etc

This contains some of my (often used) configuration settings for Mac and Linux. I hope you find it useful.

Parts

The repository is broken into a few different pieces:

bash/ - Contains my bash configuration.
zsh/ - Contains my zsh configuration.
shell-common/ - Contains support scripts used by both bash and zsh.
editrc/ - Contains an rc script used to configure editline (used in various places on the Mac).
inputrc/ - Contains an rc script used to configure readline.
gitconfig/ - Contains a couple of files that I use to help configure git.
git-addons/ - Contains a couple of git commands that I find myself using frequently.
python/ - A startup.py script for use with the Mac to enable readline support.
pair/ - Houses a script to change the author for git when doing pair programming.

Getting the Repository

Things work best when using the default install location of $HOME/projects/etc. To do this, simply run:

mkdir -p ~/projects
cd ~/projects
git clone https://github.com/jszakmeister/etc.git

You can choose to clone the repository elsewhere (~/.etc is often a useful place). However, there is a tad more work you need to do. Those steps will be explained below.

Setting up Bash

My Bash environemnt sets up quite a few things. The most noticable bit is the prompt, but it also adjusts some shell options for history, smart auto-completion, aliases, a few enviroment settings, and the PATH. At the moment, there is no way to disect it and just get the bits you want. Perhaps down the road, I'll make it more severable.

To get started, all you really need to do is add a line to your ~/.bashrc file:

source $HOME/projects/etc/bash/bashrc

That will bring in the entire environment. If you checkout out etc.git to a different location, then you need something like this:

ETC_HOME=/path/to/location
source $ETC_HOME/bash/bashrc

So if you checkout out etc.git to ~/.etc, your ~/.bashrc should contain:

ETC_HOME=$HOME/.etc
source $ETC_HOME/bash/bashrc

You'll need to exit your shell, and create a new one. That should let the new settings take affect.

Note

The default configuration expects that you're using a terminal with a dark background color. If you're using a light background, you may find the prompt to be unreadable as it uses some fairly light colors.

For the Mac

It seems that Macs don't have their shell environment setup out-of-the-box... at least with Snow Leopard or earlier. Therefore, you will need to add a ~/.bash_profile with the following text:

if [ "${BASH-no}" != "no" ]; then
        [ -r ~/.bashrc ] && . ~/.bashrc
fi

This simply checks for the existence of ~/.bashrc and sources it.

Setting up ZSH

I've also been exploring the use of ZSH. Primarily because ZSH has some better prompting capabilities. I won't waste time trying to compare Bash and ZSH. Both are great shells, and both have strengths and weaknesses.

To get started, do is add a line to your ~/.zshrc file (create the file if it doesn't exist):

source $HOME/projects/etc/zsh/zshrc

As with Bash, it will bring in the entire environment. If you checkout out etc.git a different location, then you need something like this:

ETC_HOME=/path/to/location
source $ETC_HOME/zsh/zshrc

So if you checkout out etc.git to ~/.etc, your ~/.zshrc should contain:

ETC_HOME=$HOME/.etc
source $ETC_HOME/zsh/zshrc

You'll need to exit your shell, and create a new one. That should let the new settings take affect.

Changing your Shell

ZSH is usually not the default shell. To start a ZSH, you can just run zsh. However, if you want to change your shell so that it's the default on launched, you need to run this at the command line:

chsh -s /bin/zsh

It'll ask for your password and switch the shell.

Getting PATH updates with ssh server <command>

I occasionally have the need to run a command on a server with ssh. However, I set up some tools in path that are not the default locations. To deal with that, you need to have a ~/.zshenv. If you anticipate the need to do such a thing, they you'll want to create a ~/.zshenv file that has the following:

source $HOME/projects/etc/zsh/zshenv

Or, if you have etc.git checked out elsewhere:

ETC_HOME=/path/to/location
source $ETC_HOME/zsh/zshenv

Readline

Years ago, I got hooked on being able to type a few characters, hit up, and start scrolling through all commands that started with those characters. In fact, I feel disabled at the keyboard with out it. So I've captured my configuration in inputrc/inputrc. If you desire that feature, simply create a symbolic link to the file at ~/.inputrc:

cd ~
ln -s /path/to/etc/inputrc/inputrc .inputrc

You can reload the readline settings by typing Ctrl-X Ctrl-R, but I've had a few experiences where that didn't seem to work. You may need to logout and then back in again for it to take effect.

Editline

Some applications on the Mac use editline, which is similar to readline. I have the equivalent settings in editrc/editrc. Editline seems to be less capable, so it's not a perfect match but it's close enough. Set it up by doing:

cd ~
ln -s /path/to/etc/editrc/editrc .editrc

Git Configuration

I keep some common options that I configure in gitconfig/gitconfig. They make my git environment more usable for me. Simply cut and paste what you want from there, and put it in the appropriate section of ~/.gitconfig. At some point, I'm going to write a script to help automate this process more, but for now, cut-and-paste is it.

Note

Pay close attention to excludesfile in the [core] section. It references $HOME/projects/etc/gitconfig/gitignores. Change this to the correct path, if you have etc in a different location.

Python

Only on the Mac, I set up the PYTHONSTARTUP variable to point at $ETC_HOME/python/startup.py. This simply sets up readline, so you get a decent interpreter command line interface.

bscribner / etc

etc