Configuration

Customize the bootstrap behavior with environment variables, skip flags, and local Git overrides.

Environment Variables

Variable	Effect
ONLY_STOW=1	Skip all installers — only symlink configs
SKIP_<STEP>=1	Skip a specific step (see full list below)
APPLY_MACOS_DEFAULTS=1	Opt-in to macOS system preferences automation
EXTRA_TOOLS="pkg1 pkg2"	Additional apt packages to install alongside defaults
EXTRA_CONFLICT_FILES="path1"	Extra files to back up before stowing
BREWFILE_PATH=/path	Override the macOS Brewfile location
BREW_CLEANUP=1	Remove unlisted Homebrew packages after install

Stow-only mode

Run ONLY_STOW=1 ./bootstrap.sh to re-link configs without re-running any installers. Useful after editing a dotfile.

SKIP Flags

Use SKIP_<STEP>=1 to disable individual bootstrap steps.

Linux / macOS

Flag	Skips
SKIP_PACKAGES	Core apt packages
SKIP_MACOS	macOS Homebrew bundle
SKIP_SSH	SSH server setup
SKIP_OHMYZSH	Oh My Zsh + plugins + Powerlevel10k
SKIP_FONTS	MesloLGS Nerd Font installation
SKIP_EZA	eza (modern ls)
SKIP_NVM	Node Version Manager
SKIP_BUN	Bun runtime
SKIP_NEOVIM	Neovim AppImage
SKIP_ZOXIDE	zoxide (smart cd)
SKIP_LAZYGIT	lazygit TUI
SKIP_UV	uv (Python package manager)
SKIP_AZURE_CLI	Azure CLI
SKIP_RUST	Rust toolchain via rustup
SKIP_WSL	WSL-specific setup
SKIP_DELTA	git-delta pager
SKIP_EXTRAS	Extra CLI tools (bat, fd, etc.)
SKIP_EXTRAS_OPS	Ops tools (kubectl, helm)
SKIP_MACOS_DEFAULTS	macOS system preferences
SKIP_STOW	Symlink step
SKIP_GIT_SIGNING	1Password SSH commit signing
SKIP_GIT_CREDENTIALS	GitHub credential helper
SKIP_SHELL	Default shell change

Windows

Flag	Skips
SKIP_PACKAGES	winget package installs
SKIP_GIT_TOOLS	Git-related tool setup
SKIP_NVM	nvm-windows
SKIP_RUST	Rust toolchain
SKIP_FONTS	Font installation
SKIP_EXTRAS	Extra tools
SKIP_PROFILE	PowerShell profile linking
SKIP_LINK (or SKIP_STOW)	Dotfile symlinks/junctions

WARNING

Skipping STOW / LINK means your config files won't be updated. Only skip this if you manage symlinks manually.

Git Identity

The .gitconfig includes ~/.gitconfig.local for machine-specific overrides (this file is not tracked by git).

# ~/.gitconfig.local — add your own overrides here
[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = you@example.com

Automatic Git Configuration

Bootstrap auto-configures the following when the relevant tools are detected:

Feature	Condition	Disable with
1Password SSH signing	op-ssh-sign binary detected	SKIP_GIT_SIGNING=1
GitHub credential helper	gh CLI detected	SKIP_GIT_CREDENTIALS=1

• 1Password SSH signing — enables gpg.format=ssh for commit signing via 1Password's SSH agent
• GitHub credential helper — sets gh auth as the HTTPS credential helper for seamless git push/pull

Adding New Config Modules

To add a new tool's configuration to the dotfiles:

1. Create a directory that mirrors the home directory structure:

mkdir -p alacritty/.config/alacritty
cp ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml alacritty/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml

2. Add the directory name to STOW_DIRS in bootstrap.sh

3. Restow to activate:

stow -v -R -t "$HOME" -d "$(pwd)" alacritty

TIP

GNU Stow maps the directory structure inside each package to your home directory. A file at alacritty/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml becomes a symlink at ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml.