Dotfiles

Personal macOS dotfiles.

Quick Start

Prerequisites:

• macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
• SSH key for GitHub (setup guide)

Phase 1: Bootstrap (one-time setup)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nhessler/dotfiles/main/bin/bootstrap.sh | bash

Phase 2: Setup (packages & languages)

~/Projects/nhessler/dotfiles/bin/setup.sh

Use --skip-mas if not signed into the App Store.

Phase 3: Post-Setup (manual steps)

See docs/post-setup.md for app logins, license keys, and sync setup.

What Gets Installed

Bootstrap (Phase 1)

• Xcode Command Line Tools
• Rosetta 2 (Apple Silicon only)
• Security hardening: FileVault check, firewall, TouchID sudo
• Homebrew
• ASDF version manager
• Dotfile symlinks
• Software updates

Setup (Phase 2)

• Brewfile packages (CLI tools, casks, App Store apps)
• ASDF languages: Ruby, Erlang, Elixir, Node.js
• Fish shell (set as default)
• Nerd fonts
• macOS system defaults

Directory Structure

dotfiles/
├── bin/                    # Setup scripts
│   ├── bootstrap.sh        # Phase 1: one-time setup
│   ├── setup.sh            # Phase 2: packages & languages
│   ├── install-nerd-fonts.sh
│   └── macos-defaults.sh
├── dot-config/             # → ~/.config/
│   ├── fish/               # Shell
│   ├── git/                # Git config & hooks
│   ├── homebrew/           # Brewfile
│   ├── emacs/              # Editor
│   ├── starship/           # Prompt
│   └── ghostty/            # Terminal
├── dot-hammerspoon/        # → ~/.hammerspoon/
├── dot-claude/             # → ~/.claude/
├── caddy/                  # Local dev server (gitignored)
└── docs/                   # Additional guides

Helpers

Postgres via Docker

Run multiple Postgres versions using Docker with persistent volumes. This makes it easy to switch versions or run multiple instances on different ports.

First-time setup (create the volume directory):

mkdir -p ~/docker/volumes/postgres-17

Run Postgres:

docker run --rm --name postgres-17 -p 127.0.0.1:5432:5432 \
  -v $HOME/docker/volumes/postgres-17:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -d postgres:17-alpine

To run multiple versions, use different ports and volume directories:

# Postgres 15 on port 5433
docker run --rm --name postgres-15 -p 127.0.0.1:5433:5432 \
  -v $HOME/docker/volumes/postgres-15:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -d postgres:15-alpine

Git Commit Signing

Set up SSH commit signing for a repository:

git secure -n "Your Name" -e you@example.com -k ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Nerd Fonts

Install all Nerd Fonts (run automatically by setup.sh, or manually):

~/Projects/nhessler/dotfiles/bin/install-nerd-fonts.sh

Inspirations

• Strap - Mike McQuaid's macOS setup
• GitHub Does Dotfiles

Password Security

Resources for generating strong passphrases:

• Diceware
• EFF Passphrase Guide
• Word lists: EFF Large · EFF Short · Beale · Diceware