A nice ZSH, Tmux and Vim setup for MacOS

Introduction

Following steps will setup a nice zsh, tmux and vim for your terminal. These steps are tested in MacOS for iterm2 only.

Following tools will be installed on system. Installation commands for these tools are mentioned below for macos

tmux (terminal multiplexer)
pcre (used as dev dependency while compiling nnn)
fd (modern find written in rust)
bat (colourful cat)
fzf (fuzzy finder)
ripgrep (modern grep written in rust)
oh-my-zsh (is being installed as part of script)
vim => 8.0
perl (used in various scripts)
greadlink (part of coreutils)
git
tree
mktemp
exa (for git fuzzy)
git-delta (for git diff)
lsd (ls with icons, aliased to ls)
nnn (terminal file manager with icons, is being compiled and installed as part of download script)
font-meslo-lg-nerd-font (set iterm2 font: “MesloLGSDZ Nerd Font”, font-style: regular, font-size: 15)
nvm (to install node.js. Node is used by VIM CoC plugin)
pyenv (to install python and to get python version in prompt)
asdf (to manage different versions of kubectl)

Install various tools via brew

brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts
brew install --cask font-meslo-lg-nerd-font
brew install tmux pcre fd bat fzf ripgrep vim coreutils git tree git-delta lsd nvm pyenv asdf
nvm install node

Set iterm-2 font

You need to set this font in your iterm2. You may install other fonts as well.

font: "MesloLGSDZ Nerd Font", font-style: regular, font-size: 15

Take backup of following files from your home directory if you have

.tmux.conf
.zprofile
.zshrc
.vimrc
.gitconfig

Setup your Terminal, Vim and other tools

Note: You can clone the repo anywhere you like and it should work.

git clone https://github.com/spareslant/dotFiles.git
cd dotFiles
./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh

Note: if above script fails on CoC, then run following three commands and run script ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh again. Even if above steps are successful you still need to run following commands in order to run CoC properly in vim.

cd downloaded/vim-plugins/coc.nvim
npm install esbuild
npm run build

Set your terminal theme (Tmux and Vim also uses same theme)

Run following command

base16_gruvbox-dark-hard

Restart the terminal.

Set kubectl version (Optional)

asdf plugin-add kubectl https://github.com/asdf-community/asdf-kubectl.git
asdf install kubectl 1.20.11
asdf global kubectl 1.20.11

About ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh

This script will download various vim plugins and oh-my-zsh shell and its plugins in <cloned_repo_dir>/downloaded directory.
This will set your shell to zsh
It will create various symlinks from your homedir to <cloned_repo_dir> e.g .vimrc, .zshrc, .zprofile etc.
Run ls -la $HOME command to see what is being symlinked.
Compiles nnn (terminal file browser)
creates various shell functions.
Script is idempotent and can be run repeatedly without any harm

How to remove the whole thing

Run ls -la $HOME command to see what is being symlinked to <cloned_repo_dir> directory and make a note of it.
Change your shell and Remove <cloned_repo_dir> directory.
Remove symlinks noted above.
Brew packages can be uninstalled using brew command.

How to remove vim plugins

Method-1: Remove vim plugin directory from <cloned_repo_dir>/downloaded/vim-plugins location and restart VIM. You can re-install this plugin by just running ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh script again.
Method-2: Alternatively remove the vim-plugin entry in ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh (inside downloadVimPlugins) and run ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh again. It will remove the vim-plugin

How to add new vim plugin

Add the git repo of vim plugin in ./downloadAndCreateSymLinks.sh script where you see all the vim plugins list (inside downloadVimPlugins function).

