-sensitive secrets across different machines
• Organizing configurations for multiple hardware platforms (desktop, Raspberry Pi)

FAQ from Dotfiles

How do I install Dotfiles?

Clone the repository to ~/ppv/pillars/dotfiles and run ./setup.sh from that directory. The script creates symlinks and sets up your secrets file from the example template.

What packages are recommended but not required?

Git, GitHub CLI (gh), jq, tmux, curl, and wget. Installation commands are provided for Ubuntu/Debian, Arch Linux, and macOS.

How does Dotfiles handle secrets?

Sensitive information is stored in ~/.bash_secrets (not tracked in Git). Copy the example template, set permissions to 600, and edit it. The file is automatically loaded by .bashrc.

Does Dotfiles install software?

No. The setup script only configures dotfiles. Package installation is documented separately for each tool (e.g., Google Chrome, Go, tmux, Neovim) but must be done manually.

What principles guide this repository?

Three core principles: the Spilled Coffee Principle (reproducibility after disaster), the Snowball Method (continuous improvement through accumulated knowledge), and the Versioning Mindset (iterative progress with feedback loops).