Configure Git settings, SSH keys, terminal preferences, and global system settings

System Configuration

The system.yaml file manages global system settings including Git configuration, SSH settings, terminal preferences, and global themes. These settings provide the foundation for a consistent development environment.

File Location

# Default configuration
~/.local/share/devex/config/system.yaml

# User override (higher priority)
~/.devex/system.yaml

File Structure

git:
  aliases:               # Git command aliases
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    # ... more aliases
  settings:              # Git configuration settings
    pull:
      rebase: true
    # ... more settings
    
ssh: {}                  # SSH configuration (extensible)

terminal: {}             # Terminal configuration (extensible)

global_theme: 'Tokyo Night'  # Global theme preference

Git Configuration

DevEx manages Git settings including aliases, configuration options, and global behavior settings.

Git Aliases

Common Git command shortcuts that improve productivity:

git:
  aliases:
    # Basic commands
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    ci: 'commit'
    st: 'status'
    
    # Advanced shortcuts
    unstage: 'reset HEAD --'
    last: 'log -1 HEAD'
    visual: '!gitk'
    
    # Branch management
    switch: 'checkout'
    new-branch: 'checkout -b'
    delete-branch: 'branch -d'
    
    # Log and history
    lg: 'log --oneline --graph --decorate --all'
    ll: 'log --oneline'
    hist: 'log --pretty=format:"%h %ad | %s%d [%an]" --graph --date=short'
    
    # Diff shortcuts
    dt: 'difftool'
    mt: 'mergetool'

Git Settings

Global Git configuration that applies to all repositories:

git:
  settings:
    # Rebase by default when pulling
    pull:
      rebase: true
      
    # Automatically setup tracking branches
    push:
      default: 'current'
      autoSetupRemote: true
      
    # Branch management
    branch:
      autosetupmerge: 'always'
      autosetuprebase: 'always'
      
    # Automatically prune deleted remote branches
    fetch:
      prune: true

Complete Git Configuration Example

git:
  aliases:
    # Essential shortcuts
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    ci: 'commit'
    st: 'status'
    unstage: 'reset HEAD --'
    
    # Workflow aliases
    switch: 'checkout'
    new: 'checkout -b'
    save: 'commit -am'
    undo: 'reset --soft HEAD~1'
    
    # Logging and history
    lg: 'log --oneline --graph --decorate --all'
    hist: 'log --pretty=format:"%h %ad | %s%d [%an]" --graph --date=short'
    last: 'log -1 HEAD'
    
    # Branch operations
    branches: 'branch -a'
    remotes: 'remote -v'
    
  settings:
    # Workflow settings
    pull:
      rebase: true
    push:
      default: 'current'
      autoSetupRemote: true
    branch:
      autosetupmerge: 'always'
      autosetuprebase: 'always'
    fetch:
      prune: true
      
    # Merge and diff
    merge:
      conflictstyle: 'diff3'
    diff:
      colorMoved: 'default'
      
    # Core settings
    core:
      editor: 'code --wait'
      autocrlf: false  # Consistent line endings
      safecrlf: true
      
    # Color settings
    color:
      ui: 'auto'
      branch: 'auto'
      diff: 'auto'
      status: 'auto'

SSH Configuration

SSH settings for secure connections to remote repositories and servers.

Current Structure

ssh: {}  # Empty object - ready for extension

Planned SSH Features

SSH Key Management: Automatic SSH key generation and configuration

Host Configuration: Common SSH host configurations for development

Security Settings: SSH security best practices and hardening

Agent Configuration: SSH agent setup and key forwarding

Future SSH Configuration

# Planned SSH configuration structure
ssh:
  # SSH key management
  keys:
    - name: 'github'
      type: 'ed25519'
      comment: 'GitHub key for development'
      file: '~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github'
      
    - name: 'work'
      type: 'rsa'
      bits: 4096
      comment: 'Work server access'
      file: '~/.ssh/id_rsa_work'
      
  # Host configurations
  hosts:
    - host: 'github.com'
      hostname: 'github.com'
      user: 'git'
      identityFile: '~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github'
      
    - host: 'work-server'
      hostname: 'work.example.com'
      user: 'developer'
      port: 2222
      identityFile: '~/.ssh/id_rsa_work'
      
  # Global SSH settings
  settings:
    addKeysToAgent: 'yes'
    useKeychain: 'yes'  # macOS
    serverAliveInterval: 60
    compression: 'yes'

Terminal Configuration

Terminal-specific settings and preferences for consistent command-line experience.

