Learn what Dotfiles are and how use them to backup your Mac setup in a Git repository.
What you'll learn
- Saving software and system configuration in a "Dotfiles" Git repository for an upcoming computer restoration.
- Installing software in an automatable and idempotent fashion with Homebrew.
- Use of various pre-installed and new command line tools, including bat, exa, git, httpie, ls, man, and more.
- An introduction to a handful of applications (including VS Code, Alfred, Dropbox, GitKraken, and Snappy) and how they relate to Dotfiles.
- Intermediate use of Git and GitHub in the command line and in the applications, VS Code and GitKraken.
Requirements
- General use of macOS
- A GitHub account and some Git experience
Description
Our Macs* are littered with hidden "dotfiles" which maintain system and application configuration information. In this course, we will:
- learn exactly what "dotfiles" are,
- backup these files in a Git repository,
- start using tools to automate the bootstrapping process,
- and use Homebrew so our application installs are recorded in a remote repository.
This subject is big and I have many more hours of content that I'd like to create. In addition to what's currently available, I'm planning on creating two more installments. Part 2 will be about ZSH. Part 3 will be where we put it all together and restore our setup on a new OS. As new content will likely come with price increases, now is the time to enroll.
* All the work in this course is done on macOS. Much of the content will be relevant to those on Unix-like systems, and less so on Windows systems.
Who this course is for:
- Software developers looking for a geeky way of backing up one's system and setup.
- Those who may have avoided the Command Line, but are ready to take the plunge.
