38 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
38 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: To configure or not to configure
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date: 2024-08-08
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permalink: daily/2024/08/08/to-configure-or-not-to-configure
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tags:
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- software-development
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- linux
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- vim
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cta: ~
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snippet: |
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How much should you configure your tools?
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---
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It's been [more than nine years][0] since I started [my dotfiles repository][1], which is a collection of configuration files for tools I use.
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Originally containing my `.gitconfig` configuration file for Git, it now contains my configuration for Neovim, tmux, Git and a lot more.
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One of the things I like is being able to see and read other peoples' dotfiles and take inspiration from their configurations.
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I see some configurations that are very complex and customised, and some which are simpler.
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Recently, I've been thinking about how much customisation is too much, and moving towards a more minimal configuration.
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This isn't specific to command-line tools and also applies to customising GUI programs such as PhpStorm or VSCode.
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A more complex configuration means more code to maintain.
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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?
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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?
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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.
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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.
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[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2023/08/08/8-years-of-dotfiles
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[1]: https://github.com/opdavies/dotfiles.nix
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