Dotfiles (Managed with GNU Stow)

This repository contains configuration files for tools like nvim, tmux, zsh, etc., managed using GNU Stow.

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📦 Structure

Each directory corresponds to a tool or app and contains its config files in the correct relative path.

Example:

dotfiles/
├── nvim/
│   └── .config/
│       └── nvim/
├── tmux/
│   └── .tmux.conf
├── zsh/
│   └── .zshrc

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🛠️ Installation

1. Install GNU Stow

macOS (with Homebrew)

brew install stow

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install stow

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2. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/your-username/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles

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3. Stow configs

Use --target=$HOME to ensure correct symlink paths.

stow --target=$HOME nvim
stow --target=$HOME tmux
stow --target=$HOME zsh

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🧼 Unstow (Remove Symlinks)

stow -D --target=$HOME nvim

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⚠️ Gotchas

• If you see errors like:

  WARNING! stowing xyz would cause conflicts...
  

  it means a file (like .DS_Store) already exists in the target location. Either:

  • Remove the conflicting file manually
  • Use --adopt to move it into your stow repo:

    stow --target=$HOME --adopt nvim

• Ignore .DS_Store and similar clutter in .gitignore:

  .DS_Store

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🧠 Tips

• Use one folder per app (nvim, tmux, zsh, git, etc.)
• Keep file paths relative to $HOME
• Use --target=$HOME consistently for simplicity
• Track everything in Git so you can clone and stow on a new machine quickly
• Write a bootstrap.sh script to restore everything in one go (optional)

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✅ Bootstrap Example

#!/bin/bash

set -e

cd ~/dotfiles

for dir in */ ; do
  stow --target=$HOME "$dir"
done

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🔒 Dotfiles Philosophy

• Source-controlled
• Symlinked for atomic updates
• Reproducible across machines