dotfiles

Personal macOS configuration for Bash, Git, Neovim, tmux, SSH, and a small set of desktop applications. Review the files and Brewfile before using them on a different machine.

Install

Install Homebrew using the current instructions at brew.sh, then clone the repository into the expected location:

git clone https://github.com/dentuzhik/dotfiles.git "$HOME/dotfiles"
cd "$HOME/dotfiles"
brew bundle install
./bootstrap.sh

The bootstrap asks before making changes. Existing targets are moved to a timestamped directory under ~/.dotfiles-backups before the requested files are linked. It does not change the login shell or install desktop applications.

The Homebrew Bash binary can be selected as the login shell separately after confirming its path with brew --prefix bash. Restart the terminal after changing shell or dotfile links.

Bash and Zsh

The shared environment and aliases live under .config/shell. Bash and Zsh keep separate completion, history, prompt, and tool-integration code in their own startup files. Installing these dotfiles does not change the account's default login shell.

Run either shell temporarily from an existing terminal:

zsh -l
bash -l

This starts a nested login shell; run exit to return to the previous one. To replace the current shell process instead, use exec zsh -l or exec bash -l. Check the shell that is actually running with ps -p $$ -o command=. The $SHELL variable identifies the account's default login shell and does not necessarily identify the current process.

For permanent side-by-side iTerm2 profiles:

1. Open iTerm2 Settings → Profiles and duplicate the current profile twice.
2. Name the copies Zsh and Bash.
3. Under General → Command, select Custom Shell rather than Login Shell.
4. Set the Zsh shell path to /bin/zsh.
5. Find the Bash path with command -v bash and set the Bash shell path to that absolute path; on Apple Silicon Homebrew this is normally /opt/homebrew/bin/bash.
6. Optionally assign each profile a keyboard shortcut under Keys.

iTerm2 runs a Custom Shell as a login shell, as described in its profile documentation. New windows opened with either profile therefore load the corresponding configuration. Explicit profile shells leave the account login shell unchanged and make switching reversible. If a single system-wide default is preferred later, use chsh -s /bin/zsh for Zsh; switch Homebrew Bash only after ensuring its absolute path is present in /etc/shells.

Desktop applications

Homebrew is deliberately limited to command-line tools. Desktop applications with stable labels are managed separately with a pinned Installomator 10.9 package:

./scripts/install-apps.sh --audit
./scripts/install-apps.sh --install

Audit mode downloads the package without installing it. It verifies the package checksum, Apple notarization and installer identity, extracted script checksum, label URL resolution, and each application's expected Apple Team ID. Install mode repeats that audit, requires an interactive terminal and sudo, then installs or updates the applications in apps/installomator-apps.tsv.

Running applications offer Quit and Update or Not Now and are never force-killed. Mac App Store copies are left untouched. Docker's label accepts Docker's license during installation; Docker and Karabiner-Elements can still require interactive macOS permission approval afterward.

1Password, 1Password CLI, Finicky, and Monaspace remain outside the automated batch. See the manual-install list for official sources and the reason for each exclusion.

Runtime tools

Node.js versions are managed by fnm. The shell selects the version in .node-version; install it after bootstrapping:

fnm install

Install application and language dependencies per project so their versions remain in project lockfiles. Python command-line applications can be isolated with uv tool install; for example, uv tool install tmuxp.

Neovim

The configuration targets current stable Neovim and uses its built-in vim.pack package manager. The committed nvim-pack-lock.json pins plugin revisions. On first launch, Neovim installs missing plugins.

Run :checkhealth to inspect the installation. Use :packupdate to review updates, then write the review buffer to accept them and refresh the lockfile. Language servers are intentionally installed per language or project rather than downloaded automatically by the editor.

tmux

The tmux configuration uses native features only; it does not download or execute plugin repositories. SSH sessions attach to tmux when it is installed. SSH agent, X11, and arbitrary forwarding are disabled globally in .ssh/config.

iTerm2

To let iTerm2 read the tracked preferences from this repository:

defaults write com.googlecode.iterm2 PrefsCustomFolder -string "$HOME/dotfiles/iterm2"
defaults write com.googlecode.iterm2 LoadPrefsFromCustomFolder -bool true

Review the preferences file before enabling it on another machine.

GitHub authentication

SSH authentication uses the 1Password SSH agent configured in .ssh/config. Create or import a GitHub key in 1Password, enable its SSH agent, and add the public key to GitHub. Then authenticate the GitHub CLI and verify access:

gh auth login --hostname github.com --git-protocol ssh --web
ssh -T git@github.com

Secrets and session credentials do not belong in this repository. Keep them in 1Password, the macOS Keychain, or another dedicated secret store.