dotfiles

Personal dotfiles managed with Chezmoi.

This repository is used to install and maintain shell, editor, package, accessibility, and workstation configuration across Linux, WSL, and Windows systems. Templates are rendered through Chezmoi, and secrets are referenced through 1Password instead of being stored directly in the repo.

Why This Exists

This setup grew out of two practical problems: machines fail, and rebuilding an environment from memory is slow and error-prone.

As a computer science student with multiple disabilities, I wanted a setup that makes future machine recovery and day-to-day configuration changes as painless as possible. That means keeping important shell, editor, accessibility, and package-management settings in one place so they can be reapplied consistently.

Chezmoi is the main tool for managing user-level configuration, and Chezetc is part of the broader workflow for handling root-owned files separately. The goal is portability, repeatability, and less friction when moving between systems or recovering from a lost machine.

Highlights

• Cross-platform setup with Chezmoi templates
• Arch Linux and WSL workflow with paru
• Windows package bootstrap via winget
• Bash and PowerShell profiles managed from one source of truth
• App-specific config for tools such as GitHub CLI, NVDA, Starship, Topgrade, and QMK
• Separate package inventory exports for Linux and Windows
• Accessibility-minded setup intended to reduce rebuild effort

Repository Layout

• dot_*: files that map to home-directory dotfiles through Chezmoi naming rules
• dot_config/: XDG-style application configuration
• AppData/: Windows application data and config files
• package-lists/: exported package inventories for Linux and Windows
• qmk_firmware/: personal QMK keyboard layout files
• readonly_Documents/readonly_workspaces/: VS Code workspace files
• run_onchange_*: Chezmoi scripts that bootstrap packages during apply

Requirements

• chezmoi
• 1Password and op CLI for templates that use onepasswordRead
• On Linux and WSL: Arch Linux with pacman and access to install paru
• On Windows: winget

Secrets

Secrets are expected to come from 1Password references inside templates.

Examples in this repo include values such as:

• GitHub CLI auth tokens
• API keys for local applications

Before applying on a fresh machine, make sure the required items exist in your 1Password vault and that op is authenticated.

Getting Started

Clone the repository into the Chezmoi source directory or initialize from it.

chezmoi init https://github.com/RareBird15/dotfiles.git
chezmoi apply

If you already use a local source directory:

chezmoi cd
chezmoi apply

Common Workflow

Preview changes before applying:

chezmoi diff

Apply changes:

chezmoi apply

Edit a managed file:

chezmoi edit ~/.bashrc

Update package bootstrap inputs and re-apply:

chezmoi apply

Platform Notes

Linux / WSL

• Primary WSL distro is Arch Linux
• Installs base build tooling and paru if needed
• Applies packages listed in .chezmoidata/packages.yaml
• Includes WSL-specific shell behavior where relevant

Windows

• Uses winget for package bootstrap
• Manages PowerShell profile and AppData-backed config

Maintenance

• Keep secrets out of the repo and local history artifacts
• Update package-lists/ when package inventories change
• Document notable behavior changes in CHANGELOG.md

License

This repository is available under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.