Dotfiles

Personal dev environment config for macOS.

Structure

home/           → ~/          (.zshrc, .gitconfig, .gemrc, .railsrc, .editorconfig)
config/         → ~/.config/  (starship.toml)
library/        → ~/Library/Application Support/  (ghostty)

Drop a file in the right folder and setup.sh symlinks it automatically.

Fresh Mac Setup

# 1. Clone
git clone git@github.com:mattsafaii/dotfiles.git ~/.dotfiles
cd ~/.dotfiles

# 2. Symlink configs
bash setup.sh

# 3. Install packages
brew bundle

# 4. Set macOS preferences
bash .macos

# 5. Restore app settings from iCloud
mackup restore

Updating

# After installing/removing a Homebrew package
brew bundle dump --file=~/.dotfiles/Brewfile --force

# After changing app settings
mackup backup --force

# After any change
cd ~/.dotfiles && git add -A && git commit -m "description" && git push

Shell Aliases

Navigation

Alias	Command
..	cd ..
...	cd ../..
....	cd ../../..
cdc	cd ~/Code/Clients
cdp	cd ~/Code/Personal
cds	cd ~/Code/Sandbox
cdo	cd to Obsidian vault
c	clear

Git

Alias	Command
gst	git status
ga	git add
ga.	git add .
gc	git commit
gcm	git commit -m
gp	git push
gl	git pull
gco	git checkout
gd	git diff
glog	Pretty log graph

Rails

Alias	Command
rc	rails c
rdm	rake db:migrate
rdb	rake db:rollback
bi	bundle install

Basecamp CLI

Alias	Account
bcs	Safaii Studio (6191443)
bcz	Zonebrite Solutions (6060605)

Network

Alias	What it does
ip	Show public IP
localip	Show local IP
flush	Flush DNS cache

Finder

Alias	What it does
show / hide	Toggle hidden files in Finder
hidedesktop / showdesktop	Toggle desktop icons (for presentations)
cleanup	Recursively delete .DS_Store files

Misc

Alias	What it does
afk	Lock screen
path	Print each PATH entry on its own line
pubkey	Copy SSH public key to clipboard
zs	Reload .zshrc

Shell Functions

Function	What it does
g	Interactive add, commit, push (prompts for message)
mkd mydir	Create directory and cd into it
cdf	cd to whatever folder Finder has open
extract file.tar.gz	Extract any archive format (tar, zip, gz, bz2, dmg, rar)

What's Where

File	Purpose
home/.zshrc	Shell config, aliases, PATH
home/.gitconfig	Git settings and aliases
home/.gemrc	Skip gem docs on install
home/.railsrc	rails new defaults: sqlite3, skip-test
home/.editorconfig	Editor formatting (tabs, UTF-8, trailing whitespace)
home/.gitignore_global	Global gitignore (.DS_Store, *.swp, etc.)
home/.hushlogin	Suppress "Last login" terminal message
home/.irbrc	Ruby IRB config (history, auto-indent, cop to copy last result)
config/starship.toml	Starship prompt config
library/com.mitchellh.ghostty/config	Ghostty terminal config
.macos	macOS system preferences script
macos/set-hostname.sh	Fix hostname if macOS appended random numbers
Brewfile	Homebrew packages and casks
setup.sh	Symlink installer

macOS Preferences (.macos)

The .macos script sets these preferences. Run bash .macos to apply.

• Dark mode
• Disable autocorrect, smart quotes, smart dashes, auto-capitalization
• Expand save/print dialogs by default
• Save to disk (not iCloud) by default
• Auto-quit printer app when done
• Fast key repeat, disable press-and-hold
• Disable focus ring animation, faster window resize
• Full keyboard access (Tab works in modal dialogs)
• Spring loading with zero delay
• Dock: 34px icons, bottom, no recents, don't rearrange Spaces, fast Mission Control
• Finder: list view, path bar, status bar, no animations, search current folder, folders on top, ~/Library visible
• No .DS_Store on network/USB volumes
• Screenshots without shadows
• Password required immediately after sleep
• Activity Monitor: CPU graph in Dock icon, show all processes, sort by CPU
• Messages: no emoji substitution, no smart quotes, no spell check
• TextEdit defaults to plain text
• Photos won't auto-open when plugging in devices
• Time Machine won't prompt for new backup drives

Mackup

Mackup backs up app settings to iCloud. Config at ~/.mackup.cfg.

Managed by Mackup (app preferences): Sublime Text, iTerm2, Zed, Spotify, Zoom, etc.

Managed by dotfiles (shell/dev config): zsh, git, starship, btop, fish, ghostty, Claude Code.