Dotfiles

Personal dotfiles. Works on macOS and Linux.

Focus: tmux + nvim + zsh, agentic dev workflow.

Install (local machine)

git clone https://github.com/wmbryce/dotfiles ~/dotfiles
bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/bootstrap.sh

bootstrap.sh detects the OS and runs bootstrap-macos.sh or bootstrap-linux.sh. Both:

• install packages (Homebrew on mac; apt/dnf/pacman on Linux)
• install starship, nvm, TPM, zplug
• symlink ~/.config/* and ~/.zshrc to this repo
• switch the default shell to zsh
• run install-plugins.sh (headless TPM + Lazy.nvim sync, Treesitter parsers, Mason registry)
• prompt for gh auth login (skipped if already authed) and run gh auth setup-git so private https clones work
• clone the tex repo into ~/tex and run tex/install.sh to wire its CLAUDE.md, skills, and slash commands into ~/.claude/

Re-runnable any time. Just need the symlinks?

bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/link.sh

Just need to (re)install tmux + nvim plugins?

bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/install-plugins.sh

Just need to (re)set up the AI config repo?

bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/setup-tex.sh

Companion repo: tex

AI / Claude Code config (global CLAUDE.md, custom skills, slash commands, wiki) lives in a separate repo: https://github.com/wmbryce/tex. The dotfiles bootstrap clones it to ~/tex and runs ~/tex/install.sh, which symlinks:

• ~/tex/CLAUDE.md → ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
• ~/tex/commands/*.md → ~/.claude/commands/
• ~/tex/skills/*/ → ~/.claude/skills/

Two repos, one command. Keep dotfiles for shell/editor, keep tex for everything Claude reads. A git pull in ~/tex is enough to roll out updates to global AI context on this machine.

Layout

.config/
  scripts/
    bootstrap.sh           # OS-detecting entrypoint
    bootstrap-macos.sh     # brew bundle + link + plugins
    bootstrap-linux.sh     # apt/dnf/pacman + link + plugins
    link.sh                # symlink ~/.config and ~/.zshrc
    install-plugins.sh     # headless TPM install + nvim Lazy sync
    setup-tex.sh           # clone+install the tex AI-config repo
    auth-github.sh         # idempotent `gh auth login` + `gh auth setup-git`
    packages-linux.txt     # package list (apt names, mapped for dnf/pacman)
  homebrew/Brewfile        # mac package list
  zsh/zshrc                # cross-platform; detects brew prefix
  tmux/
    tmux.conf              # base config
    macos.conf             # mac clipboard (pbcopy)
    linux.conf             # linux clipboard (wl-copy / xclip), xdg-open
  nvim/                    # LazyVim setup
  git/, gh/, glab-cli/     # vcs tooling
  ...                      # mac-only GUI configs skipped on Linux

Per-OS notes

macOS — Homebrew. Brewfile is source of truth; brewup alias keeps it dumped.

Linux — primary target Debian/Ubuntu (bootstrap-linux.sh also handles dnf and pacman with a small name remap). starship, zoxide, nvm, glab install via official curl scripts when missing.

---

Setting up a fresh macOS machine

End-to-end recipe for a clean Mac. Should take ~30 min including downloads.

1. Apple basics

1. Sign in to iCloud and run System Settings → General → Software Update until clean.
2. Enable FileVault (System Settings → Privacy & Security).
3. Install Xcode Command Line Tools — needed for git/clang/Homebrew:

   xcode-select --install

   Wait for the GUI installer to finish before continuing.

2. Generate an SSH key + add to GitHub

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "michael@steppingblocks.com"
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Paste into GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key.

Test:

ssh -T git@github.com

3. Clone dotfiles + bootstrap

git clone git@github.com:wmbryce/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/bootstrap.sh
exec zsh -l

That single command:

• installs Homebrew (if missing)
• runs brew bundle against homebrew/Brewfile (CLI tools + casks like ghostty, zed, clickhouse)
• symlinks everything in .config/ plus ~/.zshrc
• installs TPM, nvm
• changes the default shell to zsh
• runs headless plugin install for tmux + nvim
• prompts for gh auth login if you're not already authed (the only interactive step), then gh auth setup-git
• clones tex to ~/tex and wires it into ~/.claude/

4. Terminal of choice

The Brewfile installs Ghostty. Open it; the config in ~/.config/ghostty/ is already symlinked.

5. Window manager / OS tweaks (manual, GUI-only)

These aren't scripted because they're one-time GUI clicks:

• Karabiner-Elements: install from https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/. Config in ~/.config/karabiner/ is symlinked — open Karabiner once so it picks the file up.
• Raycast: install from the App Store / raycast.com. Settings sync via their cloud; the ~/.config/raycast/ dir mostly holds extensions.
• iTerm2 (only if you prefer it over Ghostty): import ~/.config/iterm2/.

