One Year Later: Time to Prune
My dotfiles is stable. They are modular, sourced dynamically, backed by a dumb install script that just works. But I start to feel a new kind of friction: knowing that some things were still there… just because they always had been.
So this update was about honesty. I walked through every file and asked myself: do I still use this? Would I miss it if it were gone?
Spoiler: most of the time, the answer was “no.”
No More Magic: Goodbye load.zsh
One of the first things to go was load.zsh. It used to scan and load every .zsh file in a folder. That worked — until it didn’t.
Over time, I’d accumulated stray .zsh scripts that got sourced without much intention. They weren’t wrong. But they weren’t needed either.
So I got rid of the magic loader. Now, each file is explicitly sourced via .zshrc.symlink. It’s clear, deliberate, and easier to trace.
source "$ZSH/aliases.zsh"
source "$ZSH/functions.zsh"
source "$ZSH/prompt.zsh"
| Old Pattern | New Pattern |
|---|---|
load.zsh loop | Direct source |
| Auto-includes | Explicit config |
| Easy to forget | Hard to ignore |
This refactor made it obvious which files mattered — and which didn’t.
Safer Aliases by Default
This version also introduced safer CLI behavior. Simple things that protect me from myself.
alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'
alias rm='rm -i'
It’s annoying the first time. But after a few months, you realize: maybe overwriting or deleting files silently was never a good idea.
Combined with alias ls='ls -GFh', I now have:
- readable directory listings
- protected file operations
- consistent behavior across machines
| Alias | Purpose |
|---|---|
cp -i | Prompt before overwrite |
mv -i | Prompt before move |
rm -i | Prompt before delete |
Safer by default. Less regret.
One Zsh to Rule Them All
I removed macOS-specific tweaks, paths, and helpers. Not because they were bad — but because they weren’t being used.
I also consolidated shell config back into zshrc.symlink, simplifying platform checks and customizations.
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
source "$ZSH/aliases.zsh"
source "$ZSH/functions.zsh"
There’s no platform branching. No “if Darwin then…” conditions. If something breaks on Linux, I’ll fix it — but I’m not optimizing prematurely.
This cleaned-up .zshrc.symlink is now just:
- Exports
- Aliases
- Functions
- Prompt
It’s readable. And more importantly, it’s obvious where things live.
Pruned. Sharpened. Ready.
2017’s update wasn’t flashy. It was careful.
I removed load.zsh. I removed old helpers. I removed folder structures I didn’t use. I removed tools I didn’t need. And every removal made the setup feel lighter — more mine.
This setup now:
- Starts faster
- Has fewer hidden surprises
- Onboards new machines quicker
- Is easier to debug
That’s what dotfiles are about. Not showing off — but making your environment disappear so you can focus on the work.