dotfiles-windows (WIP)

Dotfiles for Windows inspired from several other dotfiles.

Installation

Note: To make this work, you need to set your execution policy to unrestricted (or at least bypass) by running Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser from a PowerShell.

Using Git and the bootstrap script

To clone the repository, you can choose any location you prefer. I personally keep it in ~\workspace\dotfiles-windows. Once cloned, the bootstrapper script will run the setup scripts.

From PowerShell:

git clone https://github.com/abrioso/dotfiles-windows.git; cd dotfiles-windows; .\setup-scripts\setup.ps1

Git-free install

To install these dotfiles from PowerShell without Git:

iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abrioso/dotfiles-windows/main/setup-scripts/install.ps1'))

Use & Configuration

Setup Scripts

The folder "setup-scripts" contains the Powershell scripts for the instalation and bootstrap setup:

• install.ps1 : Script for Git-free installation. Downloads the dotfiles to a temporary folder and initiates the setup.
• setup.ps1 : Main bootstrap script. Installs prerequisites and runs other setup scripts using PowerShell 7.
• setup.ps7-0-prerequisites-admin.ps1 : Script to install prerequisites that require administrative privileges.
• setup.ps7-1-dsc-configs-admin.ps1 : Script to apply DSC configurations that require administrative privileges.
• setup.ps7-2-dsc-configs-user.ps1 : Script to apply DSC configurations that do not require administrative privileges.

Desired State Configuration (DSC) files

The folder "dsc-configurations" contains the DSC configuration files:

• .\dsc-configuration\0.base.configurations.yaml : Base and must-have configuration.
• .\dsc-configuration\1.hyperv.wsl.configurations.yaml : HyperV and WSL configuration.

PowerShell Profile

The following commands are executed every time you launch a new PowerShell window.

• .\components.ps1 : Load various PowerShell components and modules.
• .\functions.ps1 : Configure custom PowerShell functions.
• .\aliases.ps1 : Configure alias-based commands.
• .\exports.ps1 : Configure environment variables.
• .\extra.ps1 : Secrets and secret commands that are not tracked by the Git repository.

Also included are default configurations for Git, Mercurial, Ruby, NPM, and vim.

Private files and Secrets

You may have scripts or commands that you want to execute when loading PowerShell that you do not want committed into your own dotfiles repository, such as a place to put tokens or credentials or even your Git commit email address. For such secret commands, use .\extra.ps1.

If .\extra.ps1 exists, it will be sourced along with the other files.

My .\extra.ps1 looks something like this:

# Git credentials
# Not in the repository, to prevent people from accidentally committing under my name
Set-Environment "GIT_AUTHOR_NAME" "Andre Kakoo Brioso"
Set-Environment "GIT_COMMITTER_NAME" $env:GIT_AUTHOR_NAME
git config --global user.name $env:GIT_AUTHOR_NAME
Set-Environment "GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL" "akbrioso@iseg.ulisboa.pt"
Set-Environment "GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL" $env:GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL
git config --global user.email $env:GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL

Extras is designed to augment the existing settings and configuration. You could also use ./extra.ps1 to override settings, functions and aliases from my dotfiles repository, but it is probably better to fork this repository.

Customization

Forking your own version

If you decide to fork this repository for your own custom configuration, make sure to modify the install.ps1 file to reference your own repository instead of mine.

Within /scripts/install.ps1, modify the Repository variables.

$account = "abrioso"
$repo    = "dotfiles-windows"
$branch  = "main"

And make sure to update the git-free installation command with the URL of your own repository.

iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/$account/$repo/$branch/setup/install.ps1'))

Feedback

Suggestions/improvements are welcome and encouraged!

Author

Thanks to…

• @Anthony Cangialosi
• @Jay Harris

For the inspiration and for sharing their dotfiles:

1. https://github.com/acangialosi/dotfiles
2. https://github.com/jayharris/dotfiles-windows

Other Sources:

1. https://github.com/microsoft/devhome/tree/main/docs/sampleConfigurations/DscResources
2. https://nicksnettravels.builttoroam.com/winget-configuration/
3. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/configuration/
4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/configuration/create
5. https://github.com/microsoft/winget-create/tree/main/Tools
6. https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli
7. https://github.com/PowerShell/PSDscResources
8. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/setup/environment
9. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-home/