Fedora Laptop Migration

Replicate a fully configured Fedora KDE workstation onto a fresh Fedora install — every visual, functional, and behavioral aspect of the source machine reproduced on the target.

Overview

Component	Purpose
audit.sh	Captures complete system state on the source machine (read-only)
populate.sh	Transforms the audit snapshot into Ansible variables and role files
site.yml	Ansible playbook that applies the captured state to a fresh install

Source Machine

The audit script uses standard Fedora tools (rsync, rpm, dnf, flatpak, systemctl, etc.). It runs as your normal user — not root. Some captures (NetworkManager profiles, SDDM config) may be incomplete without root-readable files; the playbook handles those separately.

./audit.sh    # creates snapshot/

Target Machine Setup

Starting from a fresh Fedora KDE install (first boot or live session), both machines on the same LAN:

1. Install prerequisites

sudo dnf install ansible git rsync python3-libselinux

Install the required Ansible collections:

ansible-galaxy collection install community.general ansible.posix

2. Clone this repository

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/fedora-migrate.git
cd fedora-migrate

3. Run the audit on the source machine

On the source machine:

cd fedora-migrate
./audit.sh

This creates snapshot/ in the current directory.

4. Transfer the snapshot (and SSH keys) to the target machine

Ensure SSH is running on the source machine:

sudo dnf install openssh-server
sudo systemctl enable --now sshd

Get the source machine's IP:

hostname -I    # first address is typically your LAN IP

On the target machine, pull the snapshot from the source via rsync:

# Replace SOURCE_IP and SOURCE_USER for your setup
rsync -avz --progress SOURCE_USER@SOURCE_IP:~/git/fedora-migrate/snapshot/ ./snapshot/

# Also transfer SSH keys now (avoids a manual step later)
rsync -av SOURCE_USER@SOURCE_IP:~/.ssh/id_* ~/.ssh/
chmod 700 ~/.ssh && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_* && chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_*.pub

5. Populate the playbook

./populate.sh

This reads snapshot/ and generates:

• group_vars/all.yml — all variables for the playbook
• Files in roles/*/files/ — config files, themes, wallpapers, etc.

6. Review and adjust

# Review the generated variables
$EDITOR group_vars/all.yml

# Dry run — see what would change without applying
ansible-playbook site.yml --check --diff --ask-become-pass

7. Run the playbook

ansible-playbook site.yml --ask-become-pass

Run specific roles if you prefer incremental migration:

ansible-playbook site.yml --tags repos,packages --ask-become-pass
ansible-playbook site.yml --tags shell
ansible-playbook site.yml --tags desktop
# etc.

8. Verify

# Reboot first, then:
./verify.sh

See MANUAL_STEPS.md for the few items that require human intervention (browser logins, Bluetooth pairing, etc.).