path: root/README.md

# My P(ersonal) C(omputer) Settings

I'm documenting this primarily for personal use. This reposity contains shell configs, vim configs,
emacs configs, a list of commonly used applications, and other items.

The overall goal of this repository is to reduce the time it takes to adopt a new computer and equip
it with the necessary tooling to do meaningful work.

Ironically, I prefer to use a Mac or a Linux as my personal computer, so hopefully the connotation
associated with "PCs" as Windows boxes isn't misleading.


# Python Scripts or Bash Scripts?

Let me start by saying that I enjoy shell scripting. I even love the spirit of shell scripting: a
hacker's preferred tool for quickly piecing together logic to make his or her life easier. As a
staunch supporter of building one's own tools, shell-scripting has been a staple of my programming
career for multiple years. It is, however, this same hackish spirit of POSIX shell scripting that
has motivated me to seek more robust tools.

I have decided to switch to Python scripts in lieu of shell scripts to improve the code readability
and maintainability, and write more powerful cross-platform installation and configuration scripts.
While I do worry that the switch to Python will eventually dull my knowledge of shell scripts, I
feel secure for a few reasons. Firstly, Python is widely available on most computers. Secondly, most
of my day-to-day tasks on the CLI require shell knowledge.

I am reluctant to leave the piping syntax behind, but I am encouraged by third-party Python
libraries, such as [plumbum](http://plumbum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), that are attempting to
provide this syntactic convenience to Python. This should not be seen as my farewell to Bash
scripting. That is too severe. Instead, I see this as a necessary upgrade for my tooling and my
foray into writing more sophisticated tools for myself and others.


# SSH

Here are a few useful tips for working with SSH.

## ssh_config

Instead of creating shell aliases and functions for conveniently accessing remote nodes over SSH,
edit your `~/.ssh/config` file.

Instead of doing this...

```bash
$ alias ec2='ssh -i /path/to/identity_file.pem ubuntu@<ec2-instance-public-ip>'
```

...edit your `~/.ssh/config`:

```
Host ec2
 User ubuntu
 HostName <ec2-instance-public-ip>
 IdentityFile /path/to/identity_file.pem

# Host * configuration below...
```

## sshfs

SSHFS enables seamless file transfers from your local machine to a remote machine.

To install, run:

```bash
$ brew cask install osxfuse
$ brew install sshfs
```

Assuming your remote machine is configured in your `~/.ssh/config` (see above), you can mount your
remote machine's home directory on your local machine like so:

```bash
$ mkdir ~/ec2
$ sshfs ec2:/home/ubuntu ~/ec2 -o reconnect,follow_symlinks
```

Now your remote machine's home directory can be accessed using the `~/ec2` directory. This directory
can be transparently treated as if it were an ordinary local directory. To illustrate how easy it is
to use, let's install `Vundle`, a Vim package manager, on our remote machine.

```bash
$ git clone https://github.com/VundleVim/Vundle.vim.git ~/ec2/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim
```

Voila! We now have `Vundle` installed on our ec2 instance without needing to SSH into that machine
ourselves. That's all there is to it.


# GnuPG

  1. Download public key from keyserver
  2. Transfer backed-up private key information from secure disk
  3. Create `[E]` encrypting and `[S]` signing subkeys for personal computer

## Commentary

By default `gpg2` interfaces with `gpg-agent`. `gpg` does not unless `--use-agent` is specified.
I suggest using `gpg2`, but if you must use `gpg`, add the following entry to `~/.gnupg/gpg.conf`:

```
use-agent
```

## GnuPG + Git

  1. Register newly created `[S]` signing subkey as `signingkey`
  2. Enforce commit-signing
  3. Opt into `gpg2` usage

```bash
$ git config --global user.signingkey <SIGNING_KEY>
$ git config --global commit.gpgsign true
$ git config --global gpg.program gpg2
```

## GnuPG + GPG-Agent

Setup `gpg-agent` to use password caching by adding the following entries to `~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf`:

```
default-cache-ttl 300
max-cache-ttl 3600
```


# Neovim

The following snippet fixes the `<C-h>` issue in neovim on macOS.

```
$ infocmp $TERM | sed 's/kbs=^[hH]/kbs=\\177/' > $TERM.ti
$ tic $TERM.ti
```


## True Color and Italics in tmux and vim

### TrueColor

Note: make sure that the terminal you are using supports TrueColor (hint: recent version of iTerm2 do). Also make sure that the tmux version you are using supports TrueColor (hint: versions north of 2.2 should).

At each step of the way, test TrueColor using the following shell pipeline (hint: the gradients should be smooth):

```bash
$ curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JohnMorales/dotfiles/master/colors/24-bit-color.sh | bash
```

* Terminal: recent versions of iTerm 2 should support TrueColor
* Tmux: versions 2.2 and after should support TrueColor
* NeoVim: recent versions of NeoVim should support TrueColor

Enable TrueColor in your `~/.vimrc` (already done in this repository):

```viml
set termguicolors
```


Enable TrueColor in your `~/.tmux.conf` (already done in this repository):

NOTE: This may conflict with the setting for italics. Need to verify to confirm / disconfirm this (pending).

```
set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color-italic:Tc"
```


### Italics

In the file `/configs/.tmux.conf` there is a line to add italics support to tmux:

```
set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color-italic"
```

The `$TERM` entry, `tmux-256color-italic`, will be unavailable until you add the file, `/configs/tmux-256color-italic`, to your terminal database. You can do this with the following command:

```bash
$ tic ~/pc_settings/configs/tmux-256color-italic
```


## Commonly used applications (Mac)
* Emacs OS X - text editor
* dash - provides quick access to offline documentation (use with Alfred)
* Alfred - replaces macOS Spotlight and integrates with external Apps like Dash
* iTerm 2 - substitute for standard `Terminal.app` that ships with OS X
* homebrew - CLI for procuring third-party applications
* slate.js - resize and move your windows with keyboard shortcuts
* oh my zsh - a full suite of z-shell extensions
* docker - for running containers and virtual environments
* f.lux - modulates the blue amount from the screen throughout the day


## Commonly used fonts
* Install [Hasklig](https://github.com/i-tu/Hasklig) for ligature support in Elm, Elixir, etc
* Install [Operator Mono](http://www.typography.com/blog/introducing-operator) for expressive monospaced font
* Install powerline fonts
* Install `Neotree` fonts
* add Adobe Source Code Pro font for shell and text editors

### Ligature Support

To support ligatures make sure Hasklig is installed (link at the bottom). Ensure that you are using an terminal emulator that supports ligatures. With both of these tasks completed, ligatures should function in Neovim.


## Miscellaneous notes
* Map `<CAPS_LOCK>` key to `<ESC>`
* Increase key-repeat rate
* Decrease key-repeat-delay
* Increase trackpad / mouse speed