Using Dotfiles

Note

Do not run the install script with sudo. Aliases and functions can be used with sudo if you want to.

Some helpful dotfiles for your system.

Requirements

• Shell: bash or zsh
• Package manager: apt, dnf, yum, pacman, or Homebrew (brew)
• Internet access (the script will install basic tools if needed)

The installer ensures curl and git are present by using your package manager.

Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/akshaybabloo/dotfiles.git && cd dotfiles

Then run the bootstrap script:

./bootstrap.sh

This will:

• Detect your shell and rc file (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc).
• Back up your rc file (e.g., ~/.bashrc.backup.YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS).
• Append a small snippet to source the dotfiles main entry (.main).
• Detect your package manager and install curl and git if they're missing.
• Offer to run the updater to install and update CLI binaries via binstall using configs in binary_configs/.

When it completes, restart your terminal or source your rc file to load the changes.

Verify

After installation, reload your shell and list available commands:

# reload current shell session
source ~/.bashrc   # or: source ~/.zshrc

# see provided commands and aliases
dotls

Updating binaries later

You can re-run the updater any time to install or update the configured binaries.

dotu

If ~/bin is not on your PATH, the updater will add it to your shell rc.

What gets changed

The installer adds these lines to your shell rc:

# Gollahalli Dotfiles
. "/path/to/cloned/dotfiles/.main"

It also creates a timestamped backup of your original rc file in the same directory just in case anything goes wrong.

On macOS, if you use bash and only have ~/.bash_profile, the script will remind you to source ~/.bashrc from it. Add this to ~/.bash_profile if prompted:

if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
        . ~/.bashrc
fi

Uninstall

1. Restore your rc backup or remove the added lines manually.

• Restore backup (example):
  • Move or copy ~/.bashrc.backup.YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS back to ~/.bashrc (or the zsh equivalent).
• Or edit your rc file and delete the block:

  # Gollahalli Dotfiles
  . "/path/to/cloned/dotfiles/.main"

2. Open a new terminal or source your rc file.
3. Optionally, remove the cloned dotfiles directory.

Troubleshooting

• “Do not run this script as root!” — Run ./bootstrap.sh as your regular user; you can still use sudo for commands later.
• “Unsupported shell” — Only bash and zsh are supported.
• “No supported package manager found” — Install curl and git manually, then re-run the script.
• “Dotfiles are already installed in rc” — The installer will ask whether to reinstall; choose Yes to re-append or No to keep as-is.
• dotls: command not found — Reload your shell: source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc, or open a new terminal.
• Binaries not available on PATH — Run ./updater.sh; it ensures ~/bin is on PATH.

If you hit something unexpected, feel free to file an issue on the repository.