Kevin Wolf's Workspace

A complete macOS development environment configuration using GNU Stow for symlink management.

Prerequisites

• macOS (tested on Darwin 25.x)
• Internet connection (for Homebrew packages)
• Admin access (for changing default shell and installing packages)

Quick Start

bash <(curl -fsSL https://kvnwolf.com/setup-workspace)

The setup script is interactive—each step can be skipped by pressing ESC.

What Gets Installed

macOS System Defaults

The setup configures these system preferences:

Setting	Value	Description
Dock auto-hide	Enabled	Dock hides automatically
Recent apps in Dock	Disabled	Removes recent apps section from Dock
File extensions	Visible	Shows all file extensions in Finder
Finder view	Column	Sets column view as default
Initial key repeat	15	Faster initial key repeat
Key repeat rate	2	Faster key repeat speed

CLI Tools

Command-line tools installed via Homebrew. Some are modern replacements for traditional Unix commands.

Tool	Replaces	Description
bat	cat	Syntax highlighting, line numbers, Git integration
btop	top	Beautiful TUI, mouse support, resource graphs
bun		JavaScript runtime and toolkit
curlie	curl	Colored output, httpie-like formatting
difftastic		Structural diff tool
eza	ls	Icons, colors, Git status integration
fd	find	Simpler syntax, respects .gitignore, faster
fish		User-friendly shell
fisher		Fish plugin manager
vite+		Unified web toolchain with Node.js version management
freeze		Code screenshot generator
fzf		Fuzzy finder
gh		GitHub CLI
git-delta		Syntax-highlighting pager for git
jq		JSON processor
lazygit		Git TUI
mole		macOS system cleanup and optimization tool
neovim		Hyperextensible Vim-based text editor
procs	ps	Colored output, tree view, searchable
ripgrep	grep	Much faster, respects .gitignore, better defaults
sd		Intuitive find & replace
starship		Cross-shell prompt
stow		Symlink farm manager
tldr	man	Practical examples instead of verbose manuals
tmux		Terminal multiplexer
tokei		Code statistics
yazi		Blazing fast terminal file manager
zoxide		Smarter directory jumping

GUI Applications

Application	Description
1Password	Password manager
Caffeine	Prevent Mac from going to sleep
Claude	AI assistant app
CleanShot	Screenshot and recording tool
cmux	AI-powered terminal multiplexer
Discord	Communication platform
Ghostty	GPU-accelerated terminal
Google Chrome	Web browser
LocalXpose	Reverse proxy for localhost
Monologue	Voice dictation
OrbStack	Docker & Linux on macOS
Raycast	Productivity launcher
Slack	Team communication
Vanilla	Menu bar organizer
WhatsApp	Messaging app

Bun Global Packages

Installed via bun install -g during setup, separate from Homebrew.

Package	Description
Claude Code	AI coding assistant CLI

Shell Configuration

Fish shell becomes the default shell. Below are all shortcuts and configurations organized by tool.

Bun

Abbr	Command
b	bun
ba	bun add
bad	bun add --dev
bag	bun add --global
bi	bun init
bin	bun install
br	bun run
brd	bun run dev
brl	bun run lint
brm	bun remove
brs	bun run setup
bru	bun run update
brun	bun run unused
brv	bun run validate
bx	bunx
sk	bunx skills@latest
vc	bunx vercel@latest

Claude Code

Abbreviations:

All Claude commands follow the pattern cl[c|r][s][d] where:

• c = continue most recent conversation
• r = resume by session ID
• s = skip permissions
• d = enable debug mode

Abbr	Command
cl	claude
clc	claude --continue
clr	claude --resume
cls	claude --dangerously-skip-permissions
cld	claude --debug
clcs	claude --continue --dangerously-skip-permissions
clrs	claude --resume --dangerously-skip-permissions
clsd	claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --debug
clcd	claude --continue --debug
clrd	claude --resume --debug
clcsd	claude --continue --dangerously-skip-permissions --debug
clrsd	claude --resume --dangerously-skip-permissions --debug

Configuration:

• Co-authored-by: Disabled
• Status line: Custom script showing directory, git branch, model, and context usage

Directory Listing & Navigation

Abbreviations (using eza):

All listing commands follow the pattern l[t][a][f][N] where:

• t = tree view
• a = include hidden files (all)
• f = full details (permissions, size, etc.)
• N = tree depth (only with t, default: 1)

Abbr	Description
l	Compact list with icons
la	Compact list including hidden files
lf	Full details
laf	Full details including hidden files
lt	Tree view (depth 1)
lt3	Tree view (depth 3)
lta	Tree view including hidden files
ltf	Tree view with full details
ltaf	Tree view with hidden files and full details
ltaf2	Same as above with depth 2

Navigation:

