CARS - Chris's Auto Rice Script

Automated Debian Linux Development Environment Setup

CARS is a comprehensive shell script that automates the installation and configuration of a complete development environment on Debian-based Linux systems. It transforms a fresh Debian installation into a fully-equipped development workstation with a single command.

Features

Shell Environment

• Zsh - Built from source with latest features
• Oh-My-Zsh - Pre-configured with essential plugins
• Zsh Plugins:
  • zsh-syntax-highlighting - Command syntax highlighting
  • zsh-autosuggestions - Intelligent command suggestions

Terminal & Editor

• Alacritty - GPU-accelerated terminal emulator (built from source)
• Neovim - Hyperextensible text editor (built from source)
• Custom Neovim Configuration - Pre-configured with plugins and settings

Web Browsers

• Brave Browser - Privacy-focused Chromium-based browser
• Complete ad-blocking and privacy settings

Development Tools

Programming Languages

• Rust - Systems programming language with Cargo
• Go 1.23.2 - Latest stable version
• Node.js v22 - Via NVM for version management
• Python 3 - With pip and essential packages

Essential Packages

• vim, git, curl, gcc, make, cmake
• ripgrep - Lightning-fast grep alternative
• build-essential - Compilation tools
• python3-pip, exuberant-ctags, ack-grep
• ninja-build, gettext, unzip

Desktop Environment

• i3 Window Manager - Tiling window manager configuration
• X11 Utilities - Display management tools
• arandr - GUI for xrandr
• xdotool - X11 automation tool

System Utilities

• Password Management: pass, gpg
• Clipboard Tools: xclip, xsel
• Media Tools: ffmpeg
• Custom Shell Scripts:
  • Fast file search utilities
  • Git helpers
  • System shortcuts

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Fresh Debian 12 (Bookworm) or compatible distribution
• Root/sudo access
• Internet connection
• At least 10GB free disk space

Installation

Option 1: Direct Installation (Production)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/LinuxUser255/CARS.git
cd CARS

# Run the script
sudo bash cars.sh

Option 2: Docker Testing (Recommended for first-time users)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/LinuxUser255/CARS.git
cd CARS

# Use the interactive safe runner
./safe-run.sh

# Or use make commands
make test-quick  # Quick syntax tests
make run-script  # Full installation in Docker
make shell       # Enter container for debugging

Docker Testing Environment

CARS includes a complete Docker testing infrastructure to ensure safe testing before deployment:

# Quick test
make test-quick

# Full installation test
make run-script

# Interactive shell
make shell

# Cleanup
make clean

See DOCKER_TESTING.md for detailed testing documentation.

What Gets Installed

Core Components

Component	Version	Build Method
Zsh	Latest	Source
Neovim	Stable	Source
Alacritty	Latest	Source
Rust	Latest	Rustup
Go	1.23.2	Binary
Node.js	v22	NVM

Configuration Files

• .zshrc - Optimized Zsh configuration
• .config/nvim/ - Complete Neovim setup
• .config/alacritty/ - Alacritty configuration
• .config/i3/ - i3 window manager config

Safety Features

• Docker Environment Detection - Warns if running on host system
• Confirmation Prompts - Requires explicit confirmation for host execution
• Error Handling - Comprehensive error checking and recovery
• Backup Creation - Automatically backs up existing configurations
• Non-destructive - Preserves existing installations when possible

Project Structure

CARS/
├── cars.sh              # Main installation script
├── Dockerfile           # Docker container definition
├── docker-compose.yml   # Docker orchestration
├── Makefile            # Convenient commands
├── safe-run.sh         # Interactive Docker menu
├── test-runner.sh      # Automated test suite
├── DOCKER_TESTING.md   # Testing documentation
└── README.md           # This file

Configuration

The script is modular and can be customized by commenting out unwanted sections:

# Edit cars.sh to customize packages
vim cars.sh

# Comment out unwanted packages in the pkgs array
# Skip specific installation functions in main()

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Test your changes in Docker
4. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
5. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
6. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Oh-My-Zsh - Framework for Zsh
• Neovim - Vim-based text editor
• Alacritty - Terminal emulator
• Brave - Privacy-focused browser

Contact

Chris - LinuxUser255

Project Link: https://github.com/LinuxUser255/CARS

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Made with dedication for the Linux community