jbranchaud/dotfiles

✨ My dev setup

2

stars

4,179

commits

Lua

primary language

Aug 10, 2026

updated

doriankarter.com

README

▓█████▄  ▒█████  ▄▄▄█████▓  █████▒██▓ ██▓    ▓█████   ██████
▒██▀ ██▌▒██▒  ██▒▓  ██▒ ▓▒▓██   ▒▓██▒▓██▒    ▓█   ▀ ▒██    ▒
░██   █▌▒██░  ██▒▒ ▓██░ ▒░▒████ ░▒██▒▒██░    ▒███   ░ ▓██▄
░▓█▄   ▌▒██   ██░░ ▓██▓ ░ ░▓█▒  ░░██░▒██░    ▒▓█  ▄   ▒   ██▒
░▒████▓ ░ ████▓▒░  ▒██▒ ░ ░▒█░   ░██░░██████▒░▒████▒▒██████▒▒
▒▒▓  ▒ ░ ▒░▒░▒░   ▒ ░░    ▒ ░   ░▓  ░ ▒░▓  ░░░ ▒░ ░▒ ▒▓▒ ▒ ░
░ ▒  ▒   ░ ▒ ▒░     ░     ░      ▒ ░░ ░ ▒  ░ ░ ░  ░░ ░▒  ░ ░
░ ░  ░ ░ ░ ░ ▒    ░       ░ ░    ▒ ░  ░ ░      ░   ░  ░  ░
  ░        ░ ░                   ░      ░  ░   ░  ░      ░
░

:sparkles: My Fork of Dorian's Dotfiles :sparkles:


This is my slight variation on Dorian's Dotfiles. Dorian does an excellent job meticulously maintaining and updating those and you should start by looking there first.

screenshot image image

Feel free to "steal" anything you want, and if you have a question please open an issue.


Dependencies

The goal is to have all dependencies for the config automatically installed with the setup script. More details can be found by reading the following files:

[!NOTE] The setup script relies on Taskfile! A modern alternative to make There are still some steps that have not been migrated, but will be soon

Gotchas for NeoVim setup:

  • All runtime dependencies, including neovim itself are installed via Mise
  • Tools such as formatters, LSPs, linters are automatically installed via :Mason, if one of the deps is not installing make sure to open :Mason to see the full error message.
  • Make sure to run :checkhealth to know if you are missing anything

Staying in Sync

As I develop on the main branch, I want to stay in sync with upstream changes that Dorian continues to make to his original repo. To facilitate that, I have a script that handles the fetching, merging, pushing, etc.

./sync-with-upstream.sh

Even if you run into a merge conflict, the script should still be re-runnable. Fix the conflict and then invoke it again.

Installation

Easy -- clone the repo and run the setup script

cd <some-base-dir>
git clone git@github.com:jbranchaud/dotfiles.git
cd dotfiles
./setup.sh

Synchronizing

The dotfiles get updated often, and with that some new tools and configurations might be added.

In order to keep the dotfiles up to date, I recommend running the following:

git pull # get latest
task sync # installs/updates tools and symlinks new configs

Note about forking/versioning

I generally don't recommend using other people's dotfiles, at least not when you're just starting with Vim.. these are customized to my personal taste and preferences, and are subject to change at any time.

Instead consider forking kickstart.nvim, which is modern and very minimal, and using it as your base to build upon. Alternatively, there are some great NeoVim distributions out there such as Lazy.nvim, LunarVim, AstroVim, and NVChad.

Versioning

My dotfiles are now automatically (and semantically) versioned and contain a Changelog! The main branch will be continuously updated, and you can use git tags to check out specific versions.

[!WARNING] I do my best try to keep a good git hygiene. The versioning script I use here follows conventional commits to determine the semantic versioning. However, I may still inadvertently introduce a breaking change without a warning. The best course of action might be to have an independent fork and follow the changelog + rebase often - otherwise it could become painful to keep up (I update my dots all the time to keep things fresh and fight entropy).

Releases and versioning is done using Release Please, GitHub Actions, and Conventional Commits


FAQ

Q: Why are things named without a dot at the beginning? A: It makes it easier to include files in this repo if they are not named exactly how they would be when symlinked over (I symlink the files here to my home directory). e.g. if I want to include the global `.gitignore` in this repo it will override this repo's `.gitignore`.
Q: Why are both Mise and Homebrew used? A: [Mise](https://mise.jdx.dev) was recently introduced to manage runtimes - it is an alternative to ASDF and it's super fast (at least compared to ASDF's bash implementation). Furthermore, it is [more secure](https://github.com/jdx/mise/blob/main/SECURITY.md).

Runtimes include things you need to run your app, such as Elixir, Erlang, Ruby, Go, Python etc. Mise does that well and uses a mise.toml in your project directory as an alternative to the .tool-versions - although it does support .tool-versions spec too.

Mise has multiple backends, and you should read a little about these to get the most benefit out of using Mise. Specifically learn about:

  • Aqua
  • Github
  • Cargo There are others too - but these are the ones I use the most. UBI is especially cool!

Mise also excels at managing binaries and CLIs and updating them to their latest versions - for that reason I switched pretty much every CLI I use to be installed with Mise - as long as I could find it or make Mise know about it (e.g. via UBI).

However, not all tools are available via Mise, and some are simply not something Mise particularly excels in: compile libs, Casks (aka UI apps) - those are still managed with Homebrew (or in the case of Debian based distros - apt) - at least for now!

