nix/README.md

# Personal Nix Configuration

A comprehensive Nix configuration for macOS using nix-darwin and home-manager, featuring a modern development environment with vim-centric workflows and beautiful aesthetics. Largely generated and maintained with Claude Code.

## ✨ Features

- **🎨 Beautiful UI**: Gruvbox dark theme across all applications
- **⌨️ Vim-centric**: Consistent vim keybindings throughout the stack
- **🚀 Modern CLI**: Enhanced tools with fuzzy finding, syntax highlighting, and smart completion
- **📦 Modular Design**: Separate configuration files for easy maintenance
- **🔄 Portable**: Reproducible across machines with a single command

## 🚀 Quick Install

Install directly from GitHub without cloning:

```bash
# Darwin system configuration
sudo darwin-rebuild switch --flake github:Logan-Lin/nix-config

# Home Manager configuration  
home-manager switch --flake github:Logan-Lin/nix-config#yanlin
```

## 📁 Configuration Architecture

```
.
├── flake.nix          # Main flake configuration and package definitions
├── tmux.sh            # Tmux session automation script
├── modules/           # Nix configuration modules
│   ├── nvim.nix       # Neovim configuration with plugins and keymaps
│   ├── tmux.nix       # Tmux setup with vim-like navigation
│   └── zsh.nix        # Zsh with Powerlevel10k and modern CLI tools
├── config/            # Configuration files
│   ├── p10k.zsh       # Powerlevel10k theme configuration
│   └── projects.nix   # Project shortcuts configuration
└── scripts/           # Utility scripts
    ├── project-launcher.sh  # Universal project launcher
    └── templates/     # Tmux session templates
        ├── basic.sh   # Basic development template
        ├── content.sh # Content workflow template
        └── research.sh # Research workflow template
```

## 🛠️ Software Configurations

### 📝 Neovim

**Theme**: Gruvbox dark with hard contrast
**Leader Key**: `<Space>`

#### Key Features:
- **File Explorer**: nvim-tree with dotfile filtering
- **Syntax Highlighting**: Treesitter with all grammar support
- **Git Integration**: vim-fugitive for git operations
- **Status Line**: lualine with gruvbox theme and relative paths
- **System Clipboard**: Seamless integration for copy/paste
- **Markdown Rendering**: render-markdown.nvim for beautiful in-buffer markdown preview

#### Keybindings:

| Key | Mode | Action |
|-----|------|--------|
| `<Space>e` | Normal | Toggle file explorer |
| `<Space>w` | Normal | Save file |
| `<Space>q` | Normal | Quit |
| `<Space>o` | Normal | Open file with system default app |
| `<Space>f` | Normal | Show current file in Finder |
| `<Space>y` | Normal/Visual | Copy to system clipboard |
| `<Space>p` | Normal/Visual | Paste from system clipboard |
| `<Space>gs` | Normal | Git status |
| `<Space>gd` | Normal | Git diff |
| `<Space>gc` | Normal | Git commit |
| `<Space>gp` | Normal | Git push |
| `<Space>md` | Normal | Toggle markdown rendering |

### 🖥️ Tmux

**Prefix Key**: `Ctrl+a` (instead of default `Ctrl+b`)
**Theme**: Gruvbox dark with visual prefix indicator

#### Key Features:
- **Prefix Indicator**: Shows `<Prefix>` in status bar when prefix is active
- **Vim-like Navigation**: hjkl for pane movement
- **Smart Splitting**: Maintains current directory when creating panes
- **Copy Mode**: System clipboard integration with pbcopy

#### Keybindings:

| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `Ctrl+a` | Prefix key |
| `Ctrl+a |` | Split window vertically |
| `Ctrl+a -` | Split window horizontally |
| `Ctrl+a h/j/k/l` | Navigate panes (vim-style) |
| `Ctrl+a H/J/K/L` | Resize panes |
| `Ctrl+a r` | Reload tmux config |
| `Ctrl+a Ctrl+a` | Quick pane cycling |

#### Copy Mode (Ctrl+a [):
| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `v` | Begin selection |
| `y` | Copy selection to system clipboard |
| `r` | Toggle rectangle selection |

### 🐚 Zsh with Powerlevel10k

**Theme**: Powerlevel10k lean style with 2-line prompt
**Vim Mode**: Enabled with visual indicators

#### Key Features:
- **Smart Completion**: Case-insensitive with menu selection
- **Autosuggestions**: Fish-like command suggestions
- **Syntax Highlighting**: Real-time command syntax highlighting
- **History Management**: Shared history with deduplication
- **Vim Mode Indicators**: Cursor shape changes and prompt symbols

#### Vim Mode Indicators:
- **Insert Mode**: Line cursor `|` + `❯` prompt (green)
- **Normal Mode**: Block cursor `█` + `❮` prompt
- **Fast Switching**: 10ms escape timeout for responsive mode changes

#### Vim Mode Keybindings:
| Key | Mode | Action |
|-----|------|--------|
| `Esc` | Insert | Switch to normal mode |
| `i/a/I/A` | Normal | Switch to insert mode |
| `k/j` | Normal | History search backward/forward |
| `/` | Normal | History incremental search backward |
| `?` | Normal | History incremental search forward |
| `Ctrl+Right/Left` | Insert | Word movement |

#### Aliases:

**Navigation:**
```bash
l, ll, la          # Enhanced ls commands
.., ..., ....      # Quick directory navigation
home, config       # Jump to common directories
nix-config         # Jump to nix configuration
```

**Git:**
```bash
g, gs, ga, gc, gp, gl, gd, gco, gb  # Git shortcuts
glog               # Beautiful git log with graph
```