Optional system defaults worth tweaking via Terminal:

defaults write NSGlobalDomain InitialKeyRepeat -int 15
defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 2
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool true
killall Dock

6. Sign in to the other CLIs

gh is already authed (the bootstrap prompted for it). Do the others:

glab auth login         # gitlab
linear --help           # schpet/linear cli — runs token flow on first command
claude /login           # claude code

7. tmux + nvim sanity check

tmux new -s dev
# inside tmux:
`+I        # TPM plugin install (should be no-op since bootstrap already ran it)
nvim       # Lazy panel opens; confirm everything loaded

If you ever want to redo plugins only:

bash ~/.config/scripts/install-plugins.sh

8. Daily workflow

sup-work ~/code/some-project     # opens nvim + claude + shell tmux layout

Quick checklist

• CLT installed
• ssh key generated, added to GitHub
• dotfiles cloned, bootstrap.sh finished
• Ghostty / Karabiner / Raycast launched once
• gh, glab, linear, claude signed in
• tmux new -s dev works end to end

---

Setting up a fresh Linux VPS (Hetzner)

End-to-end recipe for a remote dev box. The same dotfiles run there.

1. Provision the server

1. Hetzner Console → Add Server.
2. Location: closest region to you (e.g. ash Ashburn for US east).
3. Image: Ubuntu 24.04.
4. Type: CX22 (€4/mo, 2 vCPU / 4 GB) is fine for one agent + a vim session; bump to CPX31 if you want headroom for builds.
5. SSH keys: paste your public key (cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub). Add one now — it skips the root-password emails.
6. Name the server, create.

Note the public IPv4. Set a DNS A record if you have a domain; not required.

2. First login + create your user

ssh root@<server-ip>

# create a non-root user with sudo
adduser mb
usermod -aG sudo mb

# copy your ssh key across
rsync --archive --chown=mb:mb ~/.ssh /home/mb

Log out. From now on you SSH as mb.

3. Lock down SSH

On the server, as mb:

sudo sed -i \
  -e 's/^#\?PermitRootLogin.*/PermitRootLogin no/' \
  -e 's/^#\?PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication no/' \
  -e 's/^#\?KbdInteractiveAuthentication.*/KbdInteractiveAuthentication no/' \
  /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sudo systemctl reload ssh

Test in a new terminal (ssh mb@<server-ip>) before closing your existing session.

4. Firewall

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y ufw
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw enable

If you'll run an HTTP service: sudo ufw allow 80,443/tcp.

5. Unattended security updates

sudo apt-get install -y unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades  # answer yes

6. Clone dotfiles + bootstrap

sudo apt-get install -y git
git clone https://github.com/wmbryce/dotfiles ~/dotfiles
bash ~/dotfiles/.config/scripts/bootstrap.sh
exec zsh -l

bootstrap.sh installs every package in packages-linux.txt, starship/zoxide/nvm/glab via curl, sets up zsh as the default shell, symlinks all configs, runs the headless plugin install for tmux + nvim, prompts for gh auth login, and clones tex into ~/tex (wiring it into ~/.claude/). Re-runnable any time.

On a VPS, gh auth login → "Login with a web browser" gives you a code to paste into github.com/login/device — no key juggling, and git clone over https against private repos works immediately after.

7. Persistent tmux for remote work

When you reconnect over SSH, attach the same session:

tmux new -A -s dev   # creates dev if missing, attaches if it exists

Detach with `+d; everything keeps running. Pair with sup-work (alias to ~/.config/zsh/setup-workspace.sh) for the nvim + agent + shell pane layout.

For drop-on/drop-off resilience (handles network changes, sleep, roaming):

sudo apt-get install -y mosh
sudo ufw allow 60000:61000/udp
# from your laptop:
mosh mb@<server-ip>

8. Remote development from your local editor (optional)

• VS Code / Cursor: install the Remote - SSH extension → "Connect to Host" → mb@<server-ip>.
• JetBrains Gateway: SSH to the same host, point at the project dir.
• Pure tmux/nvim: ssh mb@<server-ip> -t "tmux new -A -s dev".

Add a ~/.ssh/config entry on your laptop:

Host vps
  HostName <server-ip>
  User mb
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  ServerAliveInterval 60

Then it's just ssh vps or mosh vps.

9. Long-running tasks / agents

For background jobs that survive disconnect, options ranked by complexity:

• tmux session — simplest. Start the process inside a named tmux window, detach.
• systemd user unit — for things that should auto-restart. Drop a unit in ~/.config/systemd/user/ and loginctl enable-linger mb so it runs without an active login.
• Docker / Podman — when you want isolated dependencies.

10. Backups

Hetzner offers automated snapshots (€/mo, configurable in the console). Worth turning on for any box you care about.

Quick checklist

• server provisioned, SSH key uploaded
• non-root sudo user created, ssh key copied
• root + password ssh login disabled, tested new session
• ufw enabled, OpenSSH allowed
• unattended-upgrades on
• dotfiles cloned + bootstrap.sh run
• ~/.ssh/config entry on laptop
• mosh (optional)
• linger enabled if running persistent user services

---

Components

• nvim — LazyVim + Catppuccin. Plugins installed headlessly via install-plugins.sh.
• tmux — TPM + Catppuccin + vim-tmux-navigator. OSC52 clipboard set so copy works over SSH.
• zsh — vi mode, fzf, zoxide, starship, zplug (syntax-highlight / autosuggestions / completions). Homebrew prefix auto-detected (Apple Silicon, Intel mac, linuxbrew).

Credits

• craftzdog/dotfiles-public
• dreamsofcode-io/dotfiles