Bootstrap

A collection of bootstrap scripts for setting up tools and configurations I use across new machines, servers, and development environments.

The goal is simple: reduce the number of manual steps required after installing an operating system and make my setup reproducible.

Available Scripts

Bootstrap is designed to be completely environment-agnostic and self-contained. Each bootstrap script automatically detects your platform (supporting Arch Linux, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.) and architecture, installs the necessary dependencies using the native package manager or verified binary downloads, and cleanly configures your shell environment. This removes the overhead of maintaining multi-platform scripts and eliminates the need to run raw, complex pipelines from the web.

Here is a comparison of the size and complexity of using Bootstrap (to b) versus running the original, official installation scripts (not to b):

application	to b	not to b
Antigravity CLI (agy)	197 lines	239 lines (Official Antigravity install script)
asciicinema (asciicinema)	99 lines	N/A (Official binary distribution)
Bat (bat)	155 lines	N/A (Standard package install)
Node.js & NVM (node)	156 lines	507 lines (Official NVM install script)
Neovim (nvim)	178 lines	N/A (Official binary/config distribution)
PNPM (pnpm)	245 lines	213 lines (Official get.pnpm.io script)
Rust (rust)	155 lines	921 lines (Official sh.rustup.rs script)
Starship (starship)	132 lines	554 lines (Official starship.rs script)
uv (uv)	139 lines	2184 lines (Official uv install script)
Yay (yay)	96 lines	N/A (Official manual build process)
Yazi (yazi)	163 lines	N/A (Standard package install)
Zoxide (zoxide)	90 lines	466 lines (Official zoxide install script)

More scripts will be added over time.

Usage

To bootstrap a new machine and set up the b command tool, run the following:

curl -fsSL https://b.adityagupta.dev | bash

Once bootstrapped, you list all commands available -

b all

Inspecting and Editing Installers (b ware)

If you want to inspect and edit an installer script before running it (for example, to change version numbers, paths, or customize the logic), you can use the intermediate b ware command:

b ware nvim
b ware starship,zoxide

This opens the installer script in your preferred $EDITOR (defaulting to standard terminal editors if $EDITOR is unset). After you edit and close the file, the modified script runs automatically.

To bypass the editor and install the tool directly using the ware command, append the -y flag:

b ware nvim -y
# or directly:
b nvim

To list all available installer tools and their descriptions, run the ware (or bware) command without any arguments:

b ware

Editing Configurations (b con)

You can also edit configurations located in your ~/.config/ directory by running:

b con nvim
b con i3

It automatically fuzzy-finds the folder in case there is no exact match. Also, in case there is only a singular config file in that folder, then it will directly open that file.

Rollbacks and Savepoints (b rb and b fall)

Bootstrap CLI features a robust rollback and uninstallation system driven by procedural manifests and a centralized JSON registry.

To safely uninstall the very last tool you installed (including wiping its shell paths and aliases):

b rb

To uninstall specific tools by name (supporting single or comma-separated lists of tools):

b rb nvim
b rb bat,yazi,zoxide

Shared system package dependencies are reference-counted in the registry and will be automatically cleaned up only when the last tool depending on them is removed.

To create a named savepoint before experimenting with your setup:

b fall pre_dev_setup

(Note: Savepoint names cannot conflict with the names of any available tools).

To completely roll back all installations made after that savepoint, restoring your system back to that exact state:

b rb pre_dev_setup

Updating

To check for updates and update the tool manually:

b up
# Or to force a reinstall of the CLI files:
b up --force

Client Onboarding & Secrets Provisioning

Bootstrap CLI features a secure, cryptographic client onboarding and secrets provisioning flow. Driven by the lazy-loaded auth plugin, it allows you to register new requester devices and authorize them via a trusted administrator machine using SSH Ed25519 key signing and age encryption.

The backend authentication and verification service is implemented in the bootstrap-auth-server repository. For detailed client specifications, protocols, REST API endpoint specs, and cryptographic steps, refer to the Client Onboarding & Secrets Provisioning Wiki.

1. Device Registration (b me)

To register a new, unprovisioned machine:

b me [--server <server_url>] [--key-dir <dir>] [--poll-interval <seconds>]

This generates a local SSH Ed25519 key pair, registers the device in a pending state, displays a short user_code, and polls the server. Once approved, it retrieves the secrets payload, decrypts it locally using age, and saves it to <key-dir>/secrets.decrypted.

2. Request Approval (b trust)

To authorize a pending client from an administrator device:

b trust <user_code> [--server <server_url>] [--admin-key <path_to_admin_private_key>]

This retrieves the client's public key, prompts the administrator for confirmation, signs the key using ssh-keygen -Y sign (under the bootstrap namespace), and submits the approval signature back to the server.

