Dotfiles

My personal development environment—a terminal descent through aesthetics and scientific computing workflows. After all, what you do is almost as important as how you look doing it. Built for quick setup on new machines and tested across macOS and Linux (no root required).

The Premise

This is an opinionated environment for R/Quarto data science work with excellent Python support. Where possible, the tools try to integrate well with each other: Neovim sends code to tmux panes running radian, vim keybindings work seamlessly across splits and panes, and macOS software integrates with terminal/CLI tools.

What's Included

Component	Purpose	Highlights
Neovim	Primary editor	LSP, Quarto, R integration, AI completion
Zsh	Shell	Oh-My-Zsh, Powerlevel10k, custom functions
Tmux	Terminal multiplexer	Vim-tmux navigation, sensible defaults
Ghostty	Terminal emulator	30+ custom shaders, because why not
direnv + uv	Python environment	Automatic venv activation, fast dependency management
R + radian	R development	Per-project radian, reticulate-compatible Python
Docker	Containerized R dev	Reproducible environment for the commitment-phobic

macOS Extras

Component	Purpose
AeroSpace	i3-like tiling window manager
SketchyBar	Custom status bar with workspace indicators
Karabiner	Advanced keyboard remapping
Borders	Window border highlighting (JankyBorders)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Git
• Zsh
• A Nerd Font (for icons—I recommend Fira Code)

Everything else installs automatically. No root access required on Linux.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/warneford/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles
./install.sh

Restart your terminal, then:

p10k configure  # Set up your prompt
nvim            # Plugins install automatically

What Gets Installed

macOS (via Homebrew):

• node, python, ripgrep, neovim, lazygit, tmux, quarto, and friends

Linux (no root needed):

• Rust toolchain → ripgrep (cargo)
• nvm → Node.js LTS
• bob-nvim → Neovim stable
• Quarto CLI (latest)
• lazygit

Both platforms:

• Oh-My-Zsh + Powerlevel10k + plugins
• Python packages (pynvim, cairosvg, pillow)
• R languageserver (if R is available)

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The Components

Neovim

Based on ThePrimeagen's init.lua, heavily customized for scientific computing.

LSP Support: Pyright (Python), R Language Server, TypeScript, Lua, Bash

Key Plugins:

• Quarto/R: quarto-nvim, nvim-r, slime (REPL integration via tmux)
• Navigation: Harpoon, Telescope, Leap
• Code: Treesitter, LSP, Conform (formatting), Trouble (diagnostics)
• Quality of Life: Supermaven (AI completion), Undotree, Zenmode
• Extras: img-clip (paste images), nabla (LaTeX preview), DAP (debugging)

Zsh

• Framework: Oh-My-Zsh
• Theme: Powerlevel10k (fast, beautiful, highly configurable)
• Plugins: git, zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-syntax-highlighting

Custom additions:

• uvinit - Initialize a project with direnv + uv
• quarto-preview - Preview with proper browser handling
• Dynamic ASCII art MOTD (because terminals should spark joy)

Tmux

Prefix: Ctrl+Space (ergonomic, doesn't conflict with vim)

Features:

• Vim-tmux-navigator: Ctrl+hjkl moves between vim splits AND tmux panes seamlessly
• Sensible window switching: Alt+1-5 for windows, Alt+n/p for next/prev
• True color: 24-bit RGB, undercurl, italics
• Smart navigation: Avoids interfering with radian/Claude Code processes
• Mouse support: Because sometimes you just want to click

See TMUX_GUIDE.md for the full reference.

Ghostty

The terminal of choice. Config includes:

• 30+ custom GLSL shaders: Bloom, starfield, matrix, CRT, galaxy, dither effects
• Shaders range from "subtle and readable" to "I am become terminal, destroyer of eyestrain"
• Background images for extra atmosphere

Python Environment

direnv + uv for automatic, fast virtual environments:

cd my-project
uvinit           # Creates .envrc + pyproject.toml, syncs deps
# direnv auto-activates venv whenever you cd into the directory

The use_uv function in direnvrc handles everything—respects .python-version, syncs from pyproject.toml or requirements.txt.

R Environment

Why radian and ipython are per-project

radian (enhanced R console) and ipython (enhanced Python REPL) are intentionally installed per-project rather than globally. This ensures reticulate uses the same Python environment as your project dependencies—critical for reproducible R↔Python workflows in polyglot Quarto notebooks.

Getting started with R

mkdir my-analysis && cd my-analysis
uvinit                    # Creates .envrc + pyproject.toml (includes radian + ipython!)
                          # Opens pyproject.toml in nvim
                          # Edit dependencies, :wq to save and sync
r                         # Alias for radian - now available in this directory

The default pyproject.toml template includes both radian and ipython, so every project gets them automatically.

radian features

Once installed in your project:

• Vi mode editing (matching nvim muscle memory)
• Alt+- inserts <- (assignment)
• Alt+m inserts |> (pipe)
• Syntax highlighting, multiline editing, 20k line history

ipython features

For Python chunks in Quarto notebooks:

• Syntax highlighting, tab completion, ? for help
• %magic commands, better tracebacks
• Handles multi-line code blocks from nvim seamlessly
• Same Python environment as your R/reticulate code

.Rprofile

Global R configuration includes:

• Posit Package Manager (fast binary packages) with CRAN fallback
• Google auth for gargle/googledrive packages

Escape hatch: For quick one-off R sessions where reticulate compatibility doesn't matter, you can run uv tool install radian to get a global radian. Just understand it won't see your project's Python packages.

Docker (Optional)

A containerized R development environment for when you want reproducibility without commitment:

# Coming soon: ./install.sh --docker

r-dev container includes:

• rocker/r-ver base (minimal R, no RStudio overhead)
• Neovim (latest), Node.js, deno, ripgrep, fzf, direnv
• Your dotfiles mounted and ready
• Quarto preview (port 9142), SSH (9143)

macOS Window Management

AeroSpace: i3-like tiling for macOS

• Workspaces 1-9 with keyboard navigation
• Accordion and tile layouts
• Focus-follows-mouse on monitor change

SketchyBar: Status bar with:

• Workspace indicators
• System monitoring (CPU, calendar)
• GitHub notifications
• Zen mode toggle

Karabiner: Complex key remapping (separate config)

Borders: Subtle window highlighting via JankyBorders

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Documentation

• KEYBINDINGS.md - Comprehensive keybinding reference (TODO: some conflicts to resolve)
• TMUX_GUIDE.md - Tmux quick reference and workflows

Customization

Adding Neovim Plugins

Create a file in nvim/.config/nvim/lua/theprimeagen/lazy/:

return {
    "author/plugin-name",
    config = function()
        -- your config here
    end,
}

Modifying Zsh

• Aliases: zsh/aliases.zsh
• Functions: zsh/functions.zsh
• Main config: zsh/.zshrc

Stow Structure

This repo uses GNU Stow for symlink management. Each directory contains the config structure as it should appear from $HOME:

dotfiles/
├── nvim/.config/nvim/     → ~/.config/nvim/
├── tmux/.tmux.conf        → ~/.tmux.conf
├── zsh/.zshrc             → ~/.zshrc
└── ...

Updating

cd ~/dotfiles
git pull
source ~/.zshrc  # or restart terminal

For Neovim plugins: :Lazy sync