hx + alacritty + zellij dotfiles

A fast, light-themed dev setup for Python, Rust, Zig, C++, and C, with an LLM CLI tab and desktop notifications when a tool needs your input.

dotfiles/
├── install.sh              # installs everything + symlinks configs
├── helix/
│   ├── config.toml         # editor look & feel (Catppuccin Latte)
│   └── languages.toml      # LSPs, formatters, debug adapters per language
├── alacritty/
│   ├── alacritty.toml      # terminal appearance, maximized, opens into zellij
│   └── notify-bell.sh      # desktop notification on terminal bell
├── zellij/
│   ├── config.kdl          # keybindings, theme, mouse behavior
│   └── layouts/
│       ├── dev.kdl         # files (yazi) + editor (hx) + console + llms + git
│       ├── rsdev.kdl       # same as dev, no console tab; 4-console Rust ops tab
│       └── pydev.kdl       # same as dev, no console tab; 4-console Python ops tab
└── scripts/
    └── mdp.sh              # live markdown preview (glow + entr), installed as `mdp`

What each language gets

Language	LSP	Formatter / linter	Debugger (DAP)
Python	pyright	ruff (format + lint)	— (add debugpy if you need it)
Rust	rust-analyzer	rustfmt, clippy on save	lldb-dap
Zig	zls	zig fmt	— (zls doesn't ship DAP support yet)
C++	clangd	clang-tidy (via clangd)	lldb-dap
C	clangd	clang-tidy (via clangd)	lldb-dap

Debug from Helix with :debug-start (or bind a key to it) once a binary exists — it'll ask for the path to the compiled binary using the templates in languages.toml.

Do you need per-project setup?

Mostly no — the global config handles the LSPs/formatters automatically:

• Rust: nothing extra. cargo new gives rust-analyzer everything it needs.
• Zig: works as soon as zls is on your PATH.
• Python: pyright picks up an active virtualenv automatically. Only add a pyrightconfig.json in the project root if your venv lives somewhere non-standard.
• C / C++: this is the one exception — clangd needs a compile_commands.json per project to know your include paths and flags. Generate it with bear -- make, or with CMake add -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON. Without it, clangd still works but loses accurate completion/diagnostics for anything outside the standard library.

Install

git clone <this repo> ~/dotfiles   # or unzip it there
cd ~/dotfiles
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Detects macOS (Homebrew), Debian/Ubuntu (apt), or Arch (pacman); installs Helix/Alacritty/Zellij, each language's toolchain/LSP, lldb-dap, cargo-watch, glow, entr, and resvg (SVG rasterizer); symlinks everything into ~/.config/ and drops the mdp script on your PATH.

Notes on packages it can't get from apt directly:

• Helix on Ubuntu — not in the default repos, so the script adds the official PPA (ppa:maveonair/helix-editor) and installs from there. On non-Ubuntu

Day-to-day use

cd ~/some-project
dev

dev is a small wrapper (scripts/dev.sh) that opens a Zellij session using the dev layout, named after the current folder — so each project gets its own persistent session. Run dev again from the same folder later and it reattaches instead of starting fresh; your panes, running builds, and the llms tab pick up right where you left off.

If you'd rather launch straight from your desktop instead of an existing terminal, open Alacritty (maximized, light Catppuccin Latte colors) and run dev inside it — same result.

For Rust projects, use rsdev instead — it's the same wrapper but opens the rsdev layout. There's no console tab; instead the ops tab is a 2×2 grid of four consoles — single test (rt), run (cr), full test suite (ct/cargo test), and clippy (ccl) — all run manually.

For Python projects, use pydev — the same idea, but its ops tab is a 2×2 grid of four consoles: single test (ptk), run (pm), full test suite (pt), and lint (pl).

In both layouts the editor tab is just Helix (no console), like dev.

Useful commands

These aliases and functions are added to ~/.bashrc / ~/.zshrc by install.sh:

Command	What it does
dev	Open a Zellij session with the dev layout (named after the current folder)
rsdev	Same, but with the rsdev layout (adds an ops tab)
pydev	Same, but with the pydev layout (adds a Python ops tab)
y	Launch yazi; on quit, cd to wherever you navigated to
mdp	Live markdown preview (glow + entr)

Rust / cargo aliases:

Command	What it does
cb	cargo build — compact one-line diagnostics, no progress spam
cc	cargo check — same, but skips codegen (fastest feedback loop)
ccl	cargo clippy — compact diagnostics
cw	cargo watch running cargo check on every save
cbg	bacon — live, always-on compact diagnostics panel
ct	Run the full test suite via cargo nextest run
cf	cargo fmt
cu	cargo update (bump Cargo.lock within semver constraints)
cr	cargo run (build + run the project binary), mirrors pm
rt	Fuzzy-pick and run a single Rust test (cargo-nextest + fzf)

Python / uv aliases (the cargo-equivalent workflow, powered by uv):

Command	What it does
pvenv	Create a .venv in the current project (uv venv)
pd	Sync/install the project's deps + env (uv sync)
pa	Add a dependency (uv add <pkg>)
prm	Remove a dependency (uv remove <pkg>)
pu	Upgrade locked deps within constraints (uv lock --upgrade)
pf	Format code (ruff format .)
pl	Lint (ruff check .)
pcx	Lint with auto-fixes (ruff check --fix .)
pt	Run the full test suite (uv run pytest)
pw	Run tests on every save (uv run ptw)
ptk	Fuzzy-pick and run a single pytest test (uv + fzf)
pm	Run a Python entrypoint via .venv/bin/python (defaults to main.py)

To use pt/pw/ptk, add pytest as a project dev-dependency once: uv add --dev pytest (add pytest-watch too for pw).

Inside the session (dev):

• Tab 1 — files: launches y (yazi) automatically — a terminal file manager for browsing, previewing, and editing files without leaving the session.
• Tab 2 — editor: Helix open on ., full pane — no shell underneath.
• Tab 3 — console: a scratch shell for builds and ad-hoc commands.
• Tab 4 — llms: launches opencode automatically. Swap the command in zellij/layouts/dev.kdl if you use a different LLM CLI.
• Tab 5 — git: lazygit, for status/diff/stage/commit without leaving the session.

In rsdev/pydev there's no console tab: the editor tab is just Helix, and the ops tab (a 2×2 grid of four consoles — single test, run, full test suite, clippy/lint) sits between editor and llms.

Helix keybindings

Line numbers are absolute (1-based from the top of the file, not relative to the cursor) — see line-number in helix/config.toml. Extra bindings added on top of the Helix defaults (in helix/config.toml):

Key	What it does
Ctrl-s	Save (:w)
Ctrl-q	Quit (:q)
space	Picker menu (space → file picker, space b → buffer picker, w → save, q → quit)
space B	Git blame the current line — prints the commit/author that last touched it to the statusline
m	Render the current markdown file through glow
Ctrl-e	Open the current file in VS Code at the cursor line (code -g)

Note: Ctrl-e runs in the foreground, so Helix suspends until you close VS Code.