this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
48 points (98.0% liked)

Linux

48331 readers
639 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Hi all,

I am about to do a bit of a distro hop, and I am looking at Fedora and its spins, after years on Debian / POP.

I am not looking forward to setting it all up again, it's a drag.

I wonder, is there a tool that lets me script installs?

I'll want to check if application exists, and if so, update, otherwise, install. That kind of thing.

Things like:

  • Telegram
  • Joplin
  • Docker
  • Firefox
  • Ungoogle Chromium
  • Sublime Text
  • VSCodium
  • Keepass
  • Thunderbird
  • DBeaver
  • Gimp
  • Inkscape
  • KDENLive
  • Syncthing
  • Steam
  • VLC
  • Localsend
  • Flameshot
  • Element
  • Cherrytree
  • Calibre
  • Anydesk

I show the list, only to give an idea of what might be involved.

I'm new to Fedora, so not sure how it differs beyond the package manager. But, thought I'd ask.

Does such a tool exist, and is it worth my time? I can practice on a VM before trying on the final install/s.

Thank you

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That's one of the things I miss the most in Gentoo, having the packages of your system defined in text files so a fresh install was just copying those files and running an update.

I've tried similar things with other distros, but it's never the same, the list of packages ends up getting out of date or ends up with too much garbage.

Currently I have a home server so I took the time to get an Ansible playbook setup for running, maintaining, and maybe migrating the server if needed. Since some stuff is also run on other machines that I have (update system, update some docker images I run in multiple systems, etc) I did setup some minimal packages that I need on my main system, it's easy enough but I wouldn't recommend using Ansible just for this (but if you also have dotfiles it's a great tool for automating lots of the initial setup).

All of that being said, the reason I never bothered with this until I had a home server is that usually there are years between system installs, so even if what you had was exactly what you wanted the last time you installed your system, it's unlikely to be exactly what you want next time you do. Since the last time I installed my main system I switched from X to Wayland, from i3 to Hyprland and then Sway, etc, etc...