dotfiles-minimal

Minimal, portable dotfiles for a /bin/sh or dash interactive shell. Designed to work across machines with minimal dependencies, though some tools (like bash) may still be used where they add value.

What's included

Category	Tools
Shell	.profile, .bashrc, .inputrc, shell functions (.functions/)
Terminal	tmux, kitty (desktop-only)
Editor	vim (vim-plug, fzf, pencil, goyo)
Email	aerc (Dracula theme)
Media	cmus, mpv, mplayer
News & RSS	newsboat
Web	curl, lynx
Dev	git (delta pager, fugitive merge tool, GPG signing)
Utilities	sc-im, remind, phetch, slrn, ag, vf1, imwheel (desktop-only)
Scripts	25 custom binaries in bin/ (audiobooks, music, news, clipboard, file management)
AI	jcode LSP/agent configuration with skills library

Requirements

• POSIX sh — dash, ash, or any POSIX-compliant shell for install/uninstall scripts
• coreutils — ln, mkdir, pwd, find, rm
• symlinks — your home directory filesystem must support them

Optional tools depend on what you have installed on a given machine. The install script skips files for tools that aren't present without failing.

Usage

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jamestomasino/dotfiles-minimal.git
cd dotfiles-minimal

# Install (link files into your home directory)
./install.sh

# Install with desktop-only configs (kitty, imwheel)
./install.sh --desktop

# Uninstall (remove symlinks and empty directories)
./uninstall.sh

Linking strategy

The install process walks the repository with find, creating symlinks for each individual file into the corresponding location in your home directory. Directories themselves are never symlinked. This prevents accidentally pulling in untracked files that may be created inside a config directory over time.

Files that are skipped during install:

• .git/ (version control)
• .gitignore
• install.sh, uninstall.sh (management scripts)
• README.md

Desktop-only entries (kitty, imwheel) are skipped unless --desktop is passed.

Directory structure

├── .profile          # Shell profile (aliases, PATH, environment)
├── .bashrc           # Bash-specific settings
├── .inputrc          # Readline configuration
├── .imwheelrc        # Mouse wheel mapping (desktop)
├── .functions/       # Shell functions (cd, fd, fda, z, etc.)
├── .config/          # XDG config files (vim, tmux, git, mpv, etc.)
├── bin/              # Custom utility scripts
├── install.sh        # Install script
├── uninstall.sh      # Uninstall script
└── README.md

Notes

• Run ./install.sh after pulling updates to pick up new or changed files.
• Existing files in your home directory are not overwritten. The installer skips them and prints a warning.
• The --desktop flag is intended for local machines. On servers or minimal systems, omit it to skip GUI-dependent configs.