Dotfiles

My personal dotfiles. Installs essential CLI tools, configures shell, git, and development workflows.

gh repo clone chrisrodz/dotfiles ~/repos/dotfiles
cd ~/repos/dotfiles
./bootstrap.sh

Installation & Setup

On a New Machine

1. Authenticate with GitHub

   gh auth login

2. Clone and run bootstrap

   gh repo clone chrisrodz/dotfiles ~/repos/dotfiles
   cd ~/repos/dotfiles
   ./bootstrap.sh

3. Configure secrets and user info

   # Git credentials (required for commits)
   cp ~/repos/dotfiles/git/.gitconfig.local.example ~/.gitconfig.local
   cursor ~/.gitconfig.local  # Add your name and email
   
   # Environment secrets (API keys, tokens, etc.)
   cursor ~/.env.local

Is it Safe to Rerun?

Yes. The bootstrap script:

• Creates timestamped backups (~/dotfiles-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS) before overwriting any files
• Checks if tools are already installed before installing
• Prompts for git user.name and email (skip if already set)

Rerun anytime to update symlinks or install missing packages.

Considerations

• GitHub auth required first - Script uses gh CLI for operations
• Existing configs backed up - Your current .zshrc, .gitconfig, etc. are saved
• Prompts for git identity - Asks for name/email if not configured
• Creates ~/.env.local and ~/.gitconfig.local - Templates for secrets (gitignored)
• GPG signing optional - Uncomment in ~/.gitconfig.local if you use it

Global AI CLI Dependencies

These dotfiles rely on both the Claude Code CLI and the OpenAI Codex CLI being installed globally so that the companion IDEs/commands work everywhere on the system. brew bundle (run inside bootstrap.sh) handles this automatically via the Brewfile, but you can install or update them manually at any time:

brew tap anthropic-ai/claude
brew install claude-code

brew tap openai/codex
brew install codex-cli

The CLIs will then be available system-wide (e.g., claude-code --help, codex --help).

Customization

Common changes you might want to make:

What	Where	How
Add CLI aliases	zsh/.zsh_aliases	Edit file, add alias lines
Add brew packages	Brewfile	Add brew "package-name", run brew bundle
Change git settings	git/.gitconfig	Modify aliases, behavior (user info in ~/.gitconfig.local)
Update agent rules	AGENTS.md	Edit shared instructions (Codex/Claude/Cursor)
Add slash commands	ai/commands/	Add .md files with prompts
Add skills	npx skills add	Install globally via Skills CLI
Modify shell behavior	zsh/.zshrc	Edit PATH, themes, plugins

Updating Other Machines

After making changes:

cd ~/repos/dotfiles
# Commit your changes with git/gh, then on other machines:
gh repo sync
./bootstrap.sh  # Refresh symlinks

What Gets Installed

CLI Tools (via Brewfile)

Search & Navigation

• fzf - Fuzzy finder for files/history
• ripgrep - Faster grep
• fd - Faster find
• zoxide - Smart cd with frecency

Modern Replacements

• bat - Better cat with syntax highlighting
• eza - Better ls with git status/icons
• tldr - Simplified man pages

Dev Tools

• jq / yq - JSON/YAML processors
• httpie - User-friendly HTTP client
• gh - GitHub CLI

System Utils

• htop - Process viewer
• tree - Directory visualization
• trash - Safe delete CLI

Version Managers

• nvm - Node.js version management
• uv - Fast Python package installer & version manager
• bun - JS runtime for tools/scripts

Git & Security

• git - Latest version
• gpg - For commit signing

Shell Configuration

Oh My Zsh with plugins:

• zsh-autosuggestions - Command suggestions
• zsh-syntax-highlighting - Syntax highlighting

40+ Aliases including:

• Modern CLI shortcuts (ls -> eza, cat -> bat, cd -> zoxide)
• Git shortcuts (gs, ga, gc, gp, gl, glog)
• Python helpers (venv, activate, pyclean)
• Node shortcuts (nr, nrd, nrb)
• Utils (mkcd, port, killport, serve)

Git Configuration

• Privacy-first: User info stored in ~/.gitconfig.local (gitignored)
• Auto-setup remote on push
• GitHub credential helper via gh CLI
• Useful aliases (lg, hist, unstage)
• Optional GPG commit signing (configure in ~/.gitconfig.local)
• Global ignores for Python/Node/macOS

Setup: Copy git/.gitconfig.local.example to ~/.gitconfig.local and add your name/email

Agent Instructions and Commands

• Canonical rules: AGENTS.md
• Pointer for Claude: claude/CLAUDE.md
• Codex config: ai/codex-config.toml (model settings, copied to ~/.codex/config.toml)
• Commands: ai/commands (symlinked to ~/.codex/prompts, ~/.claude/commands, ~/.cursor/commands)
• Skills: Installed globally via npx skills add --global <skill>

Bootstrap wires the symlinks and installs global skills.

Global Skills (installed by bootstrap)

Skills are installed globally to ~/.agents/skills/ from public registries:

# From steipete/agent-scripts
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@video-transcript-downloader
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@brave-search
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@nano-banana-pro
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@openai-image-gen
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@create-cli
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@frontend-design
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@instruments-profiling
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@markdown-converter
npx skills add --global -y steipete/agent-scripts@native-app-performance

# From other registries
npx skills add --global -y vercel-labs/agent-browser@agent-browser
npx skills add --global -y chrisrodz/dotfiles@polishing-issues
npx skills add --global -y resend/resend-skills@resend

To find and add more skills: npx skills find <query> then npx skills add --global -y <owner/repo@skill>

AI Coding Assistants

• claude-code - Global Claude Code CLI installed via Homebrew for Anthropic workflows
• codex-cli - Global OpenAI Codex CLI installed via Homebrew for Codex CLI tooling