Skip to content

lab-0-prerequisites.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
161 lines (111 loc) · 4.74 KB

lab-0-prerequisites.md

File metadata and controls

161 lines (111 loc) · 4.74 KB

Lab 0: Prerequisites and Setup

Complete Before the Workshop

Overview

This lab ensures you have everything ready before the workshop begins. Complete these steps ahead of time so we can dive straight into building your workstation as code.

Time Required

15-20 minutes

What You'll Need

Required

  1. GitHub Account

  2. Virtualization Software

    • VirtualBox, VMware, libvirt/qemu, or similar
    • Ability to create and run VMs on your laptop
    • At least 50GB free disk space for the VM
    • At least 4GB RAM available for the VM

  3. Local Development Tools

    • Git installed and configured
    • Text editor (VS Code, vim, nano, etc.)
    • Terminal/command line access
    • SSH client

Optional but Recommended

  • Familiarity with YAML syntax
  • Basic understanding of containers/Docker
  • Experience with dotfiles or configuration management

Setup Steps

1. Verify GitHub Access

  1. Log into your GitHub account at https://github.com
  2. Verify your email address is confirmed
  3. Make note of your GitHub username - you'll need it throughout the workshop

2. Create a GitHub Personal Access Token

You'll need a Personal Access Token (PAT) to push to repositories from your VM later.

  1. Go to GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)
  2. Click "Generate new token (classic)"
  3. Give it a descriptive name: "Workstation as Code Lab"
  4. Set expiration: 30 days (or longer if you plan to continue using this)
  5. Select scopes:
    • repo (all repository permissions)
    • workflow (if you want to modify GitHub Actions)
  6. Click "Generate token"
  7. IMPORTANT: Copy the token and save it somewhere secure - you won't be able to see it again
    • You'll use this in Lab 4 when setting up Gopass

3. Verify Virtualization Setup

  1. Open your virtualization software
  2. Verify you can create a new VM
  3. Check available resources:
    • At least 50GB free disk space
    • Ability to allocate 4GB RAM to a VM
    • Ability to mount ISO files
    • Network connectivity from VMs

4. Verify Git Configuration

Open a terminal and verify git is configured:

git --version
git config --global user.name
git config --global user.email

If these aren't set, configure them:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Use the same email address as your GitHub account.

5. Test GitHub SSH Access (Optional)

If you already have SSH keys set up with GitHub, test the connection:

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see: Hi username! You've successfully authenticated...

If you don't have SSH keys set up, don't worry - we'll create them during the workshop as part of the lab.

6. Downloaded copy of the Bluefin ISO

Although we're going to customize Bluefin for our purposes, you will need to download one of the pre-built Bluefin ISO's which we'll use to install your virtual machine, so that we can rebase it onto your customized image.

wget https://download.projectbluefin.io/bluefin-stable-x86_64.iso

What to Bring to the Workshop

  1. Your laptop with virtualization software installed
  2. Your GitHub username
  3. Your GitHub Personal Access Token (securely stored)
  4. Pre-downloaded ISO to save time (and WiFi bandwidth!)
  5. Enthusiasm for never manually configuring a system again!

Pre-Reading (Optional)

If you want to get a head start, check out:

Troubleshooting

Can't create a GitHub account?

  • You need a valid email address
  • Check your spam folder for the verification email

Virtualization not working?

  • Ensure virtualization is enabled in your BIOS/UEFI
  • On Windows, you may need to disable Hyper-V if using VirtualBox
  • On Mac, you may need to grant permissions in System Preferences

Git not installed?

  • Linux: Use your package manager (apt, dnf, pacman, etc.)
  • Mac: Install via Homebrew or Xcode Command Line Tools
  • Windows: Download from https://git-scm.com

Verification Checklist

Before the workshop, verify you can:

  • Log into GitHub
  • Create a new repository on GitHub
  • Run git commands from your terminal
  • Create and start a VM in your virtualization software
  • Access your GitHub Personal Access Token

Ready?

Once you've completed these steps, you're ready for the workshop! See you at cfgmgmtcamp 2026!

Next: Lab 1: Introduction and Concepts
⚡