rpi-setup

The Ultimate Terminal Development Environment for Raspberry Pi & Debian/Ubuntu Systems.

rpi-setup is a comprehensive configuration suite that transforms a fresh Raspberry Pi (or any Debian-based Linux) into a powerful, terminal-centric Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It automates the installation and configuration of Vim, Tmux, Ranger, Docker, and Zsh/Bash, providing a seamless workflow for developers.

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Why use rpi-setup?

Setting up a comfortable development environment on a headless Raspberry Pi usually takes hours of installing packages, tweaking dotfiles, and fixing compatibility issues. rpi-setup does it in minutes.

Key Capabilities

• ** Vim as a Full IDE**:

• Intelligent Completion: Powered by coc.nvim, providing full Language Server Protocol (LSP) support (VS Code-like experience) for Python, C++, and more.

• Essential Tools: Pre-configured with NERDTree (file explorer) and CtrlP (fuzzy finder).

• Beautiful Themes: unified PaperColor scheme across Vim and Tmux.

• ** Tmux Powerhouse**:

• Seamless Navigation: Navigate between Vim splits and Tmux panes using the same hotkeys (Ctrl+h/j/k/l) via vim-tmux-navigator.

• Custom Status Bar: Auto-synced with Vim's airline theme.

• Tmuxinator: Manage complex session layouts easily.

• ** System Monitoring**:

• Custom MOTD: A beautiful "Message of the Day" on login displaying real-time CPU temp, usage, memory, and disk space.

• ** Efficient Shell**:

• Ranger: Console file manager with ra alias.

• Git Enhancements: Custom wrappers for recursive submodule management and visualization (git-forest).

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Installation

This project relies on git submodules. Clone it recursively to ensure all components are retrieved.

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone --recursive https://github.com/your-username/rpi-setup.git
cd rpi-setup

# 2. Run the installer
# This will install dependencies, compile Vim/Tmux from source, and link dotfiles.
./install.sh

Note: The script will modify your ~/.bashrc to source the project's configurations. A backup of your existing config is recommended.

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Modules & Configuration

The project is organized into modular components found in appconfig/.

1. Vim (appconfig/vim)

A highly customized Vim setup compiled from source for performance.

• Plugin Manager: vim-plug

• Key Features:

• LaTeX Support: via vimtex.

• Wiki: vimwiki for personal knowledge base.

• Snippets: UltiSnips engine.

• Config: appconfig/vim/dotvimrc

2. Tmux (appconfig/tmux)

Replaces the standard terminal multiplexer experience with a "vim-like" workflow.

• Prefix Key: Remapped to Ctrl + a (easier to reach).

• Splitting:

• Ctrl + 9: Vertical Split

• Ctrl + 0: Horizontal Split

• Config: appconfig/tmux/dottmux.conf

3. Shell & Bash (appconfig/bash, appconfig/shell)

• Aliases:

• ra: Launch Ranger file manager.

• sb: Source .bashrc (reload config).

• gppl / gppo: Git pull/push local or origin.

• gr: Run command recursively in git submodules.

• FZF Integration: Fuzzy search for files and history (requires fzf installed).

4. MOTD (appconfig/motd)

Custom scripts in 11-welcome and 15-system provide a dashboard view upon SSH login.

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Cheat Sheet

Context	Keybinding	Action
Tmux	Ctrl+a	Prefix key (replaces Ctrl+b)
Tmux	Ctrl+h/j/k/l	Move focus (works across Vim & Tmux!)
Tmux	Ctrl+9	Split pane vertically
Tmux	Ctrl+0	Split pane horizontally
Vim	, (Comma)	Leader key
Vim	,n	Toggle NERDTree file explorer
Vim	Ctrl+p	Fuzzy find file (CtrlP)
Shell	Ctrl+r	Reverse history search
Shell	ra	Open Ranger

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Profiles & Theming

The setup supports a "Profile Manager" to switch configurations (like color schemes) dynamically.

• Current Default: COLORSCHEME_DARK (PaperColor Dark).
• Switching: Usage of deploy_configs.sh allows deploying specific profile lists defined in appconfig/profile_manager/file_list.txt.

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Project Structure

rpi-setup/
├── appconfig/          # Configuration modules
│   ├── bash/           # .bashrc and shell settings
│   ├── vim/            # Vim plugins, themes, and compile scripts
│   ├── tmux/           # Tmux conf and compilation
│   ├── ranger/         # File manager config
│   ├── docker/         # Docker setup
│   └── motd/           # Login message scripts
├── scripts/            # Utility scripts (git-forest, color tests)
├── install.sh          # Main entry point
└── deploy_configs.sh   # Symlink manager