EJ Fox Dotfiles Configuration

Personal terminal environment optimized for minimalist productivity and AI-enhanced workflows.

Overview

A comprehensive dotfiles configuration emphasizing geometric aesthetics, functional minimalism, and modern CLI tools. Built around the philosophy of distraction-free computing with intelligent automation.

Core Philosophy

Geometric symbols throughout interface (◆ ◇ ○ ▪ ─)
Theme-agnostic design (adapts to light/dark mode automatically)
Zen mode for deep focus across all applications
Modern CLI tools replacing legacy Unix commands
AI integration for context-aware assistance

Shell Configuration

ZSH (.zshrc)

Primary shell configuration with modern enhancements:

Key Features:

Oh My Zsh with Powerlevel10k prompt
Ruby environment via rbenv (replaced RVM)
Email workflow integration
Modern CLI aliases (lsd, bat, dust, duf, btop)
Lazy-loaded tools (conda, zoxide, atuin) for performance
Smart git commit with LLM integration
UV Python package management

Notable Aliases:

alias l='lsd -lah'           # Enhanced ls with icons
alias c='clear && refresh'   # Clear and refresh
alias m='neomutt'           # Email client
alias ei='email-insights'    # AI email analysis
alias commit='...'          # LLM-powered git commits

Startup Script (.startup.sh)

AI-powered Message of the Day system providing contextual information:

Components:

Tasks - Integration with Things CLI
Calendar - icalBuddy for today's events
Recent Work - Git repositories from ~/code
Recent Notes - Obsidian markdown files
Email Summary - AI-filtered unread messages
AI Insights - Personalized productivity suggestions (cached 3hr)

Intelligence Features:

Filters out financial spam automatically
Categorizes emails (🤖 dev, ⚠️ urgent, 📅 calendar)
Skips in tmux sessions unless forced
Background email sync
Zen mode aware

Zen Mode (.zen-mode.sh)

System-wide minimal interface toggle:

Hides menu bars and dock
Disables notifications
Creates `/tmp/.zen-mode-state` flag
Integrates with tmux, nvim, and startup script

Terminal & Multiplexer

Tmux (.tmux.conf)

Minimalist terminal multiplexer configuration:

Visual Design:

No colors (theme-agnostic)
Geometric pane count indicators (⚌ ☰ ⚍ ⚏ ☷)
Centered window list
Subtle arrow indicators for active pane
Prefix indicator: ◼ (when active)

Key Bindings:

Prefix: C-a
Windows: Alt+h/l (prev/next)
Panes: hjkl (vim-style)
Resize: HJKL (capital letters)
Split: - (horizontal), _ (vertical)

Email System

Neomutt + mbsync

Complete email workflow with AI enhancement:

Setup:

mbsync for Gmail IMAP sync
Neomutt as terminal email client
Keychain integration for secure auth
Background auto-sync

AI Features:

Email subject filtering and cleanup
Automatic categorization
Spam/financial email removal
Inbox insights and priority analysis
Per-email AI summarization (Press 'S')

Workflow:

m           # Open neomutt
ei          # AI inbox analysis
1-4         # Quick filters (unread, replied, sent, flagged)
/           # Search
gg/G        # First/last email
S           # AI summarize current email

Development Environment

Neovim

LazyVim configuration with minimal aesthetics:

Auto dark/light mode switching
Zen mode integration
Minimal statusline
Hardtime plugin for vim skill building

Git Integration

Smart commit messages via LLM
Git status in sketchybar
LFS support for large files
Conventional commit formatting

Modern CLI Tools

Replacements for traditional Unix commands:

lsd → ls (with icons and colors)
bat → cat (syntax highlighting)
dust → du (disk usage visualization)
duf → df (disk free with graphs)
btop → top (modern system monitor)
zoxide → cd (smart directory jumping)
atuin → history (encrypted shell history)

Application Configurations

Ghostty Terminal

Modern terminal emulator settings:

Opacity and blur effects
Font: SF Mono
Theme synchronization
Performance optimizations

Sketchybar

macOS menu bar replacement:

Git status indicators
Battery with percentage
Productivity metrics
Claude usage tracking
Minimal aesthetic matching tmux

File Management

Yazi - Terminal file manager without color distractions
Btop - System monitor with transparent background

Automation & Intelligence

LLM Integration

AI enhancement throughout the system:

Startup insights with CIPHER persona
Email categorization and summarization
Commit message generation
Context-aware suggestions

Background Processes

Email sync every 60 seconds
Git status updates
Theme synchronization
Cache management (3-hour cycles)

Installation & Sync

Repository: https://github.com/ejfox/dotfiles

Setup Process:

git clone https://github.com/ejfox/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles
cd ~/.dotfiles
./sync-dotfiles.sh

Dependencies:

Oh My Zsh + Powerlevel10k
Homebrew packages (neomutt, mbsync, llm, etc.)
LLM CLI tool with OpenAI API
Things app for task management
Obsidian for note-taking

Security Notes

No secrets committed to repository
Passwords stored in macOS Keychain
App-specific passwords for Gmail
Secure email authentication via keychain lookup commands

Recent Updates

Latest improvements include:

Email system with AI filtering
Rbenv migration from RVM
Enhanced startup script with email integration
Monochrome neomutt configuration
Background sync automation
Improved repo detection in startup

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