Dot Files for West Arete

These are the common dot files that we share across our home directories.

As of yet, there is no fancy installation script; just manually put these in place, or blend them with what you have now.

They're named here without the leading dot, so that the repository is easy to work with. You'll need to rename them e.g. from gemrc to ~/.gemrc when you install them.

Make your command line more pleasant

I would suggest using iTerm2, it's like the standard Mac Terminal but better, if for no other reason than it makes it really easy to install color schemes. But it's also generally better than Mac Terminal overall, for instance you need it if you want mouse support in tmux.

I would also suggest you consider remapping your Caps Lock key to Ctrl. You end up using Ctrl an awful lot in vim and tmux, but hardly ever use Caps Lock in polite conversation. Plus, if you use a Mac laptop and switch to a full-size non-Apple keyboard at your desk, the location of the Caps Lock key does not move around on you between the two keyboards.

If you're going to be in the terminal all day, you might as well have something nice to look at. Source Code Pro is an excellent monospaced typeface that won't make your eyes bleed and passes the "Illegal10O" test well. Personally I use the 13pt size, Light weight which is quite readable and doesn't have any aliasing issues, although if you have a retina screen the Extra Light weight looks even better.

Vim

Vim can be very powerful, but as it ships out of the box it's basically terrible. The solution is to install a zillion plugins and write a long and complex configuration file for it. Or have your coworkers do that for you. Lucky you.

Install the things

1. brew install vim The one that ships with OSX isn't very good. You like copying-and-pasting, right? Then install the homebrew version.
2. brew install the_silver_searcher Mega-fast implementation of the ack command, used in our vim config for searching and quick-opening files. Respects .gitignore which is cool.
3. git clone https://github.com/gmarik/Vundle.vim.git ~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim Vundle, as the name suggests, is like Bundler for vim plugins.
4. Move all config files (described below) into place.
5. Open vim and run : PluginInstall to tell Vundle to install all the vim plugins.
6. If it's your first time using vim, please record a screencast of you trying to quit vim, then post to Slack. Vim Adventures is a really fun way to learn if you don't know vim already.

Configuration

I've split the vim config up into several files, here's the breakdown. (Full disclosure: this is heavily inspried by how Thoughtbot does it.)

• .vimrc Main config file, contains the boilerplate configuration that all of us can agree upon. You should skim through this because it's well commented, you should not edit this file to your own personal tastes, there's a better way...
• .vimrc.local Is where you put your own pesonal configs if you desire. If you find a config you just can't live without, send a pull request and maybe we'll add it. Likewise if you think I went totally overboard on the main .vimrc, send a pull request and we can pare it back.
• .vimrc.bundles Is like the Gemfile of our vim config, which contains a boilerplate set of plugins that we can all agree upon. You should read through it because I took the time to comment everything, you should not edit this file. Likewise if you think I went too crazy on this, send a pull request and we'll move some of it out.
• .vimrc.bundles.local Is where you can add your own bundles until your heart's content. If you discover a really cool bundle you can't live without, maybe we can add it to the main .vimrc.bundles file.
• .vimrc.themes The prettiest vim themes require you to install a corresponding theme in your terminal. This presents a problem when tmux pairing with someone who has a less snazzy terminal than you do. I split the theme configs out into their own separate file so when someone goes "Ugh, how can you read that yellow text on a white background?!" you can quickly switch to a different theme. Do not delete the lines in here, just comment them out/in!! This file contains links to where you can download themes for your iTerm to get you going.
• .vimrc.rails West Arete goes rogue when it comes to the Rails spec directory structure. This file teaches Rails.vim about our unique structure so you can still quick-switch between classes and their specs. You probably won't ever need to edit or open this.

Highlights

It's in your best interest to skim/read the .vimrc and the various plugins' readmes, because there's lots of stuff in there and it's well documented, but here's a few highlights to get you started:

jk works as escape; you'll find it challenging to type "jklolz" (a common git commit message) in insert mode but otherwise you'll be fine. Move between splits with Ctrl h/j/k/l. The Leader Key has been remapped to spacebar. Double-tapping <Space> will toggle between last two open files. In insert mode, hitting <Tab> will autocomplete variable names. Ctrl n toggles Nerd Tree. Ctrl p rules the wasteland.

Plugins of note:

Nerd Tree Pops out a filesystem tree on the left. I don't use it much but when I do I'm glad it's there. Toggle this open/closed with Ctrl n.

