Dotfiles

This repository keeps nvim and tmux at the repo root (not inside .config) so users can choose how to install them.

What this repo contains

• nvim/ -> Neovim config directory
• tmux/ -> tmux config directory

Dependencies

These need to be on PATH before Neovim starts (or on first plugin sync).

Required — Neovim will not fully bootstrap without these:

• git — lazy.nvim clones itself and every plugin on first run
• make and a C compiler (gcc or clang) — plugin build steps (telescope-fzf-native, LuaSnip) and :TSUpdate for tree-sitter parsers

Required for core workflows:

• ripgrep — backs Telescope's live_grep, grep_string, and find_files (--hidden --no-ignore-vcs flags)
• node ≥ 18 — copilot.vim runtime; also required by Mason to install pyright and bashls
• curl (or wget), unzip, tar, gzip — used by Mason to fetch LSP servers

Required for the active efm formatters/linters (C/C++):

• clang-format
• cpplint (pip install cpplint)

Recommended:

• fd — faster backend for Telescope find_files
• A Nerd Font + a true-color terminal — nvim-web-devicons, lualine, and bufferline render glyph icons

tmux bindings that shell out:

• lazygit — Prefix + g opens a popup running lazygit (tmux/utility.conf)

One-command bootstrap

After cloning, run this from the repo root — it handles backups, symlinks, and verification automatically:

./scripts/bootstrap-symlinks.sh

Optional: override the source path explicitly (must be absolute):

DOTFILES="/absolute/path/to/dotfiles" ./scripts/bootstrap-symlinks.sh

This replaces the manual steps below. Use the manual steps only if you need finer control.

Install after cloning (recommended: symlink model)

Use symlinks so ~/.config remains the live location while real files stay in your clone.

1. Clone the repo and set an absolute source path

   git clone <your-repo-url> ~/src/dotfiles
   cd ~/src/dotfiles
   export DOTFILES="$PWD"

2. Create ~/.config if needed

   mkdir -p ~/.config

3. Back up existing configs (if present)

   mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) 2>/dev/null || true
   mv ~/.config/tmux ~/.config/tmux.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) 2>/dev/null || true

4. Link live paths to the repo

   ln -sfn "$DOTFILES/nvim" ~/.config/nvim
   ln -sfn "$DOTFILES/tmux" ~/.config/tmux

5. Ensure tmux loads from ~/.config/tmux

   ln -sfn ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

6. Reload tools

   # Neovim: reopen nvim
   # tmux: reload config in a session
   tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Verify setup

• ~/.config/nvim is a symlink to your clone
• ~/.config/tmux is a symlink to your clone
• ~/.tmux.conf points to ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf

Quick checks:

ls -ld ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/tmux
ls -l ~/.tmux.conf
ls ~/.config/nvim/init.lua ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

Daily workflow

1. Edit only inside your clone.
2. Commit and pull in your clone.
3. Reload tmux with tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf.
4. Reopen Neovim (and run :Lazy sync after plugin spec changes).

Reliability guardrails

1. Always set DOTFILES to an absolute path.
2. If you move the clone, recreate symlinks.
3. Commit nvim/lazy-lock.json with plugin changes.

Alternative: move-based install

If you prefer moving files into ~/.config (no symlinks), use this variant. Set DOTFILES to your clone path first.

export DOTFILES="/absolute/path/to/your/clone"
mkdir -p ~/.config
mv "$DOTFILES/nvim" ~/.config/nvim
mv "$DOTFILES/tmux" ~/.config/tmux
ln -sfn ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf ~/.tmux.conf

Note: with this approach, git pull updates will not automatically reflect in ~/.config — you would need to copy files again after each pull.