home-lab/dotfiles

Users Directory Structure

This directory contains per-user configurations and dotfiles for the Home-lab infrastructure, organized to support multiple users across multiple machines.

Directory Organization

geir/

Primary user configuration for geir:

• user.nix - NixOS user configuration (packages, groups, shell)
• dotfiles/ - Literate programming dotfiles using org-mode
  • README.org - Main literate configuration file
  • emacs/ - Emacs-specific configurations
  • shell/ - Shell configurations (zsh, bash, etc.)
  • editors/ - Editor configurations (neovim, vscode)

Future Users

Additional user directories will follow the same pattern:

• admin/ - Administrative user for system management
• service/ - Service accounts for automation
• guest/ - Temporary/guest user configurations

User Configuration Philosophy

NixOS Integration

Each user has a user.nix file that defines:

• User account settings (shell, groups, home directory)
• User-specific packages
• System-level user configurations
• Integration with home lab services

Literate Dotfiles

Each user's dotfiles/README.org serves as:

• Single source of truth for all user configurations
• Self-documenting setup with rationale
• Auto-tangling to generate actual dotfiles
• Version-controlled configuration history

Multi-Machine Consistency

User configurations are designed to work across machines:

• congenital-optimist: Full development environment
• sleeper-service: Minimal server access
• Future machines: Consistent user experience

Dotfiles Structure

dotfiles/README.org

Main literate configuration file containing:

• Shell configuration (zsh, starship, aliases)
• Editor configurations (emacs, neovim)
• Development tool settings
• Git configuration
• Machine-specific customizations

Subdirectories

• emacs/ - Generated Emacs configuration files
• shell/ - Generated shell configuration files
• editors/ - Generated editor configuration files

Usage Examples

Importing User Configuration

# In machine configuration
imports = [
  ../../users/geir/user.nix
];

Adding New User

1. Create user directory: users/newuser/
2. Copy and adapt user.nix template
3. Create dotfiles/README.org with user-specific configs
4. Import in machine configurations as needed

Tangling Dotfiles

# From user's dotfiles directory
cd users/geir/dotfiles
emacs --batch -l org --eval "(org-babel-tangle-file \"README.org\")"

Design Principles

• User Isolation: Each user's configs are self-contained
• Machine Agnostic: Configs work across different machines
• Literate Programming: All configs are documented and explained
• Version Control: Full history of configuration changes
• Automation: Auto-tangling and deployment workflows

Security Considerations

• User-specific secrets managed separately
• Limited cross-user access
• Machine-appropriate privilege levels
• Service account isolation

Naming Convention

• User Directories: lowercase (e.g., geir/, admin/)
• Configuration Files: descriptive names (e.g., user.nix, README.org)
• Generated Files: follow target application conventions