.files

Personal macOS dotfiles. Bootstraps a fresh machine with the tools, shell, terminal, window manager, and editor I use day-to-day, then symlinks every config in files/ to the matching path under $HOME.

This repo is shared as a reference; clone, fork, or just lift bits that are useful. macOS only.

⚠️ bootstrap.sh will silently replace any existing dotfiles in $HOME (.zshrc, .tmux.conf, .bash_profile, …) with symlinks into this repo. If you already have configs you care about, back them up before running.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/chiply/.files.git ~/.files
cd ~/.files

# optional: set this if you want the signal-cli LaunchAgent installed.
# without it, the signal-cli block is skipped silently.
export SIGNAL_PHONE="+15551234567"

./bootstrap.sh

The script asks for your sudo password upfront, then runs unattended for ~30 minutes. It installs Xcode CLI tools, Homebrew, and a long list of CLI utilities and language toolchains.

What gets installed

• Shell: zsh + zinit for plugins, starship prompt, atuin for shared shell history
• Terminal: Ghostty with cursor shaders, plus Nerd Fonts (JetBrains Mono Nerd Font, Terminess, Terminus)
• Multiplexer: tmux + tmux-powerline, tmuxinator, TPM (Tmux Plugin Manager) and a curated plugin list
• Window manager / status bar: AeroSpace, simple-bar (with a customised bottom bar), JankyBorders
• Editor: Emacs 31 (via emacs-plus@31) configured by zetta.d, with TeX Live (dvipng / dvisvgm) and MathJax for org-latex-preview. install_emacs_distros.sh can additionally install Doom / Spacemacs / Chemacs side-by-side.
• Languages: pyenv (3.10 / 3.11 / 3.12), Poetry, uv, nvm + Node, language servers (json, eslint, copilot, svelte)
• Misc CLI: AWS CLI v2, gh, k9s (with catppuccin skins), bat, fzf, ripgrep, eza, jq, lazygit, and more — full list in files/.config/Brewfile
• Background services: signal-cli daemon (opt-in via $SIGNAL_PHONE), a wallpaper rotator, and a pm2-managed simple-bar focus watcher

Layout

.files/
├── bootstrap.sh              # main installer
├── main.py                   # symlinks files/* -> ~/*
├── install_emacs_distros.sh  # optional: install Doom/Spacemacs/Chemacs side-by-side
├── files/                    # everything in here is symlinked to $HOME
│   ├── .zshrc, .tmux.conf, .aerospace.toml, ...
│   └── .config/Brewfile      # full package list
├── ghostty/config            # symlinked separately into Application Support
└── LICENSE

main.py walks files/ and creates ln -s -f symlinks at the matching paths under $HOME. Re-run it any time you add a new dotfile.

Bootstrap side-effects

bootstrap.sh will:

• create ~/.localsecrets, ~/.tokens, and (via the Emacs config) expect ~/.private.el — these hold local secrets and are never committed
• clone zetta.d to ~/.zetta.d for the Emacs setup
• install LaunchAgents for signal-cli and the wallpaper rotator
• create ~/Wallpapers and ~/Screenshots
• run defaults write for Shottr screenshot preferences
• install simple-bar into ~/Library/Application Support/Übersicht/widgets/

If any of that isn't what you want, read through bootstrap.sh (it's a single linear script) and comment out the bits you'd rather skip before running.

Customising

• Packages: edit files/.config/Brewfile and re-run brew bundle --file=files/.config/Brewfile
• Shell: files/.zshrc is the entry point; aliases live in files/.aliases/
• Tmux: files/.tmux.conf, themes under files/.tmux/themes/. Notes on the setup are in TMUX.md.
• Tmuxinator projects: files/.config/tmuxinator/*.yml

Forking

If you fork this repo, the parts you'll most likely want to change before running:

• The git clone https://github.com/chiply/.zetta.d.git line in bootstrap.sh — that's my Emacs configuration. Point it at your own, or comment out the entire emacs section if you don't want Emacs.
• The Quick start clone URL above.
• Tmuxinator project files under files/.config/tmuxinator/ reference my project paths.

Updating

After the initial bootstrap, to pull in new dotfiles or package additions:

cd ~/.files
git pull
python main.py                                      # re-symlink anything new
brew bundle --file=files/.config/Brewfile           # install new brews

Adding a new dotfile

1. Drop the file under files/ at the path you want it to live under $HOME (e.g. files/.config/foo/bar.toml → ~/.config/foo/bar.toml).
2. Run python ~/.files/main.py to create the symlink.

Caveats

• macOS only. Developed on Apple Silicon; Intel should mostly work (/opt/homebrew and /usr/local are both on PATH) but isn't actively tested.
• bootstrap.sh is idempotent for most steps but isn't guaranteed safe to run on a heavily-customised existing machine — it will overwrite symlinks and dotfiles under $HOME.
• The Emacs config (zetta.d) lives in its own repo and has its own footprint (~270 package configurations, devdocs, tree-sitter binaries). If you only want the shell/tmux setup, comment out the emacs section near the bottom of bootstrap.sh.
• fetch_mail.sh and files/.newsrc* are gitignored — those are personal to me and aren't part of the published config.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.