Ubuntu Server Initial Setup Script

A comprehensive, interactive setup script for Ubuntu servers with essential development tools.

Features

✨ Interactive Installation - Y/N prompts for each component OR auto-yes mode with -y flag 🔍 Before/After Status - Shows what's already installed vs newly installed 🎨 Colorized Output - Clear, readable feedback with severity levels 🔒 Robust Error Handling - Strict error checking with detailed logging 💾 Automatic Backups - Saves existing configurations before modification 📊 Comprehensive Logging - Full logs saved with timestamps 🐳 Docker User Setup - Automatic user group configuration 🐚 Smart Shell Config - Zsh with prefix-based history search ⚡ Non-Interactive Mode - Use -y flag for fully automated installation

What Gets Installed

Core Tools

• git - Version control system
• zsh + oh-my-zsh - Enhanced shell with framework
• zoxide - Smart cd command (remembers directories)
• lazygit - Terminal UI for git
• lazydocker - Terminal UI for Docker
• Docker CE - Latest Docker from official repository
• Neovim - Latest stable (v0.10+) via AppImage with PPA fallback
• LuaRocks - Lua package manager with Lua 5.4
• Node.js LTS - Latest LTS (v20.x) from official NodeSource repository with npm, yarn, pnpm
• UV - Fast Python package manager
• GCC & Build Tools - Compiler and development essentials

Additional Tools

• btop - Modern system resource monitor
• tmux - Terminal multiplexer
• fzf - Fuzzy finder for files and history
• ripgrep - Fast grep alternative
• fd - Fast find alternative

Usage

Interactive Mode (Default)

./ubuntu-server-setup.sh

The script will:

1. Show pre-installation status (what's already installed)
2. Check prerequisites (sudo access, internet connection)
3. Present Y/N prompts for each component
4. Install selected components with progress feedback
5. Configure post-installation settings
6. Display detailed before/after summary with newly installed, upgraded, and unchanged components

Non-Interactive Mode (Auto-Yes)

./ubuntu-server-setup.sh -y
# or
./ubuntu-server-setup.sh --yes

Perfect for automated deployments or when you want to install everything without prompts. All Y/N prompts automatically answer "yes".

Display Help

./ubuntu-server-setup.sh --help

What to Expect

Interactive Mode Output

========================================
Pre-Installation Status Check
========================================

[INFO] Checking what is currently installed...

  ✓ git: git version 2.43.0
  ✗ zsh: not installed
  ✗ lazygit: not installed
  ✓ docker: Docker version 24.0.7
  ...

[INFO] Status check complete

Continue with installation? [Y/n]: y

========================================
Git Installation
========================================
[WARN] Git is already installed (git version 2.43.0)
Reinstall/upgrade git? [y/N]: n

...

========================================
Installation Summary
========================================

Newly Installed:
  ✓ zsh: zsh 5.9
  ✓ lazygit: version=0.40.2
  ✓ neovim: NVIM v0.9.5

Upgraded:
  ↑ docker: Docker version 24.0.7 → Docker version 25.0.0

Already Installed (unchanged):
  • git: git version 2.43.0
  • tmux: tmux 3.3a

Actions performed during this run:
  ✓ System Updates
  ✓ Zsh + Oh-My-Zsh
  ✓ Lazygit
  ✓ Docker CE
  ✓ Neovim
  ✓ Zsh Config

Auto-Yes Mode Output

./ubuntu-server-setup.sh -y

# All prompts show [AUTO-YES]:
Continue with installation? [AUTO-YES]
Install/upgrade git? [AUTO-YES]
# ... everything installs automatically

Post-Installation

Important Steps

1. Log out and back in (required for Docker group and shell changes)

   # Or refresh Docker group immediately:
   newgrp docker

2. Test installations:

   docker --version
   docker run hello-world
   nvim --version
   lazygit --version
   lazydocker --version

3. Check your shell:

   echo $SHELL
   # Should show: /usr/bin/zsh

Zsh Features

The configured zsh includes:

• Prefix-based history search: Type do and press ↑ to see only commands starting with do
• Oh-my-zsh plugins: git, docker, zoxide, fzf, history-substring-search
• Smart directory navigation: Use z <partial-name> to jump to frequently used directories
• Fuzzy search: Press Ctrl+R for fuzzy command history search

Aliases

The following aliases are configured in .zshrc:

vim='nvim'    # Use Neovim instead of Vim
vi='nvim'     # Use Neovim instead of Vi
lg='lazygit'  # Quick access to lazygit
ld='lazydocker'  # Quick access to lazydocker

Configuration Files

Locations

• Log file: ~/ubuntu-setup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.log
• Backups: ~/.config-backups/YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS/
• Zsh config: ~/.zshrc
• Neovim config: ~/.config/nvim/

Neovim Configuration

The script clones your custom Neovim configuration from:

• Primary: git@github.com:typhoon1217/nvimconfig.git (SSH)
• Fallback: https://github.com/typhoon1217/nvimconfig.git (HTTPS)

Note: SSH requires GitHub SSH key setup. If SSH fails, HTTPS is attempted automatically.

Security Considerations

Docker Group

⚠️ Important: Members of the docker group have root-level privileges on the host system.

• Only add trusted users to the docker group
• Consider using Docker rootless mode for production environments
• Read more: https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/rootless/

Backups

All existing configurations are backed up to ~/.config-backups/ before modification:

# View backups
ls -la ~/.config-backups/

# Restore a backup
cp -r ~/.config-backups/20250122-143022/nvim-143500 ~/.config/nvim

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Script fails with "permission denied"

# Solution: Make script executable
chmod +x ubuntu-server-setup.sh

Issue: Docker commands require sudo

# Solution: Log out and back in, or run:
newgrp docker

Issue: Neovim config clone fails

# Solution: Setup SSH key for GitHub
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Add the public key to GitHub: Settings → SSH keys

Issue: Zsh not activated

# Solution: Check default shell
echo $SHELL

# If not zsh, change manually:
chsh -s $(which zsh)
# Then log out and back in

Issue: History search not working with arrows

# Solution: Check plugin installation
ls ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-history-substring-search

# If missing, clone manually:
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-history-substring-search \
  ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/zsh-history-substring-search

Check Installation

# View detailed log
cat ~/ubuntu-setup-*.log

# Check specific tool
which lazygit
lazygit --version

# Verify Docker group
groups
# Should include 'docker'

# Test Docker without sudo
docker ps

Customization

Modify Components

Edit the script to skip or add components:

# Comment out unwanted installations in main() function
# install_btop && installed_components+=("Btop")  # Disabled

Change Zsh Theme

Edit ~/.zshrc:

# Change from robbyrussell to another theme
ZSH_THEME="agnoster"  # or "powerlevel10k", "spaceship", etc.

Add More Plugins

Edit ~/.zshrc:

plugins=(
    git
    docker
    zoxide
    fzf
    zsh-history-substring-search
    # Add more plugins here
    kubectl
    terraform
    aws
)

Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04
• Sudo privileges
• Internet connection
• ~500MB disk space for all tools

Best Practices Applied

This script follows industry best practices:

✅ Strict error handling (set -euo pipefail) ✅ Color codes only for terminal output ✅ Comprehensive logging to file ✅ Backup before modification ✅ Official package sources (PPAs, repos) ✅ User permission validation ✅ Internet connectivity check ✅ Idempotent operations (safe to re-run)

References

• Docker Official Docs
• Oh My Zsh
• Neovim
• Lazygit
• Lazydocker
• Zoxide

License

This script is provided as-is for personal use.

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Generated for: typhoon1217 Date: 2025-01-22 Version: 1.0.0