My zsh, vim, tmux, etc. support file configuration. Uses a customizable configuration for zsh and vim, Pathogen for VIM components, and a few other pre-built dotfiles for common utilities like ack, git, etc.

Note that the following instructions assume you're running on a relatively recent version of Mac OSX. In particular, one that has at least a standard ruby executable that will let you install brew as described below.

You need brew to install various other dependencies. Get it via:

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

If you don't have ruby on your machine, well, maybe it's time for a new one ;).

If you already have brew you should ensure it's up to date by running:

brew update
brew doctor

The brew doctor command should run cleanly before you proceed.

On a Mac you'll need to install XCode and XCode's command line tools.

There are a couple of options for doing this from installing XCode to running xcode-select --install. Use whatever approach works best for your version of MacOS.

You'll need git so you can download the dotfiles repo. Once you have brew installed:

brew install git

To install the dotfiles start with a git clone:

git clone https://github.com/idearat/dotfiles ~/.dotfiles

Once the repository is in place run the install script from your home directory:

~/.dotfiles/install.sh

The install.sh file will invoke brew to install utilities including ack, ctags, etc. Additional steps include moving various files into backup positions, linking in dotfile versions, and checking for other tools.

A number of git submodules, mostly vim plugins, will also be installed (or updated if you run the install script multiple times).

The installer will also install an updated VIM executable to ensure that you have support for the clipboard, ruby, etc. This version of VIM is installed along with MacVim and overrides your standard system version of VIM.

Once the install script has run you will have a new set of zsh startup scripts, aliases, etc. which you can take advantage of.

To properly use the new zsh instance you'll need to do a couple of preliminary steps using the Terminal application.

If you're not already running iTerm2 I recommend installing it as a replacement for the standard MacOS Terminal application.

https://www.iterm2.com/downloads.html

Regardless of your choice of terminal open a new terminal and edit /etc/shells to ensure the brew-installed zsh is available.

You'll want to verify the path (typically /usr/local/bin/zsh).

$ which zsh
/usr/local/bin/zsh

Once you have the right path edit /etc/shells and add the path:

sudo vi /etc/shells

Once you've added the zsh to your shell options set zsh to be the default shell by typing:

chsh -s /usr/local/bin/zsh

With that change in place exit any terminals so you get a clean login that will execute the dotfiles-installed startup scripts. This should give you a set of new aliases which let you complete the rest of the steps here.

Update any submodules to be sure they're available (mostly for vim) using the subup alias:

subup

Install the powerline-fonts so you can use them in iTerm2 or Terminal:

~/.dotfiles/util/powerline-fonts/install.sh

Update iTerm2 (or Terminal) to use 'Inconsolata for Powerline' by editing the proper text preferences in that application.

Install vim via brew to be sure you have clipboard support etc.

brew install vim

Update the VIMRUNTIME value in your startup scripts (via vimit). The default value is probably something like /usr/local/share/vim/vim82 but you should change that last portion to point to the version you installed.

export VIMRUNTIME="/usr/local/share/vim/vim82"

For npm completion to work effectively you may want to execute the following:

npm completion >> ~/.zshrc

Once your default shell has been set you'll want to source your ~/.zshrc file to activate your profile in any open shells, or simply restart your terminal app(s).

source ~/.zshrc

Update your local gitconfig to use the proper username and email for your environment.

vi ~/.gitconfig   # edit name/email to proper values

If you use two-factor authentication for GitHub (and you should) you'll need to ensure your credentials are in place. Use the instructions at:

https://help.github.com/articles/caching-your-github-password-in-git/

If you use iTerm or Terminal (of course you do!) you'll want to ensure that you set your font to a Powerline-compatible font. This will help you see the full display from any Powerline status line improvements etc.

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true
killall Finder

You can list the _orig files by running:

\ls -a | grep '_orig$'

You can remove these files by running:

\ls -a | grep '_orig$' | xargs -n 1 rm