Personal Dotfiles

Arch Linux + macOS setup with xmonad, kitty, neovim, zsh, and more. Managed with GNU Stow.

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Directory Structure

~/dotfiles/
├── .config/
│   ├── dunst/        # Notification daemon (Linux)
│   ├── fontconfig/   # Font configuration (Linux)
│   ├── haskell/      # Haskell tools (fourmolu.yaml, justfile template)
│   ├── kitty/        # Terminal emulator
│   ├── newsboat/     # RSS reader
│   ├── nix/          # Nix config
│   ├── nixpkgs/      # Nix packages
│   ├── nvim/         # Neovim
│   ├── picom/        # Compositor (Linux)
│   ├── shell/        # Shell profile & aliases (cross-platform)
│   ├── xmonad/       # Window manager (Linux)
│   ├── zathura/      # PDF viewer (Linux)
│   └── zsh/          # Zsh config
├── .local/
│   └── bin/          # Custom scripts
├── .stack/
│   └── config.yaml   # Stack global config
├── wallpapers/       # Desktop wallpapers
├── .xinitrc          # X session entry point (Linux)
├── .Xresources       # X resources (Linux)
├── .xserverrc        # X server config (Linux)
├── .profile          # -> .config/shell/profile
├── .zprofile         # -> .config/shell/profile
├── .zshenv           # Sets ZDOTDIR, sources .config/zsh/.zshenv (zsh bootstrap)
├── .nix-channels     # Nix channels
└── etc/              # System config references (manual, see below)

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Setup

Linux (Arch)

yay -S stow
git clone git@github.com:you/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles && stow -t ~ .

# Kitty font size override (Linux uses smaller size than macOS default)
ln -sf kitty.linux.conf ~/.config/kitty/kitty.local.conf

# Build xmonad
cd ~/.config/xmonad && just build

macOS

brew install stow
git clone git@github.com:you/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles && stow -t ~ .

# Kitty font size: macOS default (18) is already set in kitty.conf — nothing to do

After adding or removing files from dotfiles

cd ~/dotfiles && stow -t ~ -R .

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OS-specific config

Files that differ between Linux and macOS are handled inline — no duplicate files needed.

File	Mechanism
kitty.conf	font_size 18 (macOS default) + include kitty.local.conf for overrides
kitty.linux.conf	font_size 10 — symlinked to kitty.local.conf on Linux
shell/profile	if [ "$(uname)" = "Darwin" ] blocks for brew, BROWSER, QT vars
shell/aliasrc	if [ "$(uname)" = "Darwin" ] for clipboard (pbcopy vs xclip) and ls flags

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XMonad

cd ~/.config/xmonad
just build    # builds xmonad + xmobar, symlinks binaries
just restart  # restart xmonad in-place (no logout)

Binary must be at ~/.local/bin/xmonad-x86_64-linux. See xmonad/README.md for keybindings.

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Startup Flow

Linux

1. Login → .zprofile → .config/shell/profile
2. startx → .xinitrc which:
   • Loads .Xresources
   • Sets wallpaper via feh
   • Executes xmonad-x86_64-linux

macOS / zsh

1. Every shell → .zshenv (sets ZDOTDIR, sources .config/zsh/.zshenv for PATH/env)
2. Login shell → .zprofile → .config/shell/profile (editor, browser, brew, etc.)
3. Interactive shell → .config/zsh/.zshrc

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Environment Variables

Variable	Linux	macOS
EDITOR	nvim	nvim
TERMINAL	kitty	kitty
BROWSER	brave	open
READER	zathura	—
XDG_CONFIG_HOME	~/.config	~/.config
ZDOTDIR	~/.config/zsh	~/.config/zsh

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Dependencies

Cross-platform

• Terminal: kitty + Hack / LiterationMono Nerd Font
• Shell: zsh
• Editor: neovim
• Dotfiles: stow
• Task runner: just
• Haskell: ghcup (GHC/HLS/stack), fourmolu (static binary in ~/.local/bin)

Linux only

• WM: xmonad, xmonad-contrib, xmobar
• Launcher: rofi
• Notifications: dunst
• Compositor: picom
• PDF: zathura
• Browser: brave
• Clipboard: xclip
• Font packages: ttf-hack-nerd, ttf-liberation-mono-nerd

macOS only

• Package manager: homebrew
• Fonts: brew install --cask font-hack-nerd-font font-liberation-nerd-font

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System config (manual, one-time)

These files target /etc/ and are not managed by stow. Apply once per machine with sudo.

/etc/vconsole.conf

KEYMAP=ANSI-dvorak
FONT=ter-v24n

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "system-keyboard"
    MatchIsKeyboard "on"
    Option "XkbLayout" "us"
    Option "XkbVariant" "altgr-intl"
EndSection