nheer dotfiles

Install chezmoi with:

sh -c "$(curl -fsLS get.chezmoi.io)" -- -b $HOME/bin

Install and apply configuration with:

export GITHUB_USERNAME=niklas-heer
$HOME/bin/chezmoi init --apply --ssh $GITHUB_USERNAME

🗒️ The scripts are run in alphabetical order.

Requirements

MacOS 15 or higher (Sequoia).

Used technology

• chezmoi - keeps the dotfiles in sync and secure
• homebrew - installs mac applications
• nushell - a data first and user-friendly shell

Tasks

• Add roc-lang setup
• write tooling for my decision log
• add MonoLisa font encrypted and install
• write a simple todo manager with nu
• docker setup with colima

Project decision log

I want to document my decisions for me so I don't forget and potentially for you so you understand why I use one tool or another or why I remove stuff from time to time.

10 Adopting Ghostty

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I will use Ghostty instead of Wezterm, Kitty or iTerm.
• Context: Ghostty renders superfast. Has great configuration out of the box. Supports macOS-native APIs like passwords or Finder. But it also implements new things like the Kitty image protocol. I believe this is the best Terminal out there at this moment.
• Consequences: I get to use a great terminal. Maybe write a bit of config.

9 Adopting oh-my-posh

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I use oh-my-posh instead of starship as my prompt theme engine.
• Context: OMP (oh-my-posh) also supports shorting the path name, like powerlevel9k could. (e.g., ~/.l/s/chezmoi) It also lets you configure it in whichever format you like. (e.g., TOML, YAML, JSON) It also supports zsh and nushell so I can use it for both. But I guess it is in the end to that big of a difference, so it might come down to personal preference.
• Consequences: I have to write configuration.

8 Keeping zsh as the login shell

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I leave zsh as the login shell.
• Context: Usually after using nushell as my main shell, I should also change my login shell via chsh, but that also means that the system will use that shell per default. To avoid any errors, I leave zsh as the default login shell, but set nushell in all applications I use (like Ghostty or Zed) as the standard shell for day-to-day use.
• Consequences: I have to keep a minimal zsh setup.

7 Adopting nushell

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I will use nushell instead of zsh, fish or elvish.
• Context: I looked at zsh, fish and elvish as my main shell, but I decided on nushell because it treats command output as structured data rather than plain text, which enables powerful data manipulation and filtering capabilities. I can easily achieve many things with that, for which I would have needed other tools. Thus simplifying my setup. Also, I like the syntax more, as it feels modern and more consistent with great error messages and documentation. For me, I breaking POSIX isn't that big of a deal, as I can still use zsh in those cases, but for my day-to-day use, I want a modern shell syntax.
• Consequences: I will rewrite some zsh functions and configure nushell.

6 Removing PyInfra

• Status: ⬆️ Supersedes 4 Adopt PyInfra
• Decision: I will use chezmoi and a Brewfile instead of PyInfra.
• Context: After testing the installation on two machines, it didn't work. It broke because some apps were already installed, and I could use the --force flag of homebrew. On another occasion, Python didn't install properly. So I decided to solve it via using a Brewfile and chezmoi templates. This doesn't require extra dependencies and is simpler and more reliable.
• Consequences: I will have to experiment with PyInfra on another project. I also might have to write some shell scripts to set up fonts.

5 Adopting chezmoi

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I will use chezmoi instead of dotbot to manage my dotfiles.
• Context: I looked into different ways to manage my dotfiles. I looked into Nix, but that is too rigid and complex for what I want. I looked into GNU stow and dotbot, but that didn't suit my needs. chezmoi supports encrypted secrets, templates, and multi-machine setups and is distributed via a single binary. Having just one command to set up your whole system, which installs the dotfiles manager too, is awesome. Also, chezmoi uses file copying, which prevents potential symlink-related system breakages.
• Consequences: I will have to add all my configuration to chezmoi and learn how to use it.

4 Adopt PyInfra

• Status: ⛔ Deprecated by 6 Removing PyInfra
• Decision: I will use PyInfra to install software.
• Context: As I need to install packages and I want to try out PyInfra as it seems cool compared to Ansible as I can just use Python.
• Consequences: I will have to make sure Python and the PyInfra are installed.

3 Switch to markdown

• Status: ⬆️ Supersedes 2 Adopt asciidoc
• Decision: I will switch to Markdown from asciidoc.
• Context: While asciidoc is great, the support for it on GitHub is not. GitHub doesn't support the flagship feature include for years. The checklists don't look great, and even the admonitions don't look good out of the box either. I could switch to GitLab, which would solve all the above problems, but I want to stay with GitHub as more people might find it here.
• Consequences: I will have to say goodbye to the great asciidoc features like lists, but I now don't seemingly work against what GitHub prefers.

2 Adopt asciidoc

• Status: ⛔ Deprecated by 3 Switch to markdown
• Decision: I will write asciidocs (adoc) instead of Markdown to document everything in this repo.
• Context: I think the asciidocs format is superior. Lists are easier as they don't rely on whitespace. You have powerful macros to do table of contents and admonitions (e.g., a note or a tip). But above all else, you can include other files.
• Consequences: Checklists might look worse on GitHub, and people might not be as familiar with it. Tooling might not be on par.

1 Adopt decision logs

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: From now on, I will write decision logs explaining why I took a decision so that others might learn from it, or I can reference it later.
• Context: I have been working on my dotfiles and choosing different tools, but never really explained why I choose one over another.
• Consequences: I will have to write those decision logs quite frequently. Thus, I should build/use tooling for it.

0 Starting fresh

• Status: ✅ Adopted
• Decision: I will abandon my previous dotfiles and start new.
• Context: I realized that I only used a fraction of the functionality I added over the years, but it was hugely complex. When I wanted to change my repo function in zsh it took me a good few minutes to find it. When I then went through the script folder, I noticed that I hadn't used any of it in the last few years. That, paired with the inkling to try some new technology, pointed me to start fresh to have a minimal setup again.
• Consequences: I will need to implement features again that worked before.