UnitedSetup: The Complete Guide to Getting StartedUnitedSetup is a setup and configuration framework designed to simplify the process of installing, configuring, and managing software across heterogeneous environments. Whether you’re installing a single application on one machine or rolling out complex stacks across servers, this guide will walk you through the concepts, prerequisites, step-by-step setup, common workflows, troubleshooting, and best practices to get the most out of UnitedSetup.
What is UnitedSetup?
UnitedSetup brings together automation, standardized configuration, and platform-agnostic tooling to make onboarding and deployment predictable and repeatable. It aims to:
- Provide a unified configuration format.
- Abstract platform-specific differences.
- Offer idempotent operations so running the same setup multiple times yields the same result.
- Integrate with version control and CI/CD pipelines for continuous deployments.
Key benefits: faster onboarding, fewer setup errors, reproducible environments, and easier auditability.
Core Concepts
- Configuration manifests: declarative files that describe desired state (packages to install, services to enable, files to create, users to add).
- Runners/agents: small programs that interpret manifests and execute actions on the target system.
- Modules/plugins: reusable components for managing common tasks (database setup, web servers, monitoring agents).
- Idempotency: operations detect if a desired state already exists and skip unnecessary changes.
- Environments: logical groupings (development, staging, production) that allow environment-specific values in manifests.
Prerequisites
Before you begin:
- Access: SSH or equivalent admin access to target systems.
- Permissions: root/admin privileges for system-level changes.
- Network: ability to reach package repositories and remote resources referenced by manifests.
- Tooling: Git for version control; a text editor or IDE.
- Optional: CI/CD system (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) if automating deployments.
Installation
Note: exact commands depend on your platform. Below are common approaches.
- Obtain UnitedSetup runner/agent
- Download a prebuilt binary for your OS from the release page or install via a package manager if available.
- Example (Linux, hypothetical):
sudo curl -L -o /usr/local/bin/unitedsetup https://example.com/unitedsetup/latest/unitedsetup sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/unitedsetup
-
Verify installation
unitedsetup --version -
(Optional) Install as a system service so it can run on startup.
Creating Your First Manifest
UnitedSetup uses a declarative manifest (commonly YAML or JSON). A minimal YAML manifest example:
version: 1 name: example-environment env: development packages: - name: nginx state: present users: - name: deploy groups: [www-data] shell: /bin/bash services: - name: nginx state: started Save as setup.yml. Manifests can include environment variables, secrets (via external secret managers), and conditional logic.
Running UnitedSetup
Basic local run:
unitedsetup apply -f setup.yml Run against remote hosts (via SSH inventory):
unitedsetup apply -f setup.yml --inventory hosts.ini Typical flags:
- –dry-run: simulate changes without applying.
- –diff: show configuration differences.
- –parallel N: run on N hosts concurrently.
- –verbose / –log-level: increase logging.
Reusable Modules and Templates
Create modules for repeatable tasks, e.g., a module to set up PostgreSQL:
postgre_module.yml
module: postgresql version: 1 params: version: 14 initdb: true Then include the module in your main manifest:
includes: - postgre_module.yml Use templates (Jinja2 or similar) to render environment-specific files, like nginx virtual hosts or systemd unit files.
Environment Management
Use overlays or parameter files to specialize manifests per environment.
Example structure:
- manifests/
- base.yml
- overlay.dev.yml
- overlay.prod.yml
Apply with:
unitedsetup apply -f manifests/base.yml -o manifests/overlay.prod.yml Integrating with CI/CD
- Validate manifests on commit: run syntax check and dry-run.
- Test in ephemeral environments: spin up containers/VMs and run unitedsetup.
- Promote to staging/production with controlled approvals and rollbacks.
Example GitHub Action step:
- name: Run UnitedSetup dry-run run: unitedsetup apply -f setup.yml --dry-run Security Considerations
- Keep secrets out of manifests; use a secrets manager (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager).
- Use least-privilege principles for runner access.
- Sign manifests and verify integrity before applying.
- Audit logs: enable detailed logging and centralize logs for review.
Troubleshooting
- Failure during package install: check repository access and package names.
- Service failing to start: inspect service logs (journalctl/systemctl) and configuration files rendered by templates.
- Idempotency issues: ensure modules check current state correctly; add guards in scripts.
- Networking errors: verify DNS, proxies, and firewall rules.
Useful commands:
- unitedsetