Windows 11 dotfiles

Windows 11 dotfiles managed with Chezmoi. Includes editor configs, shell profiles, app settings, and automation scripts for a reproducible setup.

What's Included

Category	Tools
Editors	Vim, Neovim, Emacs (Chemacs2 + Doom), IntelliJ IdeaVim, Sublime Text, VS Code
Shell	PowerShell 7+, Windows PowerShell 5.1, custom modules (git aliases, rclone, shortcuts, tools)
Terminal	Windows Terminal (Sauce Code Pro NF)
Desktop	Rainmeter (RSS feed), AutoHotkey (brightness keys), Auto Dark Mode (wallpaper switching)
Apps	VLC, TeXstudio, RStudio, PowerToys
Git	Global .gitignore_global (OS/IDE/build junk), LF line endings, autocrlf = input
Automation	Chocolatey install scripts, bloatware removal, registry tweaks, WSL setup

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Git Configuration
• Chezmoi Usage
• Commands
• Chocolatey
• PowerShell
• Task Scheduler
• Recover Windows Boot EFI
• PARA Drive Sync
• Application Data Restore
• Development
• License

Installation

Tip: Run these commands from the Windows PowerShell app (run as Administrator), not from Windows Terminal.

Automated Setup (Recommended)

Download and run the setup script:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cuberhaus/WinDotfiles/master/setup-dotfiles.ps1 -OutFile setup-dotfiles.ps1
.\setup-dotfiles.ps1

The script auto-elevates to admin, installs Chocolatey + Git + chezmoi, applies the dotfiles, and then prompts for an install profile:

Profile	Orchestrator	Software set
personal	windows.ps1	Full personal toolchain (Emacs, LaTeX, R, games-adjacent tools, …)
work	windows_work.ps1	Subset focused on dev work; entertainment/personal apps commented out

To skip the prompt, pass flags:

.\setup-dotfiles.ps1 -Profile work -WorkMode full      # work + extended packages
.\setup-dotfiles.ps1 -Profile work -WorkMode minimal   # work, essentials only
.\setup-dotfiles.ps1 -Profile personal

After setup, configure your personal information:

cd $HOME\.local\share\chezmoi
.\fix-chezmoi-config.ps1

This prompts you for email/name/GitHub username and updates your git configuration. (Re-running setup-dotfiles.ps1 will not clobber the resulting chezmoi.toml.)

Authenticate with GitHub CLI (required for cloning private repos):

gh auth login

This enables passwordless git operations using GitHub CLI as the credential helper.

No Reboot Required

The orchestrators refresh the session's environment variables in-process via Invoke-RefreshEnv, so Vim, Emacs, pipenv, and the other post-install steps run inline. A reboot is only needed for:

• WSL (after the feature is enabled the first time)
• The Caps Lock ↔ Escape keyboard remap (takes effect on next sign-in)

Git Configuration

Chezmoi applies a global .gitconfig with these QoL settings:

Setting	Value	Purpose
core.excludesfile	~/.gitignore_global	Ignores OS junk (Thumbs.db, .DS_Store), IDE dirs (.idea/, .vscode/), build artifacts, and more across all repos
core.autocrlf	input	Converts CRLF → LF on commit; avoids phantom diffs on Windows

The global gitignore covers:

• OS files — .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, Desktop.ini, $RECYCLE.BIN/
• Editors/IDEs — .vscode/, .idea/, *.swp, *.swo, *~, .sublime-*, .project, .settings/
• Python — __pycache__/, *.py[cod], .venv/, venv/, .env
• Node — node_modules/
• Build artifacts — *.o, *.obj, *.exe, *.dll, *.so, *.dylib
• Logs — *.log, npm-debug.log*

Note: All repos should also have their own .gitattributes with * text=auto eol=lf to enforce LF endings at the repo level.

Chezmoi Usage

A Makefile is included for common operations. Run make help for the full list, or use chezmoi directly:

Command	Description
chezmoi apply -v	Apply dotfiles to home directory
chezmoi diff	Preview pending changes
chezmoi re-add	Update source state from modified home files
chezmoi edit --apply <file>	Edit a managed file and apply immediately
chezmoi git add . && chezmoi git commit -m "msg" && chezmoi git push	Commit and push changes
chezmoi upgrade	Upgrade chezmoi to latest version

You can customize the dotfiles by editing the files in ~/.local/share/chezmoi. Learn more about source state attributes in the Chezmoi reference.

Make targets

The Makefile works on Windows and Linux (cross-platform shell + pwsh). Targets that require Windows-specific tools error with a clear message on Linux.

Group	Target	Description
Chezmoi	make apply	Apply dotfiles to home directory
Chezmoi	make dry-run	Simulate apply and show what would change
Chezmoi	make diff / status / update / re-add / cd	Common chezmoi operations
Quality	make lint	Parse-check every .ps1/.psm1
Quality	make analyze	Run PSScriptAnalyzer (errors fail; warnings reported)
Quality	make test	Run Pester tests under tests/
Quality	make check	Run lint + analyze + test
Setup	make doctor	Report missing tools (chezmoi, git, pwsh, choco/winget on Windows)
Setup	make hooks	Install git pre-commit hook (gitleaks secret scan on staged files)
Windows	make install	Run the full Windows installation (prompts for personal vs work, then minimal vs full on work)
Windows	make install-personal	Personal install, skips the profile prompt
Windows	make install-work	Work install, still prompts for minimal vs full
Windows	make install-work-full	Work install, full subset, no profile prompts
Windows	make install-unattended	Fully non-interactive (work + minimal, all per-step prompts default to OFF)
Windows	make upgrade	Upgrade chezmoi via Chocolatey

make doctor is a good first check on a new machine. Run it before make install to catch missing prerequisites early.

