How to Set Up Dotfiles with GNU Stow on Arch Linux

Managing configuration files doesn’t have to be messy. With GNU Stow, I can keep my dotfiles organized, modular, and easy to update—perfect for anyone running Arch Linux on a server (or desktop).

What I'll Need

• An Arch Linux installation
• git and stow installed
• Sudo or root privileges

To get started, make sure these tools are present:

sudo pacman -S git stow

Cloning my Dotfiles Repo

Pick a spot for my dotfiles (I prefer them in ~/Projects/dotfiles). Clone my repository:

git clone https://github.com/vijayboopathy/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
cd ~/dotfiles

Setting Up my Dotfiles Directory

For Stow to work its magic, put each application's config files in their own folder. Here’s a sample layout:

dotfiles/
 ├── bash/
 │     ├── .bashrc
 │     └── .bash_profile
 ├── i3/
 │     └── .config/i3/config
 ├── kitty/
 │     └── .config/kitty/kitty.conf
 ├── rofi/
 │     └── .config/rofi/config.rasi
 ├── i3blocks/
 │     └── .config/i3blocks/i3blocks.conf
 └── ...

Pro tip: If things aren’t structured like this in the repo, take a minute to tidy them up. It’ll save a lot of headaches later.

Symlinking with Stow

Now, it’s time to put Stow to work. From inside the dotfiles directory, run the following for each group of configuration files:

cd ~/dotfiles
stow -t ~ bash
stow -t ~ i3
stow -t ~ kitty
stow -t ~ rofi
stow -t ~ i3blocks

Stow will create symlinks in my home directory. For example, ~/dotfiles/bash/.bashrc becomes ~/.bashrc. If I want to remove a set of links, just run:

stow -D i3

Installing the Recommended Packages

To get the most out of my configurations, I’ll want to have the following packages installed:

sudo pacman -S i3-wm i3blocks rofi kitty feh pipewire pipewire-pulse \
  maim xclip xdotool nvidia-utils htop ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols

For AUR packages, I’ll need an AUR helper. If I don’t have paru yet:

yay -S paru

Extra Manual Steps

A few things might need my attention after everything’s in place:

• Make sure scripts are executable:

  chmod +x ~/.config/scripts/*

• Double-check hardware-specific settings (for example, NVIDIA configs if I monitor my GPU)
• Verify wallpaper files such as ~/Pictures/Wallpapers/wallpaper1.jpg exist
• If I use custom audio setups, list devices:

  pactl list sinks

• Edit or tweak scripts in ~/.config/scripts/ for my resource monitors or audio preferences

Keeping Up to Date

Whenever I update my dotfiles and want to pull in the changes:

cd ~/dotfiles
git pull
stow 

A Few Final Tips

• Always back up my original configs before I start. It’s easy:

  cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.backup
  cp -r ~/.config ~/.config.backup

• Got conflicts with existing symlinks? Use stow -v for detailed output and guidance.

With my configurations sorted, managing and syncing settings across machines is much less stressful. Stow helps keep things tidy and portable, and my future self will thank myself.

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Neovim Shortcuts

Leader key: <Space>

General

Key	Mode	Description
<leader>cd	Normal	Open file explorer (Ex mode)
<leader>e	Normal	Show diagnostic error (float)
<leader>f	Normal/Visual	Format buffer
jj / jk	Insert	Escape to normal mode

Git

Key	Mode	Description
<leader>gg	Normal	Open LazyGit

Search (Telescope)

Key	Description
<leader><leader>	Find existing buffers
<leader>/	Fuzzy search in current buffer
<leader>sf	Search files
<leader>sg	Search by grep (live grep)
<leader>sh	Search help tags
<leader>shf	Search hidden files
<leader>sk	Search keymaps
<leader>sn	Search Neovim config files
<leader>sr	Resume last search
<leader>ss	Select Telescope builtin
<leader>sw	Search current word
<leader>sd	Search diagnostics
<leader>s/	Grep in open files
<leader>s.	Search recent files

LSP (active when LSP is attached)

Key	Description
grd	Go to definition
grD	Go to declaration
gri	Go to implementation
grr	Go to references
grt	Go to type definition
grn	Rename symbol
gra	Code action
gO	Open document symbols
gW	Open workspace symbols
<leader>th	Toggle inlay hints

File Manager (Yazi)

Key	Description
-	Open Yazi at current file
<leader>cw	Open Yazi in working directory
<Ctrl-Up>	Resume last Yazi session