Contributors

(top 30 of 50)

dkarter

3,716 commits

renovate[bot]

156 commits

jbranchaud

113 commits

jbranchaud/dotfiles

✨ My dev setup

2

stars

4,179

commits

Lua

primary language

Aug 10, 2026

updated

doriankarter.com

README

▓█████▄  ▒█████  ▄▄▄█████▓  █████▒██▓ ██▓    ▓█████   ██████
▒██▀ ██▌▒██▒  ██▒▓  ██▒ ▓▒▓██   ▒▓██▒▓██▒    ▓█   ▀ ▒██    ▒
░██   █▌▒██░  ██▒▒ ▓██░ ▒░▒████ ░▒██▒▒██░    ▒███   ░ ▓██▄
░▓█▄   ▌▒██   ██░░ ▓██▓ ░ ░▓█▒  ░░██░▒██░    ▒▓█  ▄   ▒   ██▒
░▒████▓ ░ ████▓▒░  ▒██▒ ░ ░▒█░   ░██░░██████▒░▒████▒▒██████▒▒
▒▒▓  ▒ ░ ▒░▒░▒░   ▒ ░░    ▒ ░   ░▓  ░ ▒░▓  ░░░ ▒░ ░▒ ▒▓▒ ▒ ░
░ ▒  ▒   ░ ▒ ▒░     ░     ░      ▒ ░░ ░ ▒  ░ ░ ░  ░░ ░▒  ░ ░
░ ░  ░ ░ ░ ░ ▒    ░       ░ ░    ▒ ░  ░ ░      ░   ░  ░  ░
  ░        ░ ░                   ░      ░  ░   ░  ░      ░
░

:sparkles: My Fork of Dorian's Dotfiles :sparkles:


This is my slight variation on Dorian's Dotfiles. Dorian does an excellent job meticulously maintaining and updating those and you should start by looking there first.

screenshot image image

Feel free to "steal" anything you want, and if you have a question please open an issue.


Dependencies

The goal is to have all dependencies for the config automatically installed with the setup script. More details can be found by reading the following files:

[!NOTE] The setup script relies on Taskfile! A modern alternative to make There are still some steps that have not been migrated, but will be soon

Gotchas for NeoVim setup:

  • All runtime dependencies, including neovim itself are installed via Mise
  • Tools such as formatters, LSPs, linters are automatically installed via :Mason, if one of the deps is not installing make sure to open :Mason to see the full error message.
  • Make sure to run :checkhealth to know if you are missing anything

Staying in Sync

As I develop on the main branch, I want to stay in sync with upstream changes that Dorian continues to make to his original repo. To facilitate that, I have a script that handles the fetching, merging, pushing, etc.

./sync-with-upstream.sh

Even if you run into a merge conflict, the script should still be re-runnable. Fix the conflict and then invoke it again.

Installation

Easy -- clone the repo and run the setup script

cd <some-base-dir>
git clone git@github.com:jbranchaud/dotfiles.git
cd dotfiles
./setup.sh

Synchronizing

The dotfiles get updated often, and with that some new tools and configurations might be added.

In order to keep the dotfiles up to date, I recommend running the following:

git pull # get latest
task sync # installs/updates tools and symlinks new configs

Note about forking/versioning

I generally don't recommend using other people's dotfiles, at least not when you're just starting with Vim.. these are customized to my personal taste and preferences, and are subject to change at any time.

Instead consider forking kickstart.nvim, which is modern and very minimal, and using it as your base to build upon. Alternatively, there are some great NeoVim distributions out there such as Lazy.nvim, LunarVim, AstroVim, and NVChad.

Versioning

My dotfiles are now automatically (and semantically) versioned and contain a Changelog! The main branch will be continuously updated, and you can use git tags to check out specific versions.

[!WARNING] I do my best try to keep a good git hygiene. The versioning script I use here follows conventional commits to determine the semantic versioning. However, I may still inadvertently introduce a breaking change without a warning. The best course of action might be to have an independent fork and follow the changelog + rebase often - otherwise it could become painful to keep up (I update my dots all the time to keep things fresh and fight entropy).

Releases and versioning is done using Release Please, GitHub Actions, and Conventional Commits


FAQ

Q: Why are things named without a dot at the beginning? A: It makes it easier to include files in this repo if they are not named exactly how they would be when symlinked over (I symlink the files here to my home directory). e.g. if I want to include the global `.gitignore` in this repo it will override this repo's `.gitignore`.
Q: Why are both Mise and Homebrew used? A: [Mise](https://mise.jdx.dev) was recently introduced to manage runtimes - it is an alternative to ASDF and it's super fast (at least compared to ASDF's bash implementation). Furthermore, it is [more secure](https://github.com/jdx/mise/blob/main/SECURITY.md).

Runtimes include things you need to run your app, such as Elixir, Erlang, Ruby, Go, Python etc. Mise does that well and uses a mise.toml in your project directory as an alternative to the .tool-versions - although it does support .tool-versions spec too.

Mise has multiple backends, and you should read a little about these to get the most benefit out of using Mise. Specifically learn about:

  • Aqua
  • Github
  • Cargo There are others too - but these are the ones I use the most. UBI is especially cool!

Mise also excels at managing binaries and CLIs and updating them to their latest versions - for that reason I switched pretty much every CLI I use to be installed with Mise - as long as I could find it or make Mise know about it (e.g. via UBI).

However, not all tools are available via Mise, and some are simply not something Mise particularly excels in: compile libs, Casks (aka UI apps) - those are still managed with Homebrew (or in the case of Debian based distros - apt) - at least for now!

See what people are saying

Contributors

(top 30 of 50)

dkarter

3,716 commits

renovate[bot]

156 commits

jbranchaud

113 commits

Languages

Lua

39.6%

Shell

35.0%

TypeScript

14.9%

Python

2.8%

Vim Script

2.5%

Tree-sitter Query

1.9%

JavaScript

1.4%