What do you get from this

Colourful ls output.
Soothing terminal, vim and tmux theme (base16_gruvbox)
git diff is more colourful
zsh default command line mode is vi.
- To edit a long command in terminal more effectively, press <ESC>vv. This will open vim where you can edit command and exit when done.
Run base16<tab><tab> to set more terminal themes.
tmux tricks
- In tmux, run ctrl+b g to capture the entire session in current pane. A timestamped file will be created in your home directory. ctrl+b g will create new file everytime.
- If using tmux, then it will show you active and inactive tmux panes.
- If using tmux, you can search for words in the terminal and scroll/copy/select in terminal using vi keys.
- Move tmux panes easily among tmux windows.
  - Use ctrl+b m to mark the pane you want to move to another tmux window.
  - Switch to the desired tmux window by pressing ctrl+b <tmux window number>.
  - Now press ctrl+b [h|j|k|l] to bring marked pane here. h, j, k, l keys are taken from vim motion keys.
  - h => to the left of current pane, j => to the bottom, k => to the top, l => to the right
In a git repo directory, run git fuzzy log to browse and search git history in nicer way. Use Shift-<up|down arrow> to scroll up and down.
ctrl+r will give you nicer command history.
nnn a nice icon based terminal file-browser (aliased to n). just run n to play with it and q to quit.
- nnn has its own 4 tabs. Each tab maintains its own state.
- nnn is highly customizable. You can launch programs and can write your own plugins.
- press . to toggle hidden files, and t to sort by time. Get help with ?
- use vim keys to navigate and search (h, j, k, l, /)
Command prompt with icons (You might not see icons properly in the browser)

╭─gpal@gpal-mac ~/dotfiles ‹שׂ master|✚1› ‹ 2.6.3› ‹🐍 venv_terraform_cdk› ‹ 3.9.7› ‹⬢ 16.10.0› ‹ﴱ kubernetes-context› ‹ OCI_profile›
╰─$
╭─gpal@gpal-mac ~/dotfiles ‹שׂ master|✚1› ‹ ruby_version› ‹🐍 py_virtualenv_name› ‹ py_version› ‹⬢ nodejs_version› ‹ﴱ kubernetes-context› ‹ OCI_profile›
╰─$

vim tricks
- Uses vim built-in plugin manager
- CoC plugin gives you vscode like customization features for development.
  - e.g Install python support in vim by running :CocInstall coc-pyright and so on.
- Open nnn file browser inside vim by <spacebar> n, making vim like IDE.
  - Use ctrl+v to open file in vertical split and ctrl+s to open file in horizontal split.
- Open pop up terminal inside vim by pressing <spacebar>fn. Toggle the presence of pop-up terminal by pressing <spacebar>ft.
- Editing file in git in vim will give inform you about what lines are added (showing + sings), deleted (showing - signgs) and changed (showing ~ signs).
  - You can revert these changes by pressing <spacebar>hu.
- vim shows light vertical indent lines.
- Look for nnn, fzf, gitgutter and floatterm vim plugins documentation for more tricks.

Warning

IndentLine vim plugin does not show json files correctly. It does not show double-quotes due to a bug. You can disable this feature while editing json file by running command :IndentLinesDisable in vim
Please change your name and email in <cloned_repo_dir>/git_configs/gitconfig file after you cloned this repo.

Additional optional settings for Macos iterm2

Keybaord

System Preference -> Keyboard -> key repeat = Fast (take the marker to extreme right)
System Preference -> Keyboard -> Delay Until Repeat = Short (take the marker to extreme right)

iterm2 settings

iterm2 Preferences -> General -> Selection Tab -> check Applications in Terminal may access clipboard
iterm2 Preferences -> Profiles -> Create new profile with name DropDown -> select DropDown -> Text tab -> set font to MesloLGSDZ Nerd Font -> Regular -> 15
iterm2 Preferences -> Profiles -> select DropDown -> Window tab -> style => Maximized, Screen => Screen with Cursor, Space => current Space
iterm2 Preferences -> Profiles -> select DropDown -> Keys Tab -> check => A hotkey opens a dedicated window in this profile, click => Configure Hotkey Window -> Set Hotkey to <option><Space>, check => Pin hotkey window (stays open on loss of keybaord focus), check => Show this Hotkey window

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Friday, 12 November 2021