{ "uuid": [ { "value": "46b8861e-c2e4-49ef-8b79-fb14effaef6a" } ], "langcode": [ { "value": "en" } ], "type": [ { "target_id": "daily_email", "target_type": "node_type", "target_uuid": "8bde1f2f-eef9-4f2d-ae9c-96921f8193d7" } ], "revision_timestamp": [ { "value": "2025-05-11T09:00:08+00:00" } ], "revision_uid": [ { "target_type": "user", "target_uuid": "b8966985-d4b2-42a7-a319-2e94ccfbb849" } ], "revision_log": [], "status": [ { "value": true } ], "uid": [ { "target_type": "user", "target_uuid": "b8966985-d4b2-42a7-a319-2e94ccfbb849" } ], "title": [ { "value": "To configure or not to configure" } ], "created": [ { "value": "2024-08-08T00:00:00+00:00" } ], "changed": [ { "value": "2025-05-11T09:00:08+00:00" } ], "promote": [ { "value": false } ], "sticky": [ { "value": false } ], "default_langcode": [ { "value": true } ], "revision_translation_affected": [ { "value": true } ], "path": [ { "alias": "\/daily\/2024\/08\/08\/to-configure-or-not-to-configure", "langcode": "en" } ], "body": [ { "value": "\n

It's been more than nine years<\/a> since I started my dotfiles repository<\/a>, which is a collection of configuration files for tools I use.<\/p>\n\n

Originally containing my .gitconfig<\/code> configuration file for Git, it now contains my configuration for Neovim, tmux, Git and a lot more.<\/p>\n\n

One of the things I like is being able to see and read other peoples' dotfiles and take inspiration from their configurations.<\/p>\n\n

I see some configurations that are very complex and customised, and some which are simpler.<\/p>\n\n

Recently, I've been thinking about how much customisation is too much, and moving towards a more minimal configuration.<\/p>\n\n

This isn't specific to command-line tools and also applies to customising GUI programs such as PhpStorm or VSCode.<\/p>\n\n

A more complex configuration means more code to maintain.<\/p>\n\n

It's more difficult to work on different computers, whether you're pair or mob programming, or working on a remote server. Would you still be productive if you didn't have all your configurations?<\/p>\n\n

If you've changed the default behaviour of a command, such as not allowing merge commits in Git or rebasing by default, if someone doesn't have that same option, is that going to cause confusion or introduce inconsistencies?<\/p>\n\n

I'm not going to reset all my configuration files to their default values, but I'll continue to review and decide whether I want to customise something on a case by case basis and whether adding it - especially if it's a larger addition, such as adding a Vim plugin - is worth the maintenance overhead.<\/p>\n\n

The same as in an application, I don't want to add modules or plugins that I'm not going to use or aren't adding value, and I want to ensure I'm making the most of what the software offers.<\/p>\n\n ", "format": "full_html", "processed": "\n

It's been more than nine years<\/a> since I started my dotfiles repository<\/a>, which is a collection of configuration files for tools I use.<\/p>\n\n

Originally containing my .gitconfig<\/code> configuration file for Git, it now contains my configuration for Neovim, tmux, Git and a lot more.<\/p>\n\n

One of the things I like is being able to see and read other peoples' dotfiles and take inspiration from their configurations.<\/p>\n\n

I see some configurations that are very complex and customised, and some which are simpler.<\/p>\n\n

Recently, I've been thinking about how much customisation is too much, and moving towards a more minimal configuration.<\/p>\n\n

This isn't specific to command-line tools and also applies to customising GUI programs such as PhpStorm or VSCode.<\/p>\n\n

A more complex configuration means more code to maintain.<\/p>\n\n

It's more difficult to work on different computers, whether you're pair or mob programming, or working on a remote server. Would you still be productive if you didn't have all your configurations?<\/p>\n\n

If you've changed the default behaviour of a command, such as not allowing merge commits in Git or rebasing by default, if someone doesn't have that same option, is that going to cause confusion or introduce inconsistencies?<\/p>\n\n

I'm not going to reset all my configuration files to their default values, but I'll continue to review and decide whether I want to customise something on a case by case basis and whether adding it - especially if it's a larger addition, such as adding a Vim plugin - is worth the maintenance overhead.<\/p>\n\n

The same as in an application, I don't want to add modules or plugins that I'm not going to use or aren't adding value, and I want to ensure I'm making the most of what the software offers.<\/p>\n\n ", "summary": null } ] }