From 32fa1a369b9e084151064d1ea18ac7245964c45d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sarthak Jain <jsarthak@outlook.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:10:52 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] Fix stow

---
 .stow-local-ignore         |  4 +--
 README.md                  | 56 +++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
 scripts/.stow-local-ignore |  1 +
 shell/.stow-local-ignore   |  1 +
 shell/work                 |  0
 5 files changed, 38 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 scripts/.stow-local-ignore
 create mode 100644 shell/.stow-local-ignore
 create mode 100644 shell/work

diff --git a/.stow-local-ignore b/.stow-local-ignore
index 0c3072c..81331f2 100644
--- a/.stow-local-ignore
+++ b/.stow-local-ignore
@@ -28,5 +28,5 @@ _darcs
 scripts      # scripts directory to be ignored
 shell        # various shell configurations need not be stowed.
 .DS_store
-README.md
-.*/\.git
+README.md
+.*/\.git
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 239a6e6..130e02e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,44 +39,56 @@ sudo pacman -S stow
 To install all configurations at once, navigate to the root of this repository and run:
 
 ```bash
-stow .
+stow */
 ```
+*(Note: Using `stow */` prevents the shell from passing pure files like `README.md` to Stow, ensuring only directory packages are stowed).*
 
-This will automatically create the necessary symlinks in your `$HOME` directory pointing to the files in this repository.
+This will automatically create the necessary symlinks in your `$HOME` directory.
 
 ### Removing Configurations
 
 If you want to remove the symlinks created by Stow, use the `-D` flag:
 
 ```bash
-stow -D .
+stow -D */
 ```
 
-## Directory Structure
+## Directory Structure & Branching Strategy
 
-The folder structure directly mirrors its target destination relative to the home (`~/`) directory.
+This repository uses a **Folder-Per-App** structure combined with a **Git Branching Strategy** to flawlessly handle different machines (Mac, Work, Linux) without any `if/else` logic.
+
+### 1. Folder Structure
+The root directories represent individual applications:
 
 ```text
 .
-├── .bashrc                      # Symlinked to ~/.bashrc
-├── .config/                     # Symlinked to ~/.config/
-│   ├── alacritty/
-│   ├── kitty/
-│   ├── nvim/
-│   ├── starship.toml
-│   └── ...
-├── .fonts/                      # Symlinked to ~/.fonts/
-├── .tmux.conf                   # Symlinked to ~/.tmux.conf
-├── .tmux.conf.local             # Symlinked to ~/.tmux.conf.local
-├── .vimrc                       # Symlinked to ~/.vimrc
-├── .zshrc                       # Symlinked to ~/.zshrc
-├── scripts/                     # Symlinked to ~/scripts/
-├── shell/                       # Symlinked to ~/shell/
-└── wezterm.lua                  # Symlinked to ~/wezterm.lua
+├── bash/                        # Stowed to ~ (contains .bashrc)
+├── nvim/                        # Stowed to ~/.config/nvim/
+├── tmux/                        # Stowed to ~ (contains .tmux.conf)
+├── zsh/                         # Stowed to ~ (contains .zshrc)
+└── ...
 ```
 
+### 2. The Git Branch Workflow
+This repository has zero conditional logic. Configurations are managed purely via branches.
+
+- **`master` branch**: Contains the 95% common base configurations shared across all machines.
+- **`mac`, `work`, `linux` branches**: Machine-specific branches derived from `master`.
+
+**How to manage machine-specific settings:**
+1. Check out your machine's branch (e.g., `git checkout work`).
+2. Statically write your overrides (e.g., adding a Work-only plugin to `nvim/`).
+3. Commit and push: `git push origin work`.
+
+**How to update shared settings:**
+1. Switch to the base branch: `git checkout master`.
+2. Update the shared configuration and commit.
+3. Switch back to your local branch: `git checkout work`.
+4. Pull the updates in by rebasing: `git rebase master` (then `git push origin work -f`).
+
 ### Adding New Configurations
 
 When you want to add a new tool:
-1. Replicate the target directory structure inside this repository (e.g., `.config/new_tool/config.toml`).
-2. Run `stow .` from the root of this repository to link the new files.
+1. Create a new folder matching the application's name (e.g., `mkdir alacritty`).
+2. Replicate the target directory structure inside it (e.g., `alacritty/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml`).
+3. Run `stow */` from the root of this repository to link the new package.
diff --git a/scripts/.stow-local-ignore b/scripts/.stow-local-ignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d98f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/.stow-local-ignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.*
diff --git a/shell/.stow-local-ignore b/shell/.stow-local-ignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d98f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell/.stow-local-ignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.*
diff --git a/shell/work b/shell/work
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29