dotProd

The dot product of two excellent config management solutions (chezmoi and mise), plus a little extra scripting secret sauce; dotProd takes new Linux machines from blank slates to Prod-ready.

Note

Large Language Models (Gemini and Claude) have been used extensively throughout this project (including to write the below README). I have read through all scripts/code, made edits where appropriate, and designed and guided the system from a high level. I actively use this system.

Declarative Dotfiles

A fully modular, idempotent, and OS-aware system bootstrapping engine.

This repository manages system configuration and environment bootstrapping using Chezmoi and Mise. Rather than relying on a brittle, monolithic bash script, this setup uses a Data-Driven Dispatcher architecture. State is declared strictly in a TOML file, and execution is handled by isolated, universally portable template scripts.

🏗️ Architecture

The system is separated into four distinct domains to prevent permissions conflicts, $PATH collisions, and cross-platform breakages.

1. System Layer ([system_tools]): * Handled by the native OS package manager (APT, DNF, Pacman).
   • Requires sudo. Used strictly for kernel-level daemons (Tailscale), foundational packages (curl, git), and system-wide configurations.
2. Toolchain Layer ([toolchains]): * Handled by custom isolated scripts (e.g., rustup).
   • Bootstraps foundational compilers and runtimes into user-space before CLI applications are built.
3. User-Space Layer ([user_tools]): * Handled concurrently by mise.
   • Deploys CLI utilities (Zellij, Helix, Ripgrep) directly to ~/.local/share/mise/ without requiring root access, ensuring total environment isolation.
4. Desktop/GUI Layer ([gui_apps]): * Handled primarily via Flatpak to prevent "Double Icon Syndrome" and OS-level package conflicts, with fallbacks for custom PPAs (e.g., Ghostty).

⚙️ The Execution Pipeline

Chezmoi executes the bootstrapping pipeline in a strict numerical sequence, guaranteeing dependencies are available exactly when needed. The scripts below are all prefixed by run_[onchange_before/after] and suffixed by .sh[.tmpl].

• 01_install_system_tools: Dynamically detects the host OS, updates native package lists, and provisions root-level dependencies.
• 02_install_user_tools: Installs compiler toolchains, bootstraps mise, and provisions all user-space CLI tools concurrently. Before install, this script runs a pre-flight collision detection scan. If legacy binaries (e.g., an apt installed version of a tool mise is trying to manage) are found in the $PATH, the pipeline halts to prevent environment corruption.
• 03_install_gui_apps: Detects if a display server (Wayland/X11) is active. If true, configures Flathub and provisions desktop applications.
• 90_integrations: (Run-After Phase) Executes glue logic, such as symlinking system-installed debuggers (LLDB) into the user paths expected by terminal editors. This script is currently not standardized and must be completely custom.

🛠️ Configuration (.chezmoidata.toml)

The entire state of the machine is driven by ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.chezmoidata.toml. You should rarely need to edit the bash templates. To modify the system, simply update the TOML data:

[system_tools]
tailscale = "latest"
docker = "latest"

[toolchains]
rust = "stable"

[user_tools]
"cargo:zellij" = "zellij"
helix = "hx"
gh = "gh"

[gui_apps]
firefox = "org.mozilla.firefox"
ghostty = "ppa:mkasberg/ghostty-ubuntu"

🚀 How to Extend the System

1. Adding a Standard Package

If a tool just needs a standard apt install or a mise binary pull, simply add it to the appropriate section in .chezmoidata.toml. The dispatcher will handle it automatically.

2. Adding a Complex Package

If a system tool or GUI app requires a custom PPA, a custom curl | sh execution, or pre-installation cleanup:

1. Add the tool to .chezmoidata.toml.
2. Create an isolated bash script matching the tool's exact name in the hidden .scripts directory:
   • System Tools: ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.scripts/daemons/<tool_name>.sh
   • Toolchains: ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.scripts/toolchains/<tool_name>.sh
   • GUI Apps: ~/.local/share/chezmoi/.scripts/gui/<tool_name>.sh

The dispatcher will automatically detect the script, execute it, and pass the TOML value to it as $1.

💻 Installation

To bootstrap a new machine from this repository:

sh -c "$(curl -fsLS get.chezmoi.io)" -- -b "$HOME/.local/bin" init --apply trlarsen/dotProd