Dotfiles - Sway Desktop Environment

A complete keyboard-driven desktop setup for Arch Linux featuring Sway compositor, Waybar status bar, and productivity-focused applications.

Screenshots

Components

Core Desktop

• Window Manager: Sway (i3-compatible, Wayland)
• Status Bar: Waybar with custom modules
• Terminal: Kitty
• Notifications: Mako
• Lock Screen: Swaylock
• Shell: ZSH with modular configuration

Applications

• Email: mutt + offlineimap templates
• Music: MPD + ncmpcpp
• File Manager: ranger
• Text Editor: vim with plugins

Theming

• Wallpaper: Generated using bin/catppuccin_wallpaper.py script
• GTK: Catppuccin theme via catppuccin/gtk
• Qt: Configured using qt5ct and qt6ct
• Theme Tools: nwg-look for GTK3/4 theme management

Installation

Prerequisites

Arch Linux (other distributions require package name adjustments)

Quick Setup

git clone https://github.com/okubax/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles && ~/dotfiles/dotfiles.sh install

Manual Installation

git clone https://github.com/okubax/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles
./dotfiles.sh status    # Check what will be installed
./dotfiles.sh install   # Install configurations

Required Packages

Essential

sudo pacman -S sway waybar mako swaylock wofi wl-clipboard kitty zsh ranger vim
sudo pacman -S ttf-fira-code noto-fonts noto-fonts-emoji ttf-ubuntu-font-family

Optional

sudo pacman -S mpd ncmpcpp mpc pipewire pipewire-pulse mutt offlineimap msmtp neofetch
sudo pacman -S qt5ct qt6ct nwg-look  # Theme management tools
yay -S multitail swayshot

Commands

./dotfiles.sh install          # Install all configurations
./dotfiles.sh status           # Show installation status
./dotfiles.sh uninstall        # Remove symlinks
./dotfiles.sh backup           # Create backup
./dotfiles.sh restore          # Restore from backup
./dotfiles.sh install --dry-run    # Preview changes
./dotfiles.sh install --force      # Overwrite existing files

Post-Installation

1. Set ZSH as default shell: chsh -s $(which zsh)
2. Start Sway: exec sway (from TTY) or select from display manager
3. Logout and log back in

Configuration

Key Files

• Sway: swaywm/sway/config
• Waybar: swaywm/waybar/config
• Terminal: kitty/kitty.conf
• Shell: aliases/aliases*
• ZSH: zsh/config/

Directory Structure

~/dotfiles/
├── dotfiles.sh          # Installation script
├── aliases/             # Shell aliases
├── bin/                 # Custom scripts
├── kitty/               # Terminal config
├── swaywm/              # Sway, Waybar, Mako configs
├── vim/                 # Editor configuration
├── zsh/                 # Shell configuration
│   ├── config/         # Modular ZSH configs
│   └── plugins/        # Syntax highlighting themes
├── ranger/              # File manager
├── ncmpcpp/             # Music player
└── mutt/                # Email client

ZSH Configuration

Modular setup with separate configuration files:

• history.zsh - Command history settings
• options.zsh - Shell behavior options
• completion.zsh - Tab completion system
• prompt.zsh - Command prompt
• aliases.zsh - ZSH-specific aliases
• plugins.zsh - Plugin management

Includes Catppuccin syntax highlighting themes (frappe, latte, macchiato, mocha).

Backup System

The installation script includes automatic backup functionality:

• Creates backups before overwriting existing configurations
• Manual backup/restore operations available
• Tracks backup metadata and file lists
• Graceful handling of missing files

What's Not Included

For security reasons, the following are excluded:

• SSH keys and server configurations
• Email credentials and GPG keys
• Password manager databases
• Personal scripts with sensitive information

Troubleshooting

Missing file warnings: Normal for public repositories. Use ./dotfiles.sh status to see available files.

Undo installation: Use ./dotfiles.sh restore or ./dotfiles.sh uninstall

Sway won't start: Check dependencies and logs with journalctl --user -u sway

Permission errors: Run chmod +x ./dotfiles.sh

Customization

Fork the repository and modify configurations to your needs. The modular structure allows easy customization of individual components without affecting the entire setup.

License

MIT License. Use, modify, and distribute freely.

Links

• Sway Documentation
• Waybar Configuration
• Arch Linux Installation Guide
• Improved ii IRC Setup - Guide for setting up ii IRC client