Ansible Linux Day 0

Opinionated Ansible automation for bootstrapping Linux workstations and servers.

ansible-linux-day0 is a personal day-zero configuration repo for getting a fresh Linux machine into a useful working state. It installs common terminal tools, developer runtimes, shells, workstation applications, desktop utilities, and a small amount of user configuration.

The playbooks are intentionally opinionated, but each feature is controlled by an install_* variable so the default workstation can be trimmed down per host or inventory.

Contents

• Supported Platforms
• Omarchy Notes
• Quick Start
• Playbooks
• Feature Toggles
• Roles
• Validation
• Repository Layout
• Cross-Distro Development

Supported Platforms

Support is being expanded from Ubuntu-first coverage toward a broader cross-distro workstation bootstrap.

Platform	Bootstrap	Workstation	Server	Notes
Ubuntu	Supported	Best supported	Supported	Primary historical target. Regolith is Ubuntu-only.
Debian family	Partial	Partial	Partial	Many tasks work, but Ubuntu-only PPAs/repos are guarded or still being refined.
RHEL	Supported	Partial	Partial	Uses RPM/DNF paths where available.
Rocky / AlmaLinux	Partial	Partial	Partial	Expected to follow RedHat-family paths; test per feature.
Fedora	Not in bootstrap yet	Partial	Not verified	Many RedHat-family package tasks should work, but bootstrap coverage is not complete.
Arch Linux	Supported	Partial	Not verified	The tested Arch target is Omarchy, not a generic hand-rolled Arch install.
Omarchy / Hyprland on Arch	N/A	Active support	N/A	Tested against the Omarchy spin by DHH. Install Omarchy first, then run this playbook to tune it.

Desktop-environment assumptions are intentionally conservative:

• KDE Plasma is opt-in only with install_kde: true.
• Regolith is only attempted on Ubuntu.
• AUR-only applications are limited to explicit app tasks such as Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Arch.

Omarchy Notes

Omarchy describes itself as "Beautiful, Modern & Opinionated Linux by DHH" and links its manual, ISO, and GitHub project from the main site. The Arch workflow in this repository assumes that Omarchy has already been installed on the machine.

Recommended flow:

1. Follow the Omarchy website and manual to install Omarchy onto a fresh computer.
2. Boot into the completed Omarchy system.
3. Clone this repository.
4. Run ./bootstrap.sh.
5. Run the workstation playbook.

This playbook is intended to layer personal day-zero workstation preferences on top of Omarchy. It deliberately supersedes some Omarchy opinions, including installing this repo's Neovim configuration and tmux bindings. Tasks that replace preexisting user configuration should preserve the original directory or file with a backup before installing the playbook-managed version.

Current Omarchy/Hyprland-specific behavior includes:

• Tuning ~/.config/hypr/looknfeel.conf when Hyprland is installed and the file exists.
• Enabling the Omarchy screenshot binding in ~/.config/hypr/bindings.conf when the commented binding exists.
• Backing up unmanaged ~/.config/nvim before installing the playbook-managed Neovim config.

Quick Start

Clone the repository on the target host, install Ansible and role dependencies, then run the workstation playbook locally.

For Omarchy systems, install Omarchy first from the official Omarchy project, then run this repo on top of that completed install.

./bootstrap.sh
./install-workstation.sh

install-workstation.sh runs:

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml --connection=local -K

The wrapper prompts for the sudo password and reboots after completion. Run the raw ansible-playbook command directly if you want more control over tags, check mode, or reboot timing.

Playbooks

Workstation

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml --connection=local -K

The workstation playbook applies:

• common
• workstation_core
• workstation_desktop

Run a single feature by tag:

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml --connection=local -K --tags docker

Server

Server targets should be listed under inventory/.

ansible-playbook -i inventory/server.yml day0-server.yml -K

The server playbook applies:

• common
• server_core

Feature Toggles

Each role exposes defaults in defaults/main.yml. Set an install_* variable to false to skip a feature.

Example:

install_regolith: false
install_kde: false
install_chrome: false

Feature variables can be set in inventory, host vars, group vars, or an extra vars file:

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml \
  --connection=local \
  -K \
  -e @vars.yml

Roles

Common

Role entry point: roles/common/tasks/main.yml

Shared server and workstation setup.

