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Prerequisites

Before installing the dotfiles, you’ll need to ensure your system has the necessary base tools and dependencies. The requirements vary depending on which components you plan to install.

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System requirements

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Supported distributions

Arch Linux

Fully supported - Automated installation via pacman and yay

Ubuntu/Debian

Supported - Most tools available, some require manual installation
The installation script automatically detects your distribution and uses the appropriate package manager.

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Display server

If you plan to use the Hyprland desktop environment:
  • Wayland support is required
  • Hyprland is a Wayland compositor and will not work on X11
  • On Debian/Ubuntu, Hyprland requires manual compilation

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Essential tools

These tools are required for the basic dotfiles installation process:

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Base utilities

1

Install GNU Stow

GNU Stow manages symlinks from the dotfiles repository to your home directory.Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S stow
Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install stow
2

Install Git

Git is required to clone the repository and manage submodules.Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S git
Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install git
3

Install basic utilities

Core utilities for downloading and extracting packages.Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S curl wget unzip
Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install curl wget unzip

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AUR helper (Arch Linux only)

For Arch users, the installation script uses yay to install AUR packages. If you don’t have it installed, the script will install it automatically, but you’ll need base development tools: 
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
The installer will automatically install yay if it’s not present on Arch systems.

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Core shell environment dependencies

If you plan to install the core shell environment, these packages will be installed automatically, but you should be aware of them:

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Command-line tools

Arch Linux: 
yay -S zsh tmux fzf eza zoxide lazygit neovim ranger pfetch bat fd ripgrep
Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt install zsh tmux fzf neovim ranger bat fd-find ripgrep
On Ubuntu/Debian, eza, zoxide, and lazygit are not available in official repositories. The installer will download and install them automatically from their GitHub releases.

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Tool descriptions

  • zsh: Modern shell with powerful scripting capabilities
  • tmux: Terminal multiplexer for managing multiple sessions
  • fzf: Fuzzy finder for files, commands, and history
  • eza: Modern replacement for ls with colors and icons
  • zoxide: Smart directory jumper that learns your habits
  • lazygit: Terminal UI for Git commands
  • neovim: Hyperextensible Vim-based text editor
  • ranger: Console file manager with vi-key bindings
  • pfetch: Minimal system information tool
  • bat: Cat clone with syntax highlighting
  • fd: Fast and user-friendly alternative to find
  • ripgrep: Fast recursive grep alternative

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Font requirements

The dotfiles use Nerd Fonts for icon support in the terminal and status bar.
1

JetBrains Mono Nerd Font (Primary)

Arch Linux:
yay -S ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd
Ubuntu/Debian:The installer will download from the Nerd Fonts repository automatically.
2

Refresh font cache

After installing fonts, refresh the font cache:
fc-cache -fv
The installer can handle font installation for you. These are just the manual steps if you prefer to install fonts beforehand.

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Hyprland dependencies

For the complete Hyprland desktop environment:

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Core Hyprland components

Arch Linux: 
yay -S hyprland hyprpaper waybar wofi mako swaylock brightnessctl pamixer playerctl
  • hyprland: The Wayland compositor
  • hyprpaper: Wallpaper daemon for Hyprland
  • waybar: Highly customizable status bar
  • wofi: Application launcher for Wayland
  • mako: Notification daemon for Wayland
  • swaylock: Screen locker for Wayland
  • brightnessctl: Control screen brightness
  • pamixer: Pulseaudio mixer CLI tool
  • playerctl: Media player controller

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Terminal emulators

Arch Linux: 
yay -S ghostty kitty alacritty
  • ghostty: Primary terminal (now in official Arch repos)
  • kitty: GPU-accelerated terminal emulator
  • alacritty: Fast, OpenGL terminal emulator
Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt install kitty alacritty
Ghostty requires manual compilation on Ubuntu/Debian. See the Ghostty documentation for build instructions.

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System utilities

Arch Linux: 
yay -S blueman networkmanager nm-connection-editor
  • blueman: Bluetooth manager with GUI
  • networkmanager: Network connection manager
  • nm-connection-editor: NetworkManager GUI
The installer will automatically enable NetworkManager and Bluetooth services on Arch Linux.

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Development tools (optional)

The installer can set up various development environments. Here’s what you need to know:

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.NET development

Arch Linux: 
yay -S dotnet-runtime dotnet-sdk aspnet-runtime
Ubuntu/Debian: Requires adding the Microsoft repository. The installer handles this automatically.

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Go programming

Arch Linux: 
yay -S go
Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt install golang

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Rust development

Rust is installed via rustup on all platforms: 
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

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Node.js

Node.js is installed via NVM for better version management: 
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
nvm install --lts

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Bun JavaScript runtime

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

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Storage requirements

  • Minimal installation (core shell only): ~500 MB
  • Full installation (all components): ~3-5 GB
  • With development tools: Add 2-10 GB depending on selected tools
These are approximate sizes including dependencies. Actual size varies by distribution and existing packages.

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Permissions

The installation script requires root privileges to install system packages: 
sudo ./install.sh
The script detects if you’re using sudo and will properly handle user permissions for user-specific installations (like NVM, Rust, etc.).

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Pre-installation checklist

Before proceeding to installation, verify:
  • Running a supported Linux distribution (Arch or Ubuntu/Debian)
  • Have sudo privileges
  • Git, curl, and wget are installed
  • For Hyprland: Using or planning to use Wayland
  • Have at least 5 GB free disk space for full installation
  • Reviewed which components you want to install

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Next steps

Once you have the prerequisites installed, you’re ready to proceed to the Installation guide.

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