diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..992b3de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -x
+
+# check that $XDG_CONFIG_HOME has been assigned
+[ -z "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME" ] && XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$HOME/.config"
+
+for i in bspwm nvim sx sxhkd vimb zathura; do
+  # copy everthing to the config directory
+  cp -r "$i" $XDG_CONFIG_HOME
+done