JDInstaller

This Ansible playbook is designed to initialize a fresh Ubuntu installation with packages and configurations that suit my personal preferences. While it is specifically tailored to my needs, it can be easily adapted to different setups. Every major Ansible role can be individually enabled or disabled by modifying its respective value in inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• How to Use
  • Download the Repository
  • Run the Installation
  • Run Single Roles
• Playbooks
• Roles
• Contributions
• Acknowledgements

Introduction

This project uses Ansible to automate the setup of Ubuntu installations. By running the main playbook ( playbooks/ubuntu-setup.yaml), the system will be configured with a range of packages and settings that I prefer. You can easily customize the playbook by enabling or disabling specific roles in inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

What is a Role?

An Ansible role is a modular way of organizing playbooks. Roles allow you to break up a complex playbook into reusable components. Each role can include tasks, variables, handlers, and more, and they are self-contained to allow easy inclusion into other playbooks. Roles in this project mainly deal with the installation of various software packages.

How to Use

Download the Repository

You can either download the ZIP file of this repository or clone the repository using git.

Option 1: Download ZIP

1. Go to this link: Download ZIP

2. Extract the ZIP file:

   unzip JDInstaller-master.zip
   cd JDInstaller-master

3. Install make if it is not already installed:

   sudo apt install make

Option 2: Clone via Git

1. Install git and make if they are not already installed:

   sudo apt install git make

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/leinardi/JDInstaller.git
   cd JDInstaller

Run the Installation

Once you have the repository on your machine, you can start the installation process by running:

make install

This command will:

1. Automatically install Ansible if it’s not already installed.
2. Launch the main playbook (playbooks/ubuntu-setup.yaml) to configure the system.
3. Prompt for the sudo password of the current user.

Alternatively, you can run the playbook manually:

ansible-playbook playbooks/ubuntu-setup.yaml --ask-become-pass

Run Single Roles

Each role has an associated tag (same as the role name). To install a specific role, use the TAGS parameter like this:

make install TAGS=virtualbox

Or manually run the playbook with specific tags:

ansible-playbook playbooks/ubuntu-setup.yaml --ask-become-pass --tags=virtualbox

Reset Configuration

To generate/reset the inventory/group_vars/all.yaml file to the default values, run:

./generate-group-vars.sh

Playbooks

Below is a list of the playbooks that are included in this project. You can enable or disable each one by modifying the respective variable in inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

Playbook	Enabled by Default	Description
common.yaml	✅	Sets up common packages and settings.
desktop.yaml	✅	Installs desktop-specific applications.
development.yaml	✅	Installs development tools and libraries.
gaming.yaml	✅	Installs gaming-related tools.
work.yaml	⛔	Installs work-related applications.

Roles

The tables below provide an overview of the roles included in this project. Each role can be enabled or disabled via inventory/group_vars/all.yaml. The " Enabled by Default" column shows whether the role is active by default. Even if a role is enabled by default, if the relative playbook is disabled via inventory/group_vars/all.yaml, the role will not be executed. To run a specific playbook or role, make sure both the playbook and the role are enabled in inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

Playbook: common.yaml

Role	Enabled by Default	Source	Description
common	✅	apt	Installs a set of common packages listed in common.packages.
snapd	⛔	apt	Installs snapd for managing Snap packages.
ufw	⛔	apt	Installs and configures Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW).