All install* targets route through setup-dotfiles.ps1 (auto-elevates, installs Chocolatey + Git + chezmoi, syncs workspace files, then runs the chosen orchestrator). The per-step prompts (Caps/Esc, Emacs + Doom, clone personal repos) still apply unless you pass -Unattended or override individually \u2014 see Interactive prompts during install below.

Commands

Run aliases in PowerShell to open all profile and module files for editing. Key shell functions:

Command	Description
update	Upgrade Chocolatey packages and Windows
updateall	Upgrade everything including Vim plugins
cleanup	Run choco-cleaner and Vim plugin cleanup
sudo / su	Launch an elevated PowerShell window
g, ga, gc, gs, gp	Git shortcuts (git, add, commit, status, push)
pull, fetch, yolo	Recursive git operations across all repos
cr	cd to ~/repos
ce <file>	chezmoi edit --apply shortcut
vim	Launches Neovim

Chocolatey

Upgrade packages

choco upgrade all

List installed packages

choco list

PowerShell

All profiles source a single shared config at ~/.local/scripts/profile_common.ps1. This works for both PowerShell 7+ and Windows PowerShell 5.1, and across Documents and OneDrive folder locations.

To check which profile is being loaded:

$PROFILE | Format-List -Force

Task Scheduler

To add a task at login, use the schtasks command. Example:

schtasks /create /tn "TaskName" /tr "command" /sc onlogon

Note: If user and computer name differ, you may need to adjust the task's user account via the Task Scheduler GUI.

Recover Windows Boot EFI

Emergency procedure to restore a missing Windows boot entry. Video guide.

c:\windows is your healthy Windows installation. v: is the EFI partition:

bcdboot c:\windows /s v: /f UEFI

PARA Drive Sync

Helpers for keeping a local PARA folder tree in sync with a Google Drive Stream mount, with safe handling of .gdoc/.gsheet pointers and emoji/accented paths. See docs/DRIVE_SYNC.md.

Application Data Restore (rclone)

Both orchestrators run a small set of Invoke-Step calls after the package installs to restore user data from a Google Drive backup via rclone. Each step delegates to the matching rclonepull_* helper in home/dot_local/scripts/modules/my_rclone.psm1 so paths and rclone flags live in one place.

App	Profile	Drive source	Local destination
Thunderbird	personal + work	drive:4 Archive/rcloneBackups/Thunderbird/	%APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles
Anki	personal only	drive:4 Archive/rcloneBackups/Anki/	%APPDATA%\Anki2\
Calibre	personal only	drive:4 Archive/rcloneBackups/Calibre/Calibre Library	%USERPROFILE%\Calibre Library

The work bootstrap only wires Thunderbird because work_full_install doesn't install Anki / Calibre; the Thunderbird step itself self-skips on a work box that doesn't have it either, so it's a safe no-op.

Each step is defensive and skips cleanly when any precondition is missing: no rclone on PATH, no drive: rclone remote configured, the app isn't installed, or the app is currently running. The bootstrap cannot create the Drive remote because Google requires an interactive OAuth flow — the first time you hit a missing remote you get a one-time yellow banner with the exact recipe:

rclone config        # add a Google Drive backend named exactly 'drive'

Then re-run setup-dotfiles.ps1, or call rclonepull_thunderbird / rclonepull_anki / rclonepull_calibre directly from any shell. Push direction (rclonepush_*, rclone_sync_push_*) stays manual to avoid clobbering the remote.

Interactive prompts during install

A handful of steps ask before running so you can decline heavy / personal-only work without editing the script. Each one also takes an explicit flag for unattended runs:

Step	Personal	Work	Function param	Orchestrator flag
Caps Lock ↔ Escape	yes	yes	registry -SwapCapsEscape $true/$false	-SwapCaps $true/$false
Emacs + Chemacs2 + Doom	yes	n/a	emacs_install -Install $true/$false	-InstallEmacs $true/$false
Clone personal repos	yes	yes	clone -Clone $true/$false	-CloneRepos $true/$false

Pass -Unattended to skip every prompt and default all three to off (matches the existing $SwapCaps = $false behaviour). Pass any of the explicit flags individually to override one without touching the others.

Cuberhaus Workspace Integration

The VS Code multi-root workspace at $env:USERPROFILE\cuberhaus (where all ~50 sibling git repos are cloned) is not itself a git repo, so any files placed at its root would be untracked. The cuberhaus-workspace/ folder is the git-tracked source of truth for those files (workspace-level AGENTS.md, the /init-repo skill that scaffolds per-repo AGENTS.md).

make sync-workspace            # copy sources -> ~\cuberhaus (idempotent)
make sync-workspace-dry-run    # preview without writing

The sync also removes the legacy 15-byte .github\copilot-instructions.md stub that pointed at a non-existent ../.cursorrules. See cuberhaus-workspace/README.md for the file list and how to add new ones.

Development

CI runs PSScriptAnalyzer and Pester on every push. Both can be run locally:

Invoke-ScriptAnalyzer -Path . -Recurse -Settings .\PSScriptAnalyzerSettings.psd1
Invoke-Pester ./tests -Output Detailed

The VS Code PowerShell extension auto-discovers PSScriptAnalyzerSettings.psd1 at the workspace root, so editor warnings match CI.

License

MIT.