Technical

CLI workflows, data processing scripts, and solutions worth remembering

I've documented the process of setting these things up a new computer in my New Computer Runbook.

Ambient Information Visualization

Sketchybar replaces my top menu bar with something I can customize and script completely.

Dotfiles

Core Philosophy

Minimalist terminal configuration focused on functional beauty and distraction-free computing. Every pixel serves a purpose. Maximum functionality, minimum distraction.

Repository: github.com/ejfox/dotfiles

Modern CLI Replacements

Old	New	Purpose	My Config
ls	lsd	Better directory listings with icons	(uses default)
cat	bat	Syntax highlighting and line numbers	(uses default)
du	dust	Disk usage visualization	(uses default)
df	duf	Disk free visualization	(uses default)
top	btop	System monitoring with transparency	📁 btop/ (transparent background)

Key Configurations

Shell & Environment

Zsh with LLM integration → 📄 .zshrc (Claude integration, modern CLI aliases, Things CLI bindings)
AI-powered MOTD with contextual information → 📄 .startup.sh (LLM-generated contextual greetings based on system state)
Powerlevel10k minimal prompt → 📄 p10k.zsh (ultra-minimal, geometric symbols only)
Shell environment setup → 📄 .zprofile (API keys, development paths)

Terminal & Multiplexing

Tmux - Geometric status indicators (◆ ◇ ○ ▪ ─), vim navigation → 📄 .tmux.conf (geometric symbols, zen mode integration, subtle active pane indicators)
Ghostty - Terminal with opacity + blur effects → 📁 ghostty/ (custom transparency, theme-agnostic colors)
Hyper - Terminal configuration (backup) → 📄 .hyper.js (minimal plugin setup, opacity effects)

Editor & Tools

Neovim with LazyVim → 📁 nvim/ (zen mode keybindings, minimal statusline, canvas-sketch integration)
Yazi - Clean file manager → 📁 yazi/ (no color distractions, geometric icons only)

Development

Git - Clean setup with LFS support → 📄 .gitconfig (GitHub as CMS workflow, commit message templates)
npm - Node package manager → 📄 .npmrc (canvas-sketch and data viz focused packages)

Workflow Scripts

Zen Mode - Toggle minimal UI mode across all apps → 📄 zen-mode.sh (coordinates Sketchybar, nvim, tmux into unified minimal state)

Signature Features

Geometric symbols throughout interface (◆ ◇ ○ ▪ ─) - theme-agnostic visual language
AI-powered MOTD - contextual startup information based on calendar, git state, system metrics
LLM integration - Claude available via terminal for instant context-aware assistance
One-command zen - `zen` toggles minimal mode across all applications simultaneously
Smart status - Window counts displayed as geometric symbols (⚌ ☰ ⚍) instead of numbers
Active pane indicator - Subtle `─` underline that works in both light/dark themes
Things CLI integration - Task management directly from terminal
Personal API integration - Shell aware of personal metrics and data

Unique Approaches

Theme-agnostic design - Everything works identically in light/dark mode
Functional minimalism - Remove visual noise while preserving information density
AI-first workflow - LLM integration as core terminal feature, not afterthought
Geometric visual language - Consistent symbol system across all tools
System-wide zen mode - Coordinated minimal state across applications
Data-driven prompts - Terminal greetings based on personal API data

Quick Setup

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

Personal APIs

Git Activity - Commit patterns and project status
Archive Search - Full-text search across this wiki

Terminal Setup

Ghostty - Primary terminal with blur effects
Tmux - Session management with geometric indicators
Zsh + Powerlevel10k - Minimal prompt with git integration

Editor Configuration

Neovim - LazyVim distribution with custom zen mode
LSP Setup - Language servers for JavaScript, Python, etc.
Custom keybindings - Optimized for speed and flow

Mobile Integration

SSH Access

Termius - SSH client for iOS
Cloud VPS - Always-accessible development environment
Claude integration - AI assistance via terminal

Observable Notebooks

Work-in-progress data experiments: observablehq.com/@ejfox