My dotfiles

Personal dotfiles for macOS and Linux, managed by Dotbot. Every linked file lives under config/<tool>/; install.conf.yaml declares where each one gets symlinked.

Installation

On a new machine (macOS or Linux), clone the repo and run the bootstrap script:

git clone https://github.com/thijskok/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles
cd ~/.dotfiles
bin/first-setup

Scripts

All operational scripts live under bin/.

bin/first-setup

Bootstraps a fresh machine end-to-end:

1. Installs packages: Homebrew + everything in config/homebrew/Brewfile on macOS, apt + everything in config/apt/packages.txt on Linux.
2. Installs oh-my-zsh if it isn't already present.
3. Sets zsh as the default login shell.
4. Runs bin/install to symlink everything in this repo.
5. Applies macOS system defaults via bin/macos-defaults (macOS only).

bin/install

Runs Dotbot against install.conf.yaml — initializes the dotbot/ submodule first, then symlinks every entry under link: into the right destination. Idempotent; safe to re-run after editing any config or adding a new link: entry.

bin/update

Brings everything on the machine up to date:

1. git pull the dotfiles repo.
2. Re-run bin/install to pick up any newly-added link: entries.
3. macOS: brew update, brew upgrade, re-apply the Brewfile, brew cleanup, then run bin/brewfile-sync. Linux: apt-get update && upgrade, reinstall from config/apt/packages.txt.
4. npm update -g and composer global update (skipped if either isn't installed).

bin/brewfile-sync

macOS only. Keeps config/homebrew/Brewfile in sync with whatever is actually installed locally. Compares brew leaves (top-level formulae), brew list --cask, and mas list (Mac App Store apps) against the Brewfile and appends any missing entries as a dated block:

# Added by brewfile-sync on 2026-06-28
brew "pnpm"
cask "orbstack"
mas "Things", id: 904280696

Idempotent — running twice in a row adds nothing the second time. The script tolerates tap-prefixed entries (e.g. jordond/tap/jolt) and resolves renamed/aliased formulae and casks to their current name first, so neither shows up as a spurious duplicate. Grouping (Dev / Apps / Fonts) is left to manual re-sorting when convenient. Called automatically by bin/update.

bin/macos-defaults

Applies a curated set of macOS system defaults: faster key-repeat, Finder tweaks, save/print panel expansion, Dock and Mission Control timings, automatic software-update checks, etc. Some changes only take effect after logout/restart.

Architecture

Adding or changing a config:

1. Place the file under config/<tool>/ (the directory layout mirrors the tool name, not the destination path).
2. Add a link: entry to install.conf.yaml mapping the destination (e.g. ~/.config/foo/bar) to the repo-relative source.
3. Run bin/install. There's no force/relink default set, so it'll refuse to overwrite a destination that already exists as a real file rather than a symlink — reconcile the content first, then remove the real file so it can link.