Playbook: desktop.yaml

Role	Enabled by Default	Source	Description
desktop	✅	apt	Installs a set of desktop-related packages listed in desktop.packages.
chrome	✅	apt (Google repo)	Installs Google Chrome.
chromium	✅	apt	Installs the open-source Chromium browser.
doublecmd	✅	apt	Installs Double Commander, a file manager.
earth	✅	apt	Installs Google Earth Pro.
edge	⛔	apt (Google repo)	Installs Microsoft Edge browser.
firefox	✅	apt (Mozilla repo)	Installs Mozilla Firefox.
flatpak	✅	apt	Installs Flatpak for managing app installations.
gimp	✅	apt	Installs GIMP, a graphic editor.
gnome_extensions	✅	apt	Installs GNOME extensions. See gnome_extensions.packages for the list of extensions.
gparted	✅	apt	Installs GParted, a partition editor.
graphics_drivers	✅	PPA	Installs proprietary drivers for graphics cards.
gsettings	✅	-	Configures GNOME settings via gsettings.
handbrake	⛔	apt	Installs HandBrake, a video transcoder.
inkscape	✅	apt	Installs Inkscape, a vector graphics editor.
insync	✅	apt (InSync repo)	Installs Insync, a Google Drive sync client.
libreoffice	✅	apt	Installs LibreOffice, a free office suite.
mainline	✅	PPA	Installs Mainline, a tool for managing Linux kernels.
meld	✅	apt	Installs Meld, a file comparison tool.
nautilus_plugins	⛔	apt	Installs plugins for the Nautilus file manager.
openjre	⛔	apt	Installs OpenJRE, a Java runtime environment.
sweethome3d	✅	flathub	Installs Sweet Home 3D, an interior design app.
timeshift	⛔	apt	Installs Timeshift for system backups.
ulauncher	✅	PPA	Installs Ulauncher, an application launcher.
virtualbox	✅	apt (VirtualBox repo)	Installs VirtualBox for running virtual machines.
vlc	✅	apt	Installs VLC media player.
xfburn	✅	apt	Installs Xfburn, a tool for burning CDs and DVDs.

Playbook: development.yaml

Role	Enabled by Default	Source	Description
development	✅	apt	Installs a set of development tools listed in development.packages.
filezilla	✅	apt	Installs FileZilla, an FTP client.
git	✅	apt	Installs Git, a version control system.
openjdk	✅	apt	Installs OpenJDK, a Java development environment.
python	✅	apt	Installs Python.
slack	⛔	snap	Installs Slack for team communication.

Playbook: gaming.yaml

Role	Enabled by Default	Source	Description
amethyst_mod_manager	✅	github	Installs Amethyst Mod Manager, a game mod manager.
discord	✅	deb	Installs Discord for chatting and VoIP.
gamemode	✅	apt	Installs GameMode, a tool for optimizing gaming.
mangohud	✅	github	Installs MangoHud, a gaming performance overlay.
steam	✅	deb	Installs Steam, a gaming platform.

Playbook: work.yaml

Role	Enabled by Default	Source	Description
globalprotect_openconnect	✅	deb	Installs OpenConnect for GlobalProtect VPN.
mattermost	✅	apt (mattermost repo)	Installs Mattermost, a team chat application.
zoom	✅	deb	Installs Zoom, a video conferencing tool.

Each playbook can be customized, and roles enabled or disabled as required via inventory/group_vars/all.yaml. By default, the playbook work.yaml is disabled, but can be easily enabled if needed by changing the work_enabled in inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

DaVinci Resolve

Note: The DaVinci Resolve role has been removed from this branch as it is only supported on Ubuntu 24.04. To install DaVinci Resolve, switch to the davinci branch:

git checkout davinci

See DaVinciResolve.md for full installation instructions.

Contributions

Bug fixes and improvements to the Ansible code are welcome. However, please note that the list of default software installations is strictly based on my personal preferences. I will accept pull requests adding roles for software that I don't use, but they must be disabled by default via inventory/group_vars/all.yaml.

Before opening a pull request, please create an issue to describe the feature you would like to add and wait for my approval. This helps avoid unnecessary work.

This project uses the pre-commit framework to ensure consistent formatting and basic static analysis across commits.

To enable it:

1. Install pre-commit system-wide (e.g., via APT):

   sudo apt install pre-commit

2. Set it up for this repository:

   make install-pre-commit

After that, checks will automatically run before each commit. You can also run the checks manually with:

make check

This command performs static analysis on shell and YAML files and regenerates the inventory/group_vars/all.yaml file.

Acknowledgements

This project is inspired by ansible-ubuntu-desktop. Many thanks to @sys0dm1n for sharing their playbook.