Dotfiles

A rich, modern terminal environment for Ubuntu (including WSL2). Single install script — interactive, idempotent, and fast.

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Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later (or WSL2 running Ubuntu)
• sudo privileges
• Internet connectivity
• A Nerd Font installed in your terminal emulator (recommended: JetBrains Mono Nerd Font or Hack Nerd Font)

Install

git clone https://github.com/<your-user>/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles
bash install.sh

The installer will:

1. Install all required packages via apt (falling back to snap where needed)
2. Install Oh My Zsh and its plugins
3. Install TPM (Tmux Plugin Manager)
4. Prompt before overwriting any existing file in your home directory
5. Create symlinks from ~/dotfiles/ into $HOME
6. Print any required manual steps at the end

Options:

Flag	Effect
--dry-run	Show what would happen without making changes
--yes	Auto-confirm all overwrite prompts (non-interactive / CI)
--skip-packages	Skip package installation; only create symlinks

Post-install steps

# 1. Set Zsh as your default shell (if not already)
chsh -s $(which zsh)

# 2. Log out and back in, then open a new terminal

# 3. Install tmux plugins (once inside tmux)
tmux
# Press Ctrl+a then I  (capital I)

Verify

# Shell startup must be ≤200ms
time zsh -i -c exit

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What's Installed

Tool	Purpose	Key Command
Zsh	Primary shell	zsh
Oh My Zsh	Zsh plugin framework	—
Starship	Cross-shell prompt (Catppuccin Mocha)	—
zsh-autosuggestions	Inline history suggestions	→ to accept
zsh-syntax-highlighting	Live command syntax colouring	—
fzf	Fuzzy finder	Ctrl+R history · Ctrl+T file · Alt+C cd
zoxide	Smart directory jumping	z <partial> · zi interactive
tmux	Terminal multiplexer	tmux · tmux attach
TPM	Tmux plugin manager	<prefix>+I install · <prefix>+U update
catppuccin-tmux	Tmux Catppuccin Mocha status bar	—
bat	Syntax-highlighted cat	bat <file>
eza	Modern ls with icons and git status	ll · la · lt
jq	JSON processing	jq '.' file.json
neovim	Editor engine	nvim
LunarVim	Default editor — full IDE: Claude Code integration, Supermaven AI autocomplete, Go/Shell/Python LSP+lint+format+debug	vim · v · lvim

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Alias Reference

Git Aliases (g* prefix)

Alias	Expansion	Use Case
gs	git status	Check working tree
gd	git diff	Unstaged changes
gds	git diff --staged	Staged changes
gco	git checkout	Switch branch / restore file
gcb	git checkout -b	Create and switch branch
gst	git stash	Stash changes
gstp	git stash pop	Restore stash
glog	git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all	Visual history
gpush	git push	Push to remote
gpull	git pull	Pull from remote
gaa	git add -A	Stage all changes
ga	git add	Stage specific files
gcm	git commit -m	Commit with message
gb	git branch	List branches
gbd	git branch -d	Delete branch
grb	git rebase	Rebase
gcp	git cherry-pick	Cherry-pick commit
gsh	git show	Show commit details
gbl	git blame	Annotate file
grs	git reset	Unstage changes
grsh	git reset --hard	Hard reset

System Aliases

Alias	Expansion	Use Case
ll	eza -la --icons --git	Long listing with icons
la	eza -a --icons	All files with icons
l	eza --icons	Simple listing
lt	eza --tree --icons -L 2	Tree view (depth 2)
df	df -h	Human-readable disk usage
du	du -sh	Directory size summary
free	free -h	Human-readable memory
psg	ps aux | grep	Search running processes
mkd	mkdir -p	Create directories with parents
reload	exec zsh	Reload shell
path	echo $PATH | tr : "\n"	Pretty-print PATH

Navigation Aliases

Alias	Expansion	Use Case
..	cd ..	Up one directory
...	cd ../..	Up two directories
....	cd ../../..	Up three directories
-	cd -	Previous directory
dl	cd ~/Downloads	Downloads folder
dt	cd ~/Desktop	Desktop
dot	cd ~/dotfiles	Dotfiles repo
tmp	cd /tmp	Temporary files

Docker Aliases (d* prefix)

Alias	Expansion	Use Case
dps	docker ps	List running containers
dpsa	docker ps -a	List all containers
dex	docker exec -it	Exec into container
drm	docker rm	Remove container
drmi	docker rmi	Remove image
dlog	docker logs -f	Follow container logs
dstop	docker stop	Stop container
dstart	docker start	Start container
dinsp	docker inspect	Inspect container/image
dprune	docker system prune -f	Clean unused resources
dcup	docker compose up -d	Start compose stack
dcdown	docker compose down	Stop compose stack
dclogs	docker compose logs -f	Follow compose logs

Editor Aliases

Alias	Expansion	Use Case
vim	lvim (fallback nvim)	Open LunarVim (escape: \vim)
vi	lvim (fallback nvim)	Open LunarVim (escape: \vi)
v	lvim (fallback nvim)	Short LunarVim alias
e	$EDITOR	Open with configured editor (lvim by default)

See lunarvim/README.md for the full LunarVim + Claude Code shortcut and usage reference.

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Tmux Cheatsheet

Prefix: Ctrl+a

Panes

Keys	Action
<prefix> + |	Split pane horizontally
<prefix> + -	Split pane vertically
<prefix> + h/j/k/l	Navigate panes (vim-style)
<prefix> + H/J/K/L	Resize pane (5 cells)
<prefix> + x	Close pane
<prefix> + z	Zoom pane (toggle fullscreen)

Windows

Keys	Action
<prefix> + c	New window
<prefix> + ,	Rename window
Alt + h	Previous window
Alt + l	Next window
<prefix> + &	Close window

Sessions

Keys	Action
<prefix> + d	Detach session
<prefix> + $	Rename session
<prefix> + s	List sessions
tmux attach	Reattach last session
tmux new -s <name>	New named session

Other

Keys	Action
<prefix> + m	Toggle mouse on/off
<prefix> + r	Reload tmux config
<prefix> + I	Install TPM plugins
<prefix> + U	Update TPM plugins
<prefix> + Enter	Enter copy mode
v (copy mode)	Begin selection
y (copy mode)	Copy selection

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Zsh Features

Autosuggestions

As you type, previous commands appear in grey. Press → (right arrow) to accept the full suggestion, or Ctrl+F to accept one word at a time.

Syntax Highlighting (Catppuccin Mocha)

Commands are coloured live as you type:

Colour	Meaning
Green	Valid command
Red	Unknown / invalid command
Blue	File path
Teal	Shell alias
Yellow	Warning / glob

Fuzzy Search (fzf)

Keys	Action
Ctrl+R	Fuzzy search command history
Ctrl+T	Fuzzy insert file path
Alt+C	Fuzzy cd into subdirectory

Smart Directory Jumping (zoxide)

z dot        # jump to ~/dotfiles (partial match)
z dow        # jump to ~/Downloads
zi           # interactive fuzzy directory picker

zoxide learns from your cd history and ranks directories by frequency.

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Customization

Add local overrides without modifying versioned files:

# ~/.zshrc.local — sourced at the end of .zshrc
export MY_TOKEN="..."
export GOPRIVATE="github.com/my-org"

# ~/.aliases.local — sourced after all alias domain files
alias myalias='my long command'
alias work='cd ~/work/my-project'

Both files are gitignored and never overwritten by the install script.

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Platform Notes (WSL2)

Nerd Font

In Windows Terminal: Settings → Profiles → Ubuntu → Appearance → Font face → select your Nerd Font.

Clipboard

Install xsel for clipboard integration in copy mode:

sudo apt install xsel

tmux copy mode (y) pipes to xsel --clipboard, making selections available in Windows apps.

Startup Time

The 200ms benchmark is measured inside WSL2:

time zsh -i -c exit

WSL2 cold-start from Windows adds ~1–2s; this is a WSL2 limitation, not the shell config.