Dotfiles: The Best of Both Worlds

A hybrid approach to managing configurations that combines the simplicity of GNU Stow with the power of Nix declarative configuration.

Why This Approach?

Traditional dotfiles management presents a dilemma:

• Pure symlink management (Stow) is simple but can't handle dependencies
• Pure declarative configuration (Nix) is powerful but complex for simple files

This system takes the best of both worlds:

• Stow for what it does best: transparent file management
• Nix for what it does best: reproducible environments
• Automation to tie it all together seamlessly

How It Works

• Directory Structure: Each top-level directory is a stow package (e.g., nvim/, kitty/)
• Configuration: Config files are stored in their natural paths within each package
• Integration: Each package can have a home.nix for declarative dependencies
• Environment: .env.user and .env.config define paths and preferences
• Security: git-crypt encrypts sensitive files in the secrets/ directory
• Automation: justfile provides a unified command interface for all operations

Workflows

Setup

• just restore [hostname] - Complete machine setup (hostname, Nix rebuild, stow config, Homebrew)

Daily Use

• just save - Capture and commit all configuration changes
• just configure [pkg] - Install specific package config
• just rebuild - Apply Nix system changes

Extending

• just stow [pkg] [path] - Lift an existing config file into a stow package
• just stow-nix-file [pkg] [path] - Lift a Nix-managed file into a stow package
• just update-brewfile - Update Homebrew package list

Security

• just lock-vault - Encrypt sensitive files
• just unlock-vault - Decrypt for editing

Key Benefits

• Progressive adoption: Start simple, add complexity only where needed
• Self-documenting: Directory structure documents what's configured
• Future-proof: Nix provides reproducibility, Stow provides simplicity
• Flexible: Works for both quick configs and complex environments