Folder	Links into	Examples
`home_root`	`~`	`.zshrc`, `.wezterm.lua`, `.nanorc`
`home_config`	`~/.config`	`nvim`, `zellij`, `ghostty`, `aerospace`
`windows`	Windows-only	`windows-terminal/settings.json`
`lk-installers`	n/a	helper scripts to install tooling

Linux / macOS (GNU stow)

One-shot, host-aware:

./link-dotfiles          # link only (installs stow if missing)
./link-dotfiles --apps   # fresh box: install all CLI tools, then link

It detects the host (macOS vs Linux), installs stow if missing (Homebrew on macOS; apt/dnf/pacman on Linux), then runs stow home_root and stow --target=$HOME/.config home_config. Re-running is safe — stow is idempotent.

Installing the tools

The configs assume a handful of CLI tools (bat, fd, fzf, zoxide, zellij, nvim, btop, htop, tldr, fastfetch, plus the fzf-git.sh helper). One host-aware installer covers them:

./lk-installers/install-apps     # macOS -> Homebrew; Linux -> apt + upstream

On macOS it bootstraps Homebrew if absent. It's idempotent — re-running only fills gaps. ./link-dotfiles --apps just runs this first, then links.

The zsh prompt and plugins (zinit, Powerlevel10k, autosuggestions, syntax-highlighting, completions, vi-mode, fzf-tab) self-install from .zshrc on first shell start, so they're not part of install-apps.

Windows (PowerShell)

stow doesn't run natively on Windows, so use the PowerShell equivalent. It mirrors stow by creating junctions for directories and symlinks/hardlinks for files — none of which require administrator rights:

pwsh -File .\link-dotfiles.ps1

Re-running is safe: already-correct links are skipped.
Any real file/dir that would be overwritten is moved aside to <name>.bak.
Preview without changing anything: pwsh -File .\link-dotfiles.ps1 -DryRun

The repo stays the source of truth — edit files under home_root / home_config and the linked locations update live.

Windows Terminal

windows/windows-terminal/settings.json is linked into the Terminal package folder (...\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_*\LocalState\settings.json) by link-dotfiles.ps1. Because it's linked, changes you make in the Terminal UI write straight back into this repo. The settings include the Australis color scheme and the VictorMono Nerd Font Mono profile font; install the font (see below) so glyphs render.

Prompt

zsh uses Powerlevel10k — loaded through zinit straight from .zshrc, with the instant-prompt preamble near the top for fast startup. The theme config lives at home_root/.p10k.zsh (stowed to ~/.p10k.zsh); there's no separate installer — zinit fetches it on first shell start.

PowerShell uses starship (configured separately).

Both expect a Nerd Font v3 (e.g. VictorMono Nerd Font Mono) installed and selected in your terminal for glyphs to render.