Linux Debugging Workstation Setup

A reproducible Linux workstation bootstrap for Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, and Debian-based systems.

It turns a fresh Linux machine into a C/C++ and embedded Linux development environment with debugging, crash analysis and system diagnostics tools.

Commercial Relevance

This repository is primarily a personal engineering environment, but it documents the tools and workflows I use for Linux development, crash investigation and diagnostics.

It supports my work in:

• Linux developer training
• C/C++ debugging training
• embedded Linux support
• reproducible development environments
• diagnostics workflow setup

See COMMERCIAL.md for more details.

Supported Systems

• Pop!_OS 22.04+
• Ubuntu & Debian-based Linux systems

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/avainfo/linux_config ~/.dotfiles
cd ~/.dotfiles

2. Choose your installation mode

Tip

If you are installing on an existing machine, it is highly recommended to run a dry-run first to preview changes without modifying anything.

Dry-Runs (Safe Previews)

bash install.sh --full --dry-run
bash install.sh --user-only --dry-run

Full Workstation Install (Requires sudo) Installs packages, system configurations, and user dotfiles.

bash install.sh --full

System-Only Install (Requires sudo) Only installs apt packages and system configurations.

bash install.sh --system-only

Full Install without System Configs Installs packages and dotfiles, but leaves system files (like journald and sysctl) alone.

bash install.sh --full --no-system

Full Install + Docker (Requires sudo)

bash install.sh --full --docker

User-Only Install (No sudo required) Only links dotfiles and user scripts to your home directory. Safe for shared servers.

bash install.sh --user-only

What Gets Installed

• Zsh & Oh My Zsh: The user shell profile automatically downloads Oh My Zsh, Powerlevel10k prompt, and plugins (autosuggestions, syntax-highlighting) if they are missing. Note: chsh is not run automatically.
• Development Tools: C/C++ compilers, CMake, Ninja, GDB, LLDB, Bear, Cppcheck.
• Diagnostics Tools: Valgrind, strace, ltrace, systemd-coredump, stress-ng, perf.
• Desktop Utilities: Kitty terminal, fonts, clipboard tools.
• Custom Scripts: Found in scripts/, including analyze-core, debug-service, and collect-diagnostics.

Safety Model

• Safe Upgrades: The dotfiles installer will interactively prompt you if a local config file conflicts with the repository. It uses cmp and diff to show you exactly what changed.
• Drop-in Configs: System configurations (like coredump.conf and journald.conf) are safely placed in drop-in directories (*.conf.d/) rather than overwriting main OS files.
• Backups: If you choose to replace an existing config, a backup is safely stored in ~/.config/ava/backups/.

Documentation

Check the docs/ folder for more details:

• Workstation Philosophy
• How to Restore Backups
• Crash Analysis Workflow