**Modern CLI:**
```bash
cat → bat          # Syntax highlighted file viewing
find → fd          # Fast file finding
grep → rg          # Ripgrep for fast searching
top → btop         # Beautiful system monitor
```

**Nix:**
```bash
hm                 # home-manager shortcut
hms                # Quick home-manager switch
```

### 🚀 Project Shortcuts

**Configuration**: `config/projects.nix`
**Purpose**: Quick access to project workspaces with tmux sessions

#### Example Projects:
- **`blog`**: Personal blog with code + content workflow
- **`nix-config`**: Nix configuration with basic development workflow

#### Usage:
```bash
proj              # List all available projects
blog              # Launch blog project tmux session
nix-config        # Launch nix-config project tmux session
```

#### Template Types:
- **Basic**: Single directory (nvim + ai + git + shell)
- **Content**: Code directory + separate content directory
- **Research**: Code directory + separate paper directory

#### Adding New Projects:
Edit `config/projects.nix` and run `hms` to rebuild configuration.

### 🌟 Git Visualization

**Tool**: gitui
**Purpose**: Beautiful, interactive TUI for git operations

Launch with `gitui` in any git repository for:
- Interactive commit graph visualization
- Diff viewing and staging
- Branch management
- Vim-like navigation (j/k for movement, h/l for tabs)

## 📦 Included Packages

### Development Tools
- **Python 3.12**: With pip and virtualenv
- **LaTeX**: Full TeXLive distribution
- **Claude Code**: AI-powered coding assistant
- **Git UI**: Beautiful git graph visualization

### CLI Utilities
- **fzf**: Fuzzy finder for files, commands, and history
- **fd**: Fast, user-friendly alternative to find
- **ripgrep (rg)**: Fast text search
- **bat**: Syntax-highlighted cat replacement
- **btop**: Modern system monitor
- **httpie**: Modern HTTP client for API testing
- **zoxide**: Smart cd with frecency algorithm

#### fd Usage Examples
```bash
fd filename          # Find files/directories named "filename"
fd "*.nix"          # Find all Nix files
fd -t f config      # Only files (-t f = type file)
fd -t d config      # Only directories (-t d = type directory)
fd -e js            # All files with .js extension
fd -H hidden        # Include hidden files (-H)
fd | fzf            # Pipe to fzf for interactive selection
```

#### fzf Usage Examples
```bash
fzf                  # Interactive file finder
ls | fzf            # Fuzzy find from any list
history | fzf       # Search command history
fd | fzf            # Fast file finding with fuzzy selection
fd -t d | fzf       # Find and select directories only
rg "pattern" | fzf  # Search text then fuzzy filter results

# Preview files while browsing
fzf --preview 'bat --style=numbers --color=always {}'
```

**Built-in zsh keybindings:**
- `Ctrl+T` - Insert selected files/directories into command line
- `Ctrl+R` - Search command history interactively  
- `Alt+C` - Change to selected directory

#### httpie Usage Examples
```bash
# Simple HTTP requests
http GET api.example.com/users
http POST api.example.com/users name="John" email="john@example.com"
http PUT api.example.com/users/1 name="Jane"
http DELETE api.example.com/users/1

# With authentication headers
http GET api.example.com/protected Authorization:"Bearer your-token"
http GET api.example.com/api X-API-Key:"your-api-key"

# File uploads
http --form POST api.example.com/upload file@document.pdf
http --multipart POST api.example.com/upload file@image.jpg description="Profile photo"

# JSON data with custom headers
http POST api.example.com/data Content-Type:application/json name="test" status:=true count:=42

# Sessions for persistent authentication
http --session=myapp POST api.example.com/login username=admin password=secret
http --session=myapp GET api.example.com/dashboard

# Download files
http --download GET api.example.com/files/report.pdf

# Pretty print and filter JSON responses
http GET api.example.com/users | jq '.data[].name'
```

#### Powerful Tool Combinations
```bash
# Find and open file with nvim using interactive selection
nvim $(fd --type f | fzf)

# Find and edit Nix configuration files
nvim $(fd "*.nix" | fzf)

# Search text content and open matching file
nvim $(rg -l "search_term" | fzf)

# Preview files while selecting which one to edit
nvim $(fd --type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}')

# Find and edit files in specific directory
nvim $(fd --type f . ~/.config | fzf)
```

### Fonts
- **Nerd Fonts**: FiraCode and JetBrains Mono with icon support

## 🔄 Usage & Workflow

### Daily Workflow
1. **Terminal**: Beautiful zsh with vim mode and modern tools
2. **Tmux**: Session management with vim navigation
3. **Neovim**: Code editing with git integration
4. **Git UI**: Visual git operations and branch management

### Environment Management
```bash
# Refresh shell environment after nix changes
exec zsh

# Update and rebuild configuration
nix flake update
sudo darwin-rebuild switch --flake .
home-manager switch --flake .#yanlin

# Quick home-manager rebuild
hms
```

### Clipboard Integration
The configuration provides seamless clipboard integration:
- **Neovim**: `<Space>y/p` for system clipboard
- **Tmux**: Copy mode automatically uses system clipboard
- **Terminal**: Standard Cmd+C/V works everywhere

## 💻 Machine Configurations

- **`iMac`**: iMac configuration
- **`MacBook-Air`**: MacBook Air configuration

Both machines use the same base configuration with potential for machine-specific customizations.

### Machine-specific Usage:
```bash
# For MacBook Air
sudo darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#MacBook-Air

# For iMac  
sudo darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#iMac
```