A glorified personal dotfiles

This post aims to unveil the remedy for a recurring issue I’ve encountered each time I’ve had to set up a fresh Linux OS from scratch. I find great ease in conducting my entire workflow within the terminal. However, achieving this level of comfort necessitates the installation of specific programs and configurations. This process typically consumes a significant amount of time, and due to my limited memory capacity (dummy hehe), it becomes challenging to recall all the program names and references for the required configurations.

This solution is available on GitHub within this repository. Feel free to fork the repository and make necessary modifications to tailor the files according to your requirements.

Overview

The solution consists of three main steps:

1. Program Installation
2. Configuration Linking
3. Operating System Bootstrapping

Program Installation

The initial step, of course, involves the installation of the necessary programs. For the majority of installations, I rely on dnf; however, there are instances where a program might not be present in the package registry of this package manager, or you might prefer to acquire it from GitHub or using an alternative package manager. To accommodate these situations, I execute the installation of each program using individual shell or console scripts. It’s up to you to determine the installation method for each program. The installation script for each program is stored within the install/ directory.

As an illustration, the installation process for my preferred terminal, kitty, would involve crafting a unique script, such as install/kitty.sh, containing the subsequent content:

if test ! $(which kitty)
then
	echo "	Installing kitty for you."
	dnf -y install kitty
fi

exit 0

Once you’ve crafted all the scripts for program installations, navigate to the script/ directory and execute the following command as a sudo user:

$ sudo ./install

Go ahead and fix yourself a cup of coffee while you patiently await the completion of the program installations. By the time your coffee is ready, your software will be too! Just remember, even code needs a moment to caffeinate itself.

It is essential that the scripts you’ve created for program installations are designed to operate without any user interaction.

Configuration Linking

To properly elucidate this section, a clear understanding of what a symbolic link is becomes crucial. In the realm of operating systems, a symbolic link refers to a file-object that serves as a pointer to another object. Now, why does this matter? Well, the significance lies in the fact that symbolic links empower us to construct centralized configuration solutions, which can be directed from the anticipated pathway. In essence, symbolic links act as bridges that seamlessly connect different locations, allowing for organized and streamlined management of configurations.

If you haven’t already noticed, the configurations for most programs are tucked away in hidden files, often referred to as dotfiles. These files are scattered across various locations within your system. Commonly, you’ll find them either directly under your home directory, such as /home/<user>/, or nestled within the concealed .config/ directory within your home path, specifically /home/<user>/.config/. These inconspicuous locations house the inner workings of programs, orchestrating their behaviors and settings.

Whether you’re dealing with a single file or an entire folder, the critical factor is the placement of these configurations. If the configurations belong under your home path, that is, /home/<user>/, you should incorporate them into the symbolic/home/ path. Conversely, for configurations nestled within the /home/<user>/.config/ directory, they should find their home within the symbolic/home/ path as well. In essence, it’s about ensuring that these symbolic links appropriately mirror the original configuration locations, maintaining a harmonious structure for your system’s settings.

It’s important to note that the files and directories intended for creating symbolic links must conclude with the .symlink extension.

Once you have included all the necessary configuration files and directories, proceed to the script/ directory and initiate the subsequent command:

$ ./symlink

The symlink program operates interactively. This interactive approach ensures that you have control over how the symbolic links are established, preventing accidental overwrites or disruptions to your existing configurations.

Operating System Bootstrapping

Given that the installation of programs is designed to be non-interactive with the user, there might be instances where you’ll need to run these programs post-installation for self-configuration, installation of additional programs, or logging into online platforms.

These post-installation tasks can be managed by modifying the script/bootstrap script. Once the necessary edits are complete, proceed to the script/ directory and execute the following command (you might need to elevate to superuser privileges):

$ ./bootstrap

This process will ensure that any actions required after the initial installation can be seamlessly integrated into your system setup.