Headless Linux Dev Setup

🐧 Headless Linux Dev Setup

After building several developer workstations and CI servers by hand, I finally decided to automate it all.
This project provides a single-command bootstrap for setting up a full developer environment on Linux — tailored for headless systems and terminal-first workflows.

👉 Repo: https://github.com/justin-napolitano/linux-dev-setup.git

⚡ Overview

This setup automatically detects your distro (apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, or brew) and installs everything needed for a modern developer shell and editor environment.

It’s especially tuned for servers, VMs, and remote instances where you live inside SSH and want a frictionless setup.

Includes:

• zsh + oh-my-zsh + Powerlevel10k (auto-detects Nerd Fonts, ASCII fallback)
• Neovim + lazy.nvim + Treesitter, LSP, Telescope, Git integration
• CLI favorites: ripgrep, fd, fzf, bat, eza, jq, yq, direnv, gh
• Optional Docker (rootless mode supported)
• Optional SSH hardening, ufw, and fail2ban

🧠 Philosophy

“Headless doesn’t have to mean basic.”

The goal is a zero-click, idempotent setup:

• Rerunnable safely — existing configs are backed up before updates.
• No GUI dependencies.
• Focused on real-world DevOps and analytics workflows.
• All scripts are plain bash and versionable alongside dotfiles.

🚀 Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/justin-napolitano/linux-dev-setup.git
cd linux-dev-setup
make install

Or, if you’re just fixing an existing machine:

make fix-zsh
make fix-vim

Optional Flags:

NO_ICONS=1 ROOTLESS_DOCKER=1 make install

• NO_ICONS=1 → ASCII prompt (for terminals without Nerd Fonts)
• ROOTLESS_DOCKER=1 → install Docker rootless mode
• SKIP_SECURITY=1 → skip optional security tweaks

🧩 Stack Highlights

🌀 Zsh Shell

• oh-my-zsh framework
• Powerlevel10k theme (auto ASCII fallback)
• Plugins: git, z, fzf, asdf, colored-man-pages, docker, kubectl,
  plus zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-syntax-highlighting, and more.

📝 Neovim

• Plugin manager: lazy.nvim
• Plugins: Treesitter, Telescope, Gitsigns, LSP, Autopairs, Comment, Which-Key
• Theme: Catppuccin (with Gruvbox available)
• Optimized for SSH — minimal redraw, no GUI dependencies.

⚙️ Headless Tools

ripgrep, fd, fzf, bat, eza, jq, yq, duf, ncdu, btop, lnav, rsync,
direnv, gh, and more.

🐳 Containers

• Docker + Compose plugin
• Optional rootless Docker (ROOTLESS_DOCKER=1)

🔒 Optional Security

• SSH hardening (no root login or password auth)
• ufw firewall
• fail2ban

🧰 Repair Scripts

If your existing environment is half-configured or broken:

make fix-zsh   # Rebuilds zsh, oh-my-zsh, p10k, and plugin setup
make fix-vim   # Restores Neovim config and plugin set

Each creates a timestamped backup of your old configs.

🧩 Extensible Design

The repo is modular — each layer (shell, editor, headless tools, containers, security) is isolated in its own script under scripts/.

This makes it easy to:

• Add new CLI tools
• Swap out editors
• Customize dotfiles
• Re-run setup safely across multiple servers

🧑‍💻 Why Build This?

For analysts, engineers, and DevOps folks who frequently spin up new servers, WSL environments, or remote dev containers — this project gives you a consistent, tuned baseline that feels like home the moment you SSH in.

🔗 Project Link

👉 https://github.com/justin-napolitano/linux-dev-setup.git

📄 License

MIT — free to use, modify, and share.