Setting up a new dev device

New machine day. This is the short, repeatable setup I use to get a device ready for development. The examples assume Ubuntu/Debian; adjust for your distro.

1. Update the base system

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

If this is a fresh install, reboot once so kernel and firmware updates are applied.

2. Install essentials

sudo apt install -y \
  build-essential \
  git \
  curl \
  wget \
  unzip \
  jq \
  tmux \
  htop

3. Set up Git

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

4. Create SSH keys for Git hosting

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
ssh-agent -s
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Add the public key to your Git host:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

5. Editor and shell quality-of-life

Install your editor (VS Code, Neovim, etc.)
Set a consistent shell prompt theme
Enable useful aliases

Example for Neovim:

sudo apt install -y neovim

6. Language runtimes

Install the languages you use most. I usually start with Python and Node:

sudo apt install -y python3 python3-venv python3-pip
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm

If you prefer version managers, set up pyenv or nvm early to avoid rework.

7. Containers and local services

If you do local development with containers:

sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in so the group change applies.

8. Restore dotfiles

Pull your dotfiles repo and apply them. Keep this step late so base packages are present.

git clone git@github.com:yourname/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles

9. Quick security pass

Enable the firewall
Set up automatic updates if desired
Make sure disk encryption is enabled on laptops

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow ssh

10. Sanity checklist

git clone works over SSH
Editor launches and has plugins installed
Your preferred languages run
Terminal and fonts look right

That is it. After this, I usually keep a small setup.md in the repo to record anything specific to that machine.