Configuration Design

Philosophy: The “Contractor” Model

Themis acts as a contractor executing a renovation. The user provides a Work Order (Configuration) that specifies:

1. The Blueprint: What style are we applying? (The Profile)
2. The Scope: Which rooms are we renovating? (Enrollment)
3. Specific Instructions: Any custom deviations? (Overrides)

1. The Blueprint (The Profile)

A Profile is a Superset of variables required by the supported applications.

profiles/nord.yaml

metadata:
  name: Nord

# The "Superset" of variables
vars:
  mode: "dark"
  wallpaper: "~/Pictures/nord-mountains.jpg"
  accent_color: "#88C0D0"

  # Colors
  bg: "#2E3440"
  fg: "#D8DEE9"

2. The Scope (Enrollment)

The user should not be burdened with configuring applications they don’t use. The themis.yaml config simply lists which “Integrations” are active.

# themis.yaml (User Config)

# 1. Global State
current_profile: "nord"

# 2. Enrollment (The Scope)
# Only these apps will be touched.
enroll:
  - gtk
  - foot
  - dunst
  # - qt (Commented out, so Themis ignores QT completely)

3. Overrides (Specific Instructions)

Users can override global variables from the Profile for specific apps.

themis.yaml

overrides:
  # Global Override (Apply to all apps)
  global:
    wallpaper: "~/Pictures/my-custom-wall.png"

  # App-Specific Override
  foot:
    # Use a specific font size for Foot, ignoring the profile defaults
    font_size: 14

4. Resolution Logic

When Themis updates an application (e.g., foot):

1. Check Enrollment: Is foot in the enroll list? If no, skip.
2. Load Handler: Load the integration logic for foot.
3. Resolve Variables:
   • Start with Profile variables.
   • Merge Global Overrides.
   • Merge App-Specific Overrides.
4. Execute: Pass the resolved variable set to the Handler.

5. Benefits

• Minimal Config: A user only lists the apps they use.
• Safety: Themis doesn’t touch config files for unenrolled apps.
• Flexibility: Presets provide the basics, but users have full control to tweak specific apps without breaking the global theme.