Feature	Task file	Toggle
Baseline packages	install_packages.yml	install_packages
tmux	install_tmux.yml	install_tmux
zsh	install_zsh.yml	install_zsh
SSH key	install_ssh_key.yml	install_ssh_key
NodeJS via nvm	install_nodejs.yml	install_nodejs
AWS CLI	install_aws_cli.yml	install_aws_cli

Server Core

Role entry point: roles/server_core/tasks/main.yml

Server-only configuration.

Feature	Notes
Hostname	Sets hostname from inventory name.
Package upgrades	Debian-family upgrade task.
Unattended upgrades	Configured through the role dependency in meta/main.yml.
tmux/zsh config	Deploys role templates for server sessions.

Workstation Core

Role entry point: roles/workstation_core/tasks/main.yml

Developer tooling and CLI applications.

Feature	Task file	Toggle
Dotfiles	install_dotfiles.yml	install_dotfiles
Build libraries	install_libraries.yml	install_libraries
Python	install_python.yml	install_python
Go	install_go.yml	install_go
TypeScript	install_typescript.yml	install_typescript
Ruby	install_ruby.yml	install_ruby
LuaRocks	install_luarocks.yml	install_luarocks
Neovim	install_neovim.yml	install_neovim
Fastfetch	install_fastfetch.yml	install_fastfetch
Docker	install_docker.yml	install_docker
Cloud utilities	install_cloud_utilities.yml	install_cloud_utilities
Cisco Secure Client	install_cisco_secure_client.yml	install_cisco_secure_client
ProxyChains-NG	install_proxychains_ng.yml	install_proxychains_ng
LazyDocker	install_lazydocker.yml	install_lazydocker
LazyGit	install_lazygit.yml	install_lazygit
Minicom	install_minicom.yml	install_minicom
Terraform	install_terraform.yml	install_terraform
PowerShell	install_powershell.yml	install_powershell

Workstation Desktop

Role entry point: roles/workstation_desktop/tasks/main.yml

GUI applications and desktop-specific behavior.

Feature	Task file	Toggle
Alacritty	install_alacritty.yml	install_alacritty
Flameshot	install_flameshot.yml	install_flameshot
Hyprland settings	install_hyprland_settings.yml	install_hyprland_settings
Regolith	install_regolith.yml	install_regolith
KDE Plasma	install_kde.yml	install_kde
Chrome	install_chrome.yml	install_chrome
Microsoft Edge	install_microsoft_edge.yml	install_microsoft_edge
VSCode / Code - OSS	install_vscode.yml	install_vscode
Ulauncher	install_ulauncher.yml	install_ulauncher
Remmina	install_remmina.yml	install_remmina
KeePassXC	install_keepassxc.yml	install_keepassxc

Validation

Run syntax checks before applying changes:

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml --connection=local --syntax-check
ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-server.yml --connection=local --syntax-check

Run a feature in check mode with tags:

ansible-playbook -i localhost, day0-workstation.yml \
  --connection=local \
  --check \
  --tags go

If available, run:

ansible-lint

Repository Layout

.
├── ansible.cfg
├── bootstrap.sh
├── day0-server.yml
├── day0-workstation.yml
├── install-workstation.sh
├── inventory/
└── roles/
    ├── common/
    ├── server_core/
    ├── workstation_core/
    └── workstation_desktop/

Cross-Distro Development

When adding features, follow the existing role structure:

1. Add an install_<feature> default in the role's defaults/main.yml.
2. Add an include_tasks entry in the role's tasks/main.yml.
3. Put implementation in tasks/install_<feature>.yml.
4. Add a tag matching the feature name.
5. Use ansible_facts['os_family'] for broad package-manager paths.
6. Use ansible_distribution only for distro-specific repositories or apps.

Prefer ansible.builtin.package when package names are shared across distros. Use package-manager-specific modules only when necessary.

Important platform notes:

• Ubuntu-only PPAs or repositories must be guarded with ansible_distribution == 'Ubuntu'.
• RedHat-family work should use DNF/RPM paths where needed.
• Arch work should be tested against Omarchy unless a task explicitly targets generic Arch. Prefer official pacman packages where possible.
• AUR support is limited to specific application tasks that need it.
• Desktop environment installs should be opt-in unless they are lightweight app installs.

For more detailed agent guidance, see AGENTS.md.