Dotfiles

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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