Archiving note

This was an attempt to set up some requirements for managing my dotfiles using exclusively POSIX shell scripting. It was quite challenging and provided inspiration for how I manage my configuration to this day.

However, chezmoi offers such flexibility and simplicity that maintaining a custom set of POSIX scripts makes no sense, except perhaps in very simple cases.

Why this project

Every time I finish installing a new distribution on a (virtual) machine, obvioulsy nothing I want is there... Having to reinstall the same software suite repeatedly is frustrating, and managing the corresponding configuration for those applications is even worse.

This project aims to minimize those tedious steps as much as possible for every platform I intend or have to work with.

This is not about scripts that perform a fully automated operating system installation, like a specific Linux distribution on a hard drive. The requirements for a given machine or context may also vary each time, which is why this is more focused to preparing a usable, familiar environment once the core system installation is done.

How does it work

This repository contains an install.sh script that takes a profile name as an argument. A profile is simply any directory left at the root of that repository and describe how that latter should be deployed on a target system.

When install.sh is run with a given profile, it will first identify the system it is running on. Next, it will look for a plain text file in the profile directory, corresponding to the detected system. That file should hold all the software dependencies related to the configuration to be deployed, as expected by the package manager.

Finally, the configuration deployment process is handled over the profile main script, _setup.sh, which has to describe all the steps to deploy what it is embedding.

How to use

1. Install the system of your choice that is supported
2. Be sure the system has access to the internet
3. Update the system and eventually reboot
4. Install git
5. Clone this repository: $> git clone https://github.com/duketuxem/os-bootstrap.git
6. Change directory to it: cd os-bootstrap/
7. To install the core profile for example, run install.sh core
8. Eventually install other profiles or create your own !
9. Enjoy

Implementation notes

Design

Separating the installation from the configuration steps offers several benefits:

1. Generic Installation: The installation part is generic and requires only a profile to list all software dependencies. This provides a clear view of what the profile expects to find already installed on a target, which can be any platform.
2. Standalone Configuration Deployment: The configuration deployment process operates as a standalone and self-contained routine. This separation allows the installation phase to focus on interacting with the package manager, while the configuration remains 'self-centered.'
3. Independence of Processes: Each process can be (re)played independently. However, the installation may suggest executing the corresponding profile subscript.

Scripting

The install.sh script is written in pure shell to maximize portability, avoiding dependencies on specific shell flavors like bash or zsh. Eventually, it would be to extend support to Windows, provided a package manager is available and other requirements are met. Currently, this is a possibility, and for now, supporting a wide range of Linux distributions is beneficial. A minor drawback is the need to search for package names in each distribution when adding new software, but once a configuration is established, it should not require constant attention.