Windows Productivity Setup

Overview

A comprehensive Windows productivity setup tailored for software developers, combining modern tiling window management, keyboard-driven workflows, and cross-platform dotfile management.

Problem

Default Windows productivity tools are often mouse-heavy and inefficient for developers who prefer keyboard-centric workflows. Managing configurations across multiple machines and environments is tedious without proper automation.

Solution

An integrated stack that provides:

• Tiling window management with Komorebi for efficient screen real estate usage
• Keyboard remapping via Kmonad for ergonomic shortcuts and custom layouts
• Dotfile management using chezmoi for version-controlled, reproducible configurations
• Development environment with Git and Neovim properly configured

Key Features

• Automated window tiling and workspace management
• Custom keyboard layouts and shortcuts
• Cross-machine configuration synchronization
• Git integration with SSH key management
• Neovim setup with LSP and plugin management
• PowerShell and terminal configurations

Setup Components

Window Management (Komorebi)

• Automatic window tiling
• Workspace switching
• Custom layouts and rules

Keyboard Configuration (Kmonad)

• Caps Lock as Control/Escape
• Custom navigation layers
• Application-specific shortcuts

Dotfile Management (chezmoi)

• Template-based configurations
• Machine-specific adaptations
• Secret management
• One-command bootstrap process

What I Learned

• Building a cohesive productivity environment requires careful integration between tools
• Keyboard-driven workflows significantly improve development speed once mastered
• Dotfile automation is essential for maintaining consistency across machines
• Windows can be as developer-friendly as Linux with proper tooling

Future Improvements

• Integration with WSL2 for Linux workflows
• Custom AutoHotkey scripts for advanced automation
• Cloud sync for workspace states
• Documentation site with setup guides