Ctrl-P Fuzzy-match file finder. I use this most of the time that I open files. Enact it with Ctrl p as the name suggests. Pro Tip: do not hit Ctrl p when in your home directory, or it will index your entire home directory which takes forever.

Rails.vim Quick navigation around Rails projects. I use :A and :AV quite a bit. Even though West Arete uses a nonstandard spec directory structure, I've patched it so things mostly work.

Vroom Run your rspec/cucumber tests from vim. <Space> r runs the entire current spec/feature file. <Space> R runs the current line of the current spec/feature file. <Space> l runs the last test again, regardless of what file you're currently editing. Even more fun if you're running in tmux. I've also configured vroom use spring if it detects a ./bin directory, which can occasionally get you into trouble if ./bin exists but ./bin/rspec doesn't. If this happens to you just search .vimrc for 'binstub' and you can comment out the line while working in that project, or generate an rspec binstub.

Fugitive Outstanding git interface for vim. It can do some truly amazing stuff, like stage only specific lines in a file to commit, but still really handy for just day-to-day commits and stuff too.

CTags Indexes all the classes and methods in your code. Allows you to quickly jump to definitions. As of right now you must manually index your stuff by hitting <Space> ct. Once you do that, place your cursor on a class or method and h it Ctrl ] to jump to its definition. I'm open to the idea of having ctags indexed automatically if everyone else is into it too. Here's a good intro to learn more. You may want to add the tags file that ctags generates to your global .gitignore. I did.

tComment Quickly un/comment lines. Remember what I said about .vimrc.themes right?

Syntastic Checks your syntax and tells you that your code is broken. Has a pretty pony in its readme.

There are more, so skim through .vimrc.bundles

Tmux

Tmux is like the next generation of screen. It lets you have multiple split-panes and tabs open in your terminal and quickly navigate between them. When I'm working I typically have one tmux split with vim, another for running rspec, and finally a rails console. Tmux also rocks for pair programming with very low latency.

Install the things

1. brew install tmux
2. brew install reattach-to-user-namespace Copy/Paste to and from the system clipboard with tmux can get weird. This fixes it.
3. git clone https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm ~/.tmux/plugins/tpm Tmux Plugin Manager is like Bundler for tmux plugins. Still in its infancy but I like two of the plugins, so go for it.
4. Move .tmux.conf into place in your home directory
5. Start tmux by typing tmux
6. Install plugins by hitting Ctrl a [release, then hit] I
7. To quit tmux, just type exit like a bunch of times

Configuration

Unlike vim it's not complicated. Just .tmux.conf

Highlights

This config file is also well documented, but here's really all you need to know to get started.

The biggie: I remapped tmux's prefix to Ctrl a. Many people do, because it's the same as screen's prefix, and it's really easy to type, especially if you've remapped your Caps Lock key to Ctrl which I have. Whenever you see prefix below, that means to hit Ctrl a, then release, and hit the next key in the command.

Move between split-panes with Ctrl h/j/k/l just like vim; you can seamlessly navigate between vim splits and tmux panes. (Coincidence??) Create new split panes with prefix - and prefix |; that's hyphen and pipe, aka horizontal and vertical lines which make horizontal and vertical splits. Cute huh? Resize splits with prefix <Alt><arrow-key>; sounds weird, makes sense when you do it. prefix c creates a new tab, you'll see it appear on the bottom of the screen. prefix [1-9] selects the tab of the corresponding number; I rarely have more than 2 tabs open, usually just one. prefix , lets you rename tabs, which is helpful. prefix z will zoom the currently-focussed split full screen; I use this one tons. I've also enabled mouse support so you can focus and resize splits with your mouse if using iTerm2 (doesn't work in Terminal).

Thanks to the vimux plugin, when running vim inside tmux, hitting <Space> r and its associates in vim will run the spec in a tmux splitpane, so you can see both the tests and your code at the same time. It will automatically create a split for you if none exists. If the test explodes, I will often navigate down to the split, then prefix z to zoom in full screen to read the stacktrace, then prefix z again to zoom back out to fix the problem in vim.

Tmux Sensible provides a bunch of boilerplate config, like utf-8 support, colors, bunch of other uninteresting stuff.

Tmux Pain Control Adds those handy prefix - and prefix | bindings, and a few others.