Dotfiles - XDG Base Directory Compliant

This repository contains configuration files for various development tools, organized according to the XDG Base Directory specification.

📁 Structure

dotfiles/
├── bootstrap/
│   └── .zshenv          # Bootstrap file for zsh (sets ZDOTDIR)
├── git/
│   ├── config           # Git configuration
│   └── ignore           # Global gitignore
├── tmux/
│   └── tmux.conf        # Tmux configuration
├── tig/
│   └── config           # Tig configuration
├── zsh/
│   ├── .zshrc           # Main zsh configuration
│   ├── .zprofile        # Zsh profile
│   ├── .p10k.zsh        # Powerlevel10k theme
│   └── *.zsh            # Modular zsh configurations
└── link.sh              # Setup script

🚀 Installation

Quick Start

# Clone this repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/dotfiles.git ~/.config/dotfiles

# Run the setup script
cd ~/.config/dotfiles
./link.sh

What the setup script does

The link.sh script creates symbolic links following XDG Base Directory standards:

• ~/.config/git/ → Git configuration
• ~/.config/tmux/ → Tmux configuration
• ~/.config/tig/ → Tig configuration
• ~/.config/zsh/ → Zsh configuration files
• ~/.zshenv → Bootstrap file (only file in home directory)

Manual Installation

If you prefer manual setup:

# Create symbolic links
ln -s ~/.config/dotfiles/git ~/.config/git
ln -s ~/.config/dotfiles/tmux ~/.config/tmux
ln -s ~/.config/dotfiles/tig ~/.config/tig
ln -s ~/.config/dotfiles/zsh ~/.config/zsh
ln -s ~/.config/dotfiles/bootstrap/.zshenv ~/.zshenv

📝 Configuration Details

Git

Configuration files are located in ~/.config/git/:

• config - Main Git configuration
• ignore - Global gitignore patterns

Zsh

Zsh uses the ZDOTDIR environment variable to specify the configuration directory:

• ~/.zshenv - Minimal bootstrap file that sets ZDOTDIR=$HOME/.config/zsh
• ~/.config/zsh/.zshrc - Main zsh configuration
• ~/.config/zsh/.zprofile - Profile settings
• Other modular configuration files in ~/.config/zsh/

Tmux

Configuration is located at ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf

Tig

Configuration is located at ~/.config/tig/config

🔄 Updating

cd ~/.config/dotfiles
git pull

No need to re-run link.sh unless the structure changes.

✨ Benefits of XDG Compliance

• Clean home directory: Only ~/.zshenv is required in home directory
• Standard locations: Follows freedesktop.org standards
• Easy backup: All configs are in ~/.config/
• Better organization: Clear separation of different tool configurations

🛠️ Customization

To add your local, machine-specific configurations:

• Create ~/.config/zsh/local.zsh for zsh-specific settings
• Modify files directly in this repository and commit changes

📚 References

• XDG Base Directory Specification
• Git XDG Support
• Zsh Startup Files

📄 License

MIT