Bootstrap Linux Runbook — Aug 2026

Greenfield native install, Debian/Ubuntu (apt), bare metal. Priority: get CLI AI assistants and installer tooling working first — everything else is secondary.

Scope / assumptions

• Fresh Debian/Ubuntu install, no prior config on this box.
• “Greenfield” = nothing to reuse from WSL2/Termux notes (different targets: Windows subsystem / Android). This runbook is self-contained for native metal.
• Remote-usage check: Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode all require a local binary/runtime on the machine that runs them — none has a zero-config remote mode that avoids install here. So local install stays top priority, not skipped in favor of remote.
• No GUI apps, no gaming, no browser extensions in this doc — out of scope. (Prior notes on those live in the other files in this folder, untouched.)

Order of operations (active — do now)

Assumes base system already normalized (see deferred section below) before starting at step 1.

1. Node.js runtime (dependency for step 2)

• Install via NodeSource or nvm (nvm preferred — avoids sudo for global npm installs)
• Verify node -v, npm -v

2. CLI AI assistants — highest priority tier

• Claude Code: native installer — curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
• Gemini CLI: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
• OpenCode: native installer works directly on Linux metal (unlike Termux, which needed proot-distro workarounds) — use standard install script from repo
• Verify each: claude --version, gemini --version, opencode --version
• Auth/login each (interactive, can’t fully automate — flag as manual step)

3. Core dev tooling

• git — set global user.name/email
• GitHub CLI: gh via apt repo (gh auth login after)
• Docker Engine (not Docker Desktop — that’s Windows/Mac only): official apt repo install, add user to docker group
• Optional: gh copilot / other CLI extensions if needed later

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Deferred — not needed right now

Normalization script

(was section 1 — base system prep, pulled out to script separately, runs before step 1 above once written)

• sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
• Essential build/runtime deps: curl, git, build-essential, ca-certificates, unzip
• Confirm shell (bash/zsh) and default locale

Automation wrapper

• Once steps 1–3 above are confirmed working manually, consolidate into bootstrap.sh
• Idempotent checks (command -v X || install) per tool, matching pattern already used in AI_Tools_Setup.ps1
• Held until you confirm/amend this runbook

Final stage

(was section 6 appendix)

• Desktop environment / GUI apps
• VPN, backup sync tools (Syncthing, Dropbox, etc.)
• Browser + extensions
• Anything gaming-related

Open items to confirm before scripting

• Exact OpenCode repo/install command to pin (check current docs — was noted “not native in Termux” but should be a non-issue on real Linux)
• Whether Claude Code / Gemini CLI / OpenCode auth can be pre-seeded via env vars/config file for unattended setup, or must stay manual per install
• Docker: needed day one, or defer to Final stage?