Dotfiles

This repository contains both dotfile configuration and packages. The bits that are rather personal to my setup are as follows:

• Fedora host
• Nix + Home Manager
• Makefile-driven bootstrap
• Sway setup

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Personal Fedora workstation configuration.

This repo manages:

• System packages (via dnf)
• User environment (via Nix + Home Manager)
• Sway configuration
• GNOME + pop-shell keybindings (mirroring sway, for GNOME sessions)
• Waybar, mako, swaylock styling
• Shell configuration

The goal is reproducible workstation builds.

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Architecture

The machine is split into two layers:

1. Fedora (system layer)

Managed with dnf.

Includes:

• Sway compositor
• Waybar
• Mako
• Swaylock / swayidle
• Fonts
• Hardware / system utilities

System packages are listed in:

fedora/system-packages.txt

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2. Nix (user layer)

Managed with:

• Flakes
• Home Manager

Includes:

• CLI tools
• Development tooling
• Shell configuration
• Neovim
• Dotfile symlinks
• User-level config

The active profile is:

.#json0

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Dependencies

Before using this repo, you need:

• Fedora (Workstation or minimal install)
• git
• make
• dnf
• Internet access

Nix will be installed automatically by the bootstrap target if missing.

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Bootstrap a New Machine

Clone the repo:

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd dotfiles

Run:

make bootstrap

This will:

1. Install system packages via dnf
2. Install Nix (if not present)
3. Clone or update the private companion repo (make local-sync)
4. Apply Home Manager configuration

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Post-bootstrap manual steps

make bootstrap installs every package and config, but a handful of things can't be automated: interactive logins and device pairings. A rebuilt machine has the tools but not the sessions — this is the "why am I logged out?" list. Do these once per machine:

• Proton Drive — proton-drive auth login opens a browser to sign in; the session is then cached in libsecret, so you won't be asked again. After that the pdrive wrapper (and its pd alias) work. How the binary is pinned and updated lives in modules/services.nix; make audit tells you when a newer release ships.
• Signal — launch Signal, then on your phone go to Settings → Linked devices → Link new device and scan the QR code. History doesn't backfill; both devices sync forward from the link point.

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Common Commands

Install system packages:

make dnf

Apply Home Manager config:

make hm

Sync the private companion repo:

make local-sync

Full rebuild:

make bootstrap

Check for DNF drift (packages installed but not tracked):

make drift-dnf

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Sway Keybinds

Mod is the Super (Windows) key. The full keybinding list lives in sway/config; the bindings below are the ones worth knowing before you've logged in for the first time. Inside a running Sway session, Mod + / opens a searchable cheatsheet of every binding (sourced live from the config file).

Session

Keys	Action
Mod + Shift + r	Reload Sway config
Mod + Shift + q	Lock screen
Mod + Shift + s	Lock, then suspend
Mod + Shift + e	Exit Sway (back to greeter)
Mod + Shift + End	Power menu (lock / suspend / hibernate / logout / reboot / shutdown)
Mod + /	Cheatsheet of all keybinds

Apps & windows

Keys	Action
Mod + Return	Open terminal
Mod + d	Application launcher (wofi)
Mod + q	Close focused window
Mod + f	Fullscreen toggle
Mod + {h,j,k,l}	Focus left / down / up / right
Mod + Shift + {h,j,k,l}	Move window left / down / up / right
Mod + r	Enter resize mode — then hjkl to resize, Esc to exit
Mod + {1..4}	Switch to workspace 1–4

Screenshots

Keys	Action
Print	Area select → clipboard
Shift + Print	Full screen → clipboard
Mod + Print	Area select → ~/Pictures/screenshots/

Audio & media

Dedicated keys (XF86AudioRaiseVolume, XF86AudioPlay, etc.) work where the keyboard has them. For keyboards that don't, Mod + PageUp/PageDown/End cover volume and mute.

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Configuration Locations

Component	Location
Sway	sway/config
Waybar	waybar/config + style.css
Mako	mako/config
Swaylock	~/.config/swaylock/config
System packages	fedora/system-packages.txt

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Private companion repo

A few configuration files live outside this repo because they're personal enough that I don't open-source them. They sit in a private sibling repo at ~/Documents/workarea/local-config/, fetched and kept in sync by:

make local-sync

This target runs as part of make bootstrap ahead of Home Manager, because home.nix references files inside local-config/ — the clone has to land first.

If you've cloned this repo without access to the private companion, make hm and make bootstrap will fail at the local-sync step. Comment out the lines that reference local-config/ in home.nix to skip the private parts, or run the individual targets that don't depend on local-sync directly.

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Gotchas

Things that have cost me a head-scratch, written down so they cost less next time.

• The Proton Drive CLI skips Docs and Sheets. pdrive pull (and the underlying proton-drive filesystem download) quietly skip anything stored as a Proton Doc or Sheet — those live in Proton's editor in a proprietary format, not as real files. So a pull of a folder that holds only Docs finishes cleanly and downloads nothing, which looks broken but isn't. To get a Doc locally, export it from the Proton Docs web UI first. Regular files (PDFs, images, .md, …) come down fine.

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Design Principles

• Keep Fedora minimal.
• Move user tooling into Nix where possible.
• Avoid manual installs.
• Keep everything version controlled.
• Rebuildable from zero in one command.

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