Command	Description
..	cd ../
...	cd ../../
....	cd ../../../
z <query>	Jump to frequently visited directory (zoxide)
mdcd <dir>	Create directory and cd into it
cpwd	Copy current directory path to clipboard

Git

Abbreviations:

Abbr	Command	Abbr	Command
g	git	gp	git push
ga	git add	gpb	git checkout -
gaa	git add --all	gpf	git push --force-with-lease
gau	git add --update	gpr	git pull --rebase
gb	git branch	grb	git rebase
gba	git branch --all	grba	git rebase --abort
gbd	git branch --delete	grbc	git rebase --continue
gbD	git branch --delete --force	grbi	git rebase --interactive
gc	git commit --verbose	grh	git reset
gca	git commit --verbose --all	grhh	git reset --hard
gcam	git commit --all --message	gss	git status --short
gcb	git checkout -b	gst	git status
gcmsg	git commit --message	gsta	git stash push
gco	git checkout	gstl	git stash list
gd	git diff	gstp	git stash pop
gds	git diff --staged	gsw	git switch
gdt	git difftool --tool=difftastic	gswc	git switch --create
gf	git fetch	gl	git pull
gfa	git fetch --all --tags --prune	glog	git log --oneline --decorate --graph
lg	lazygit	gloga	git log --oneline --decorate --graph --all

Configuration:

• Default branch: main
• Pull strategy: Rebase
• Auto-setup remote: Enabled (push without -u)
• Merge conflict style: diff3
• Pager: delta with line numbers and hyperlinks
• Credential helper: GitHub CLI

GitHub

Function	Description
fork <owner/repo>	Fork a repo, clone to ~/Developer/github.com/<owner>/<repo>, set up remotes (origin = fork, upstream = original), and configure gh default repo

Also accepts full GitHub URLs: fork https://github.com/owner/repo

Neovim

Abbreviations:

Abbr	Command
n	nvim
nv	nvim
v	nvim
vim	nvim
vi	nvim

EDITOR is set to nvim.

Workspace

Run Claude in the workspace directory from anywhere. Useful for configuring your workspace remotely.

Function	Description
ws <prompt>	Non-interactive mode with streaming output
wsi [args]	Interactive mode

Examples:

# Install a package and add to Brewfile
ws "install ripgrep via brew and add it to the Brewfile"

# Add a new fish abbreviation
ws "add abbreviation 'gc' for 'git commit'"

# Adopt a local config file into the repo
ws "adopt ~/.config/tool/config into shared dotfiles"

# Start interactive session in workspace
wsi

Yazi

Abbr	Command
y	yazi

Other Shortcuts

Abbr	Command
md	mkdir -p
pbc	pbcopy
pbp	pbpaste
reload	Reload fish configuration

Prompt (Starship)

Custom prompt showing:

• Directory (with ~/Developer/github.com/ shortened to )
• Git branch with status indicator
• Right side: package version, runtime versions (Node/Bun), command duration, time

Terminal (Ghostty)

• Theme: Catppuccin Mocha
• Font: GeistMono Nerd Font Mono (14pt)
• Shell integration: Fish
• Auto-quit: When last window closes
• Option key: Right Option as Alt
• Window padding: 16px
• Background opacity: 90% with blur (radius 50)
• Unfocused split opacity: 75%
• Window title: Shows owner/repo for GitHub dirs, ~/path elsewhere; defers to programs that set their own title
• Scroll sensitivity: Reduced (0.5x)

Split keybindings (prefix: Ctrl+;):

Shortcut	Action
prefix + \	Split right
prefix + -	Split down
prefix + h/j/k/l	Navigate splits
prefix + H/J/K/L	Resize splits
prefix + z	Toggle split zoom
prefix + =	Equalize splits
prefix + x	Close split

Terminal Multiplexer (tmux)

Split keybindings (prefix: Ctrl+;):

Shortcut	Action
prefix + \	Split vertical
prefix + -	Split horizontal
prefix + h/j/k/l	Navigate panes
prefix + H/J/K/L	Resize panes (repeatable)
prefix + z	Toggle pane zoom
prefix + x	Close pane

Configuration:

• Vi mode for copy
• Mouse support enabled
• Windows numbered from 1
• Status bar at the top

How Stow Works

Files in shared/home/ and macos/home/ mirror your home directory structure. Running stow creates symlinks:

shared/home/.config/fish/config.fish  →  ~/.config/fish/config.fish
macos/home/.config/fish/conf.d/brew.fish  →  ~/.config/fish/conf.d/brew.fish

This means:

• Edits to dotfiles in the repo automatically apply (no re-stowing needed)
• Changes are version-controlled and shareable
• Easy to see what's customized vs default

Customization

• macOS-only configs: Add to macos/home/
• Cross-platform configs: Add to shared/home/
• New Homebrew packages: Add to macos/Brewfile

License

MIT