Plugins (b <plugin_name>)

Plugins are first-party or third-party applications written to work directly with bootstrap. Unlike tools (or packages) which modify your system by compiling code, downloading binaries, and altering shell configuration files, plugins are lazy-loaded scripts that execute within a subshell.

Downloading and invoking a plugin makes no system modifications other than caching the .sh file itself. They are fetched only the very first time you invoke them.

Official Plugins

• auth: Handles client onboarding and secrets provisioning, exposing the b me and b trust CLI commands. See the Client Onboarding & Secrets Provisioning section for detailed usage.

• weather: Fetches weather forecasts via wttr.in (Usage: b weather [location]).

• sysinfo: Displays a system resource dashboard (Usage: b sysinfo).

• todo: A command-line todo manager (Usage: b todo <add "task"|list|done <id>>).

Adding Third-Party Plugins

To manage plugin repositories, run:

b plugin sources

This opens a configuration file in your $EDITOR. You can add raw URLs pointing to JSON plugin manifests from any repository. Once you close the editor, bootstrap automatically parses those manifests using its native JSON parser and generates a fast, zero-latency lookup cache.

You can then execute any plugin simply by calling its name:

b my_plugin

Plugins are automatically checked for updates and lazily re-downloaded whenever you run b up.

If you prefer to run a plugin strictly in ephemeral mode (meaning it will bypass the cache and execute directly in memory to guarantee the absolute latest version without leaving any footprint), simply pass the -e or --ephemeral flag:

b my_plugin -e

For documentation on how to develop and publish your own plugins, please see the Plugin Development Guide.

Uninstallation

To uninstall the bootstrap helper tool but leave a lightweight b back function to easily reinstall it later:

b gone

To completely remove the bootstrap helper tool, clear out all shell configurations (including the b back shortcut), and leave nothing behind:

b gone -f

Then reload your shell configuration or run unset -f b to clear the function definition from your current terminal session.

Directory Layout

Bootstrap isolates all of its components and installed software inside XDG-compliant directories. You can override these variables in your shell environment, but they default to the following:

Variable	Default	Purpose
BOOTSTRAP_DIR	~/.config/bootstrap	Core configuration, libraries, shell snippets (env.d, aliases.d, completions.d), and local installers
BOOTSTRAP_DATA_DIR	~/.local/share/bootstrap	Active installation bin files, optional components, and runtime installations
BOOTSTRAP_STATE_DIR	~/.local/state/bootstrap	Stateful registry, logs, and rollback/uninstall manifests
BOOTSTRAP_CACHE_DIR	~/.cache/bootstrap	Downloaded files cache and temporary workspace files
BOOTSTRAP_BIN	$BOOTSTRAP_DATA_DIR/bin	Target directory for all installed tools' binaries
BOOTSTRAP_OPT	$BOOTSTRAP_DATA_DIR/opt	Destination for complex, multi-file software distributions
BOOTSTRAP_RUNTIMES	$BOOTSTRAP_DATA_DIR/runtimes	Workspace for programming language runtime managers (e.g. NVM)

Development

If you are developing this tool locally:

1. Clone the repository.
2. Run ./bootstrap.sh to install the CLI from your local copy. This will also automatically install a Git pre-commit hook (scripts/pre-commit) that auto-increments the patch version in the VERSION file on each commit.

Philosophy

These scripts are designed for my own systems first.

That means they may make assumptions about:

• Preferred software choices
• Directory layouts
• Configuration locations
• Existing infrastructure

The scripts are intentionally straightforward Bash scripts that can be inspected and modified before execution.

Future Plans

Potential additions include:

• Development environment bootstrap
• Workstation setup
• Server provisioning
• Dotfile installation
• Container and virtualization tooling
• Personal utilities

Security

Running scripts directly from the internet is convenient but should always be approached with caution.

Why Bootstrap is More Secure

Instead of blindly piping large, third-party installation scripts (often hundreds or thousands of lines of unscrutinized code) directly from the internet into your shell, Bootstrap uses a scrutinized and simplified approach:

1. Audited & Minimised: Every script in tools/ has been scrutinized, refactored, and stripped of redundant compatibility layers (like Windows/macOS support or complex environment checks), leaving only the essential, readable logic required for your setup.
2. Controlled Execution: Since tool scripts are hosted locally in your cloned repository, you can review every line of code before executing it. You are never subject to silent, upstream changes to tools.
3. No Raw Pipes: We download official binary releases directly to verified temporary locations rather than running arbitrary third-party script pipelines.

If you want to audit the core Bootstrap CLI itself before running it:

curl -fsSL https://git.adityagupta.dev/sortedcord/bootstrap/raw/branch/master/bootstrap.sh
curl -fsSL https://git.adityagupta.dev/sortedcord/bootstrap/raw/branch/master/lib/routes.sh

and review the contents before piping it into a shell.

Should I Use It?

Hell no, go make your own.

License

MIT