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Collects And INstalls

cain is my dotfiles / keybindings / programs manager, written in C with no dependencies. It works on any Linux distro, macOS and Windows. If you install it, your configs and keys become mine.

Everything lives in one file, cain.json:

section	what it is
packages	programs to install (apt/dnf/pacman/zypper/apk/xbps, brew, winget). "terminal": true ones also go on servers
files	dotfiles copied between files/ and your home folder
remaps	key remaps, e.g. alt+h -> left, capslock -> esc
shortcuts	desktop shortcuts, e.g. alt+comma closes a window, alt+t opens a terminal
settings	wallpaper, dark mode, Mac key behavior

Write keys once, in a neutral format (alt, lalt, ralt, ctrl, rctrl, shift, super

• a key name: see the top of src/keys.c). cain turns them into whatever each OS needs:

OS	key remaps	shortcuts
Linux	keyd (/etc/keyd/default.conf). Works on X11 and Wayland	Cinnamon, GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE settings
Windows	AutoHotkey v2 script in your Startup folder	same script
macOS	Karabiner-Elements rules	same rules

Install

Linux / macOS (needs a C compiler: sudo apt install build-essential, or xcode-select --install):

cd && git clone https://github.com/v3ai/cain && cd cain && make && ./cain -i

Windows (PowerShell): clone the repo, put cain.exe from the latest release in the cain folder, then:

cd ~; git clone https://github.com/v3ai/cain; cd cain; .\cain.exe -i

(Or build it yourself with build.bat from a Visual Studio developer prompt, or make windows with MinGW.)

VPS / server

On a fresh Linux server (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Rocky/Alma/CentOS/RHEL, Arch, openSUSE, Alpine, Void), as root or a sudo user:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/v3ai/cain/master/vps.sh | sh

(no curl? wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/v3ai/cain/master/vps.sh | sh)

vps.sh installs git and a C compiler, clones cain to ~/cain, builds it and runs cain vps. That installs only what's used in the terminal and skips keybindings, desktop settings and GUI apps:

• every package marked "terminal": true in cain.json: bash, sudo, curl, git, micro, nano, python3 + pip + venv, tree, nnn, fzf, nmap, ffmpeg, yt-dlp, ssh, ... with the right package name for each distro. On Rocky/Alma/CentOS/RHEL it turns on EPEL first. If a distro doesn't package something (e.g. micro or yt-dlp), its "fallback" command installs it into ~/.local/bin instead.
• the dotfiles (micro, nano, cain.sh), git name/email, cain itself on your PATH
• the shell block in ~/.bashrc, plus a line in ~/.profile / ~/.bash_profile so SSH logins load it. If your login shell isn't bash or zsh (Alpine's ash), cain switches it to bash.

Already cloned? cd ~/cain && ./vps.sh, or make && ./cain vps. Re-running is safe. Just some steps: cain vps packages shell.

Install copies cain to ~/.local/bin and puts that on your PATH. After that, open a new terminal and just type cain. The repo can live anywhere: cain remembers where it is.

Usage

cain                  asks: Collect (C) or Install (I)?
cain -c               collect: copy this machine's configs into the repo, commit, push
cain -i               install everything
cain install keys     only some steps: packages git files bin shell keys desktop
cain keys             re-apply keybindings after editing cain.json
cain generate macos   print the keyd / AutoHotkey / Karabiner config for any OS
cain vps              set up a Linux server: terminal programs, configs, shell (no desktop)
cain -i --dry-run     show what would happen without changing anything
cain booklister       pick a book from ~/Desktop/books and open it ($CAIN_BOOKS_DIR to change)
cain listlauncher     edit list.html on the website, then commit and push ($CAIN_SITE_DIR)

Files that install overwrites are backed up to ~/.cain-backup/<date>/ first.

Per-OS notes

• Linux: keyd needs sudo once to install. If your distro doesn't package it, cain builds it from source. If input-remapper is running, cain offers to turn it off so keys aren't remapped twice. On Cinnamon, cain -c also saves the whole dconf dump (theme, panels, ...), and install loads it back. booklister uses dmenu, rofi, fuzzel, wofi or zenity, whichever is installed.
• Windows: the AutoHotkey script is at %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cain.ahk. Shell aliases go in your PowerShell profile (files/shell/cain.ps1). booklister opens a small search-as-you-type window.
• macOS: the first time, open Karabiner-Elements and allow it in System Settings > Privacy & Security. With "mac_translate": true, outputs become Mac-style: ctrl+c -> cmd+c, ctrl+left -> option+left, home -> cmd+left. "mac_alt": "option" uses the Option key as your Alt. Set it to "command" to use the key under your thumb instead.
• Any remap can be overridden per OS: {"from": "lalt+v", "to": "ctrl+shift+v", "macos": "cmd+v"}. Use null to skip it on that OS. Any entry can be limited with "os": ["linux"].
• Packages: {"name": "ssh", "apt": "openssh-client", "pacman": "openssh"} sets the name per package manager (apt dnf yum pacman zypper apk xbps brew winget, or linux for all of them). null skips it there. "fallback": "<shell command>" runs if the package manager can't install it; "bin" is the command to look for if it isn't the same as name. CAIN_PM=apk cain vps -n shows what a distro would get.
• Shortcuts can run anything: {"action": "editor", "keys": ["alt+e"], "run": {"linux": "kate", "windows": "notepad.exe"}}.

Shell

files/shell/cain.sh (bash and zsh) and files/shell/cain.ps1 (PowerShell) hold my aliases and functions. install, update, upgrade and the rest use whatever package manager the machine has. cain adds a small # >>> cain >>> block to ~/.bashrc / ~/.zshrc / $PROFILE that loads them. Edit them with rc.

Hacking

make          build ./cain
make test     check the generated configs against tests/expected/
make windows  cross-compile cain.exe with MinGW

The code is in src/: main.c (commands and install steps), keys.c (key names for every backend), keyd.c / ahk.c / karabiner.c / linux_desktop.c (the backends), packages.c, desktop.c, tools.c (booklister, listlauncher), json.c and util.c. GitHub Actions builds and tests on all three OSes. Push a v* tag to publish binaries.

MIT licensed, check the dotfiles for ideas. ASCII art made with figlet -f Georgia11.flf cain.