Current Structure

terminal: {}  # Empty object - ready for extension

Planned Terminal Features

Profile Management: Terminal profiles with themes and fonts

Shell Integration: Shell-specific configurations and prompt themes

Color Schemes: Terminal color themes matching global themes

Keybindings: Consistent terminal shortcuts across platforms

Future Terminal Configuration

# Planned terminal configuration structure
terminal:
  # Default terminal preferences
  default_shell: '/bin/zsh'
  
  # Terminal profiles
  profiles:
    - name: 'Development'
      font: 'JetBrainsMono Nerd Font'
      font_size: 12
      theme: 'tokyo-night'
      opacity: 0.95
      
    - name: 'Presentation'
      font: 'CascadiaMono Nerd Font'
      font_size: 16
      theme: 'light'
      opacity: 1.0
      
  # Color schemes
  themes:
    - name: 'tokyo-night'
      background: '#1a1b26'
      foreground: '#c0caf5'
      colors:
        black: '#15161e'
        red: '#f7768e'
        # ... more colors
        
  # Keybindings
  keybindings:
    - key: 'ctrl+shift+t'
      action: 'new_tab'
    - key: 'ctrl+shift+w'
      action: 'close_tab'

Global Theme Management

The global theme preference coordinates color schemes across all applications.

Theme Configuration

global_theme: 'Tokyo Night'

Supported Themes

Tokyo Night

Dark theme with purple accents

Kanagawa

Inspired by Japanese wave painting

Gruvbox

Retro groove color scheme

Catppuccin

Soothing pastel theme

Theme Integration

The global theme setting influences:

Neovim colorschemes: Automatically set matching Neovim themes
Terminal themes: Terminal color schemes
Desktop themes: GNOME/KDE theme selection
VS Code themes: Editor theme preferences
Application themes: Consistent theming across development tools

# Theme affects multiple configurations
global_theme: 'Tokyo Night'

# This influences:
# - ~/.config/nvim/colorscheme.lua
# - ~/.config/gnome/theme-settings
# - ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json (workbench.colorTheme)
# - ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.yml (colors)

Real-World Configuration Examples

Team Development Setup

# Standardized team configuration
git:
  aliases:
    # Team-agreed shortcuts
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    ci: 'commit'
    st: 'status'
    
    # Workflow aliases
    sync: 'pull --rebase origin main'
    publish: 'push -u origin HEAD'
    wip: 'commit -m "WIP: work in progress"'
    
  settings:
    # Consistent workflow
    pull:
      rebase: true
    push:
      default: 'current'
      autoSetupRemote: true
    branch:
      autosetupmerge: 'always'
      
    # Code review settings
    merge:
      conflictstyle: 'diff3'
    diff:
      tool: 'vscode'
    difftool:
      prompt: false
      
global_theme: 'Tokyo Night'  # Team standard theme

Solo Developer Setup

git:
  aliases:
    # Personal productivity shortcuts
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    ci: 'commit'
    st: 'status'
    
    # Extended personal aliases
    unstage: 'reset HEAD --'
    uncommit: 'reset --soft HEAD~1'
    recommit: 'commit --amend --no-edit'
    
    # Advanced logging
    lg: 'log --oneline --graph --decorate --all'
    tree: 'log --graph --pretty=format:"%h -%d %s (%cr) <%an>" --abbrev-commit --all'
    
    # Cleanup aliases
    cleanup: 'branch --merged | grep -v "\\*\\|main\\|master" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d'
    prune-remote: 'remote prune origin'
    
  settings:
    pull:
      rebase: true
    push:
      default: 'current'
      autoSetupRemote: true
    fetch:
      prune: true
      
    # Personal preferences
    core:
      editor: 'nvim'
    commit:
      template: '~/.gitmessage'  # Custom commit template
      
global_theme: 'Gruvbox'  # Personal preference

Open Source Contributor Setup

git:
  aliases:
    # Open source workflow
    co: 'checkout'
    br: 'branch'
    ci: 'commit'
    st: 'status'
    
    # Fork workflow
    upstream: 'remote add upstream'
    sync-upstream: 'fetch upstream && checkout main && merge upstream/main'
    feature: 'checkout -b feature/'
    
    # Contribution helpers
    review: 'log --oneline --graph origin/main..HEAD'
    signoff: 'commit --signoff'
    
  settings:
    pull:
      rebase: true
    push:
      default: 'current'
      
    # Contribution settings
    commit:
      gpgsign: true  # Sign commits
    user:
      signingkey: 'YOUR_GPG_KEY'
      
    # Clean commit history
    rebase:
      autoStash: true
      autoSquash: true
      
global_theme: 'Catppuccin'

Configuration Management

Git Configuration Files

DevEx manages these Git configuration locations:

# Global Git config (managed by DevEx)
~/.gitconfig

# Repository-specific configs (user-managed)
project-dir/.git/config

# System-wide config (admin-managed)
/etc/gitconfig

Configuration Precedence

Repository-specific (.git/config) - Highest priority
User global (~/.gitconfig) - DevEx managed
System-wide (/etc/gitconfig) - Lowest priority

Applying System Configuration

# Apply all system configurations
devex system apply

# Apply only Git settings
devex system apply --git

# Preview changes (dry-run)
devex system apply --dry-run

# Check current Git configuration
git config --list --show-origin

Validation and Testing

Configuration Validation

# Validate system configuration
devex config validate system

# Test Git configuration
git config --list | grep alias
git config --list | grep pull.rebase

# Verify SSH configuration
ssh -T git@github.com

# Test terminal configuration
echo $SHELL

Git Configuration Testing

# Test Git aliases
git co --help        # Should show checkout help
git br               # Should list branches
git lg               # Should show graph log

# List all configured aliases
git config --get-regexp alias

Troubleshooting

# Reset Git configuration
git config --global --unset-all alias.co
git config --global --unset pull.rebase

# Check configuration conflicts
git config --list --show-origin | grep pull.rebase

# Debug Git operations
GIT_TRACE=1 git pull

# Repair repository
git fsck
git gc --prune=now

Best Practices

System Configuration Best Practices:

Use meaningful aliases - Short but descriptive Git shortcuts
Enable rebase by default - Cleaner Git history
Sign commits - For open source contributions
Use SSH keys - More secure than HTTPS
Consistent themes - Matching color schemes across tools
Team standards - Shared configurations for team consistency
Regular updates - Keep configurations current with new features

# Export team Git configuration
git config --list > team-git-config.txt

# Share SSH host configurations
# Include in team documentation:
# Host work-server
#   HostName work.example.com
#   User developer
#   Port 2222

Environment Configuration - Programming languages and fonts
Desktop Configuration - Desktop environment settings
Configuration Validation - Validating configurations
CLI Reference: System - System management commands

System configuration provides the foundation for a consistent development environment. Proper Git, SSH, and terminal settings ensure smooth workflows and team collaboration.

System Configuration

System ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

File LocationCopy Anchor Link

File StructureCopy Anchor Link

Git ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Git AliasesCopy Anchor Link

Git SettingsCopy Anchor Link

Complete Git Configuration ExampleCopy Anchor Link

SSH ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Current StructureCopy Anchor Link

Planned SSH FeaturesCopy Anchor Link

Future SSH ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Terminal ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Current StructureCopy Anchor Link

Planned Terminal FeaturesCopy Anchor Link

Future Terminal ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Global Theme ManagementCopy Anchor Link

Theme ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Supported ThemesCopy Anchor Link

Tokyo Night

Kanagawa

Gruvbox

Catppuccin

Theme IntegrationCopy Anchor Link

Real-World Configuration ExamplesCopy Anchor Link

Team Development SetupCopy Anchor Link

Solo Developer SetupCopy Anchor Link

Open Source Contributor SetupCopy Anchor Link

Configuration ManagementCopy Anchor Link

Git Configuration FilesCopy Anchor Link

Configuration PrecedenceCopy Anchor Link

Applying System ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

Validation and TestingCopy Anchor Link

Configuration ValidationCopy Anchor Link

Git Configuration TestingCopy Anchor Link

TroubleshootingCopy Anchor Link

Best PracticesCopy Anchor Link

Team Configuration SharingCopy Anchor Link

Related DocumentationCopy Anchor Link

On this page

System Configuration

File Location

File Structure

Git Configuration

Git Aliases

Git Settings

Complete Git Configuration Example

SSH Configuration

Current Structure

Planned SSH Features

Future SSH Configuration

Terminal Configuration

Current Structure

Planned Terminal Features

Future Terminal Configuration

Global Theme Management

Theme Configuration

Supported Themes

Theme Integration

Real-World Configuration Examples

Team Development Setup

Solo Developer Setup

Open Source Contributor Setup

Configuration Management

Git Configuration Files

Configuration Precedence

Applying System Configuration

Validation and Testing

Configuration Validation

Git Configuration Testing

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Team Configuration Sharing

Related Documentation