[Proposal] Home Directory Reorganization Script & Legacy Folders Cleanup

[mrvictor22]

Context

I've been using ArchEclipse for several months and noticed that having $HOME as the repository root causes some organizational challenges:

1. Personal files mix with rice files - Documents, Downloads, cache files can accidentally end up in the repo
2. Legacy config folders - Several folders exist that are no longer actively used (replaced by AGS)
3. New users confusion - It's unclear which folders are essential vs legacy

I'm willing to work on a robust solution for this, but I wanted to confirm a few things with you first before investing time in the implementation.

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Analysis Performed

I did a complete audit of the home directory structure. Here's what I found:

Folders Tracked by Git (in ~/)

Folder	Files	Currently Used?	Notes
~/wofi/	5	❌ (AGS app-launcher)	Legacy launcher config
~/wofifull/	4	❌	Legacy launcher variant
~/mako/	6+	❌	Legacy notifications (AGS handles this)
~/swaylock/	1	❌ (hyprlock)	Legacy lock screen
~/waybar/	5	❌ (AGS)	Legacy status bar
~/waybarBackUp/	11	❌	Backup of legacy bar
~/themes/	4	✅	Catppuccin themes - active
~/scripts/	24	✅	Rice scripts - active
~/configs/	6	✅	Base configs - active

Current Tools vs Legacy Configs

Function	Legacy Config	Current Tool	Status
App Launcher	~/wofi/, ~/wofifull/	AGS	AGS active
Notifications	~/mako/	AGS	AGS active
Lock Screen	~/swaylock/	hyprlock	hyprlock installed
Status Bar	~/waybar/	AGS	AGS active

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Questions Before I Start Working

1. Legacy folders: Can we safely remove waybar/, waybarBackUp/, wofi/, wofifull/, mako/, swaylock/ from the repo since they're no longer used? Or should they stay for users who want alternatives to AGS?

2. Post-install reorganization script: Would you be interested in a reorganize-home.sh script that helps users organize their home directory after installation? It could:

   • Create standard XDG folders (~/Documents/, ~/Downloads/, etc.)
   • Move personal files to appropriate locations
   • Clean up cache files
   • Verify the installation is working

3. Documentation: Should we add a section to README explaining which folders are essential vs optional/legacy?

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What I've Already Done (My Fork)

I reorganized my installation in 5 phases and documented everything:

Phase	Action	Result
1	Cache cleanup	+27GB recovered
2	Personal files organization	Moved to ~/Documents/
3	Config consolidation	Verified no duplicates
4	Legacy folders analysis	Identified unused folders
5	.gitignore documentation	Added comments explaining structure

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Proposed Solution (If Approved)

I can create a reorganize-home.sh script that:

#!/bin/bash
# 1. Create XDG directories
mkdir -p ~/Documents/{guides,backups}
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

# 2. Offer to clean caches (interactive)
# 3. Move common misplaced files
# 4. Verify rice is working
# 5. Show summary of changes

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Environment

• Fork: mrvictor22/ArchEclipse
• Arch Linux with Hyprland
• AGS 3.0 for bars/launcher/notifications
• hyprlock for screen locking

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Looking forward to your feedback before I start working on the implementation! 🚀

[AymanLyesri]

Hi thanks for the suggestion
From what i understand the user could want two things:

• remove ONLY the legacy files:
  • solution: create a simple bash script to backup the entire $HOME with an option to reverse the change, before installing the new ArchEclipse DotFiles.
• remove ONLY the ArchEclipse DotFiles:
  • solution: create a dynamic bash script that tracks what Git tracks and remove each file/folder without touching the other files, something like this:

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/archEclipse-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"

echo "Backup directory: $BACKUP_DIR"
echo "The following files will be MOVED:"
echo

git ls-files

echo
read -rp "Proceed? (y/N): " confirm
[[ "$confirm" == "y" ]] || exit 0

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

git ls-files -z | while IFS= read -r -d '' file; do
  mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR/$(dirname "$file")"
  mv "$file" "$BACKUP_DIR/$file"
done

echo "✔ All tracked files moved to $BACKUP_DIR"

[mrvictor22]

Thanks for the detailed response @AymanLyesri!

I'll work on implementing both scripts. Here's my plan:

Phase 1: UNINSTALL.sh (Based on your code)

I'll enhance your script with:

• Colors and better formatting
• --dry-run option to preview changes
• Size summary before proceeding
• Restore option from backup

Phase 2: CLEANUP-LEGACY.sh

A separate script to remove legacy folders (waybar, wofi, mako, swaylock) with:

• Verification that AGS/hyprlock is working as replacement
• Interactive confirmation for each folder
• Backup before deletion

Phase 3: Documentation

I'll add a section to README explaining:

• Which folders are essential vs legacy
• How to use the cleanup scripts
• What each folder contains

I'll start with Phase 1 and submit a PR when ready. Does this approach work for you?

[AymanLyesri]

Phase 1 sounds good, as for 2, we don't know how many legacy programs the user might have, in my opinion the best approach is to backup the whole $HOME Dir, this way it remains future proof.

What do u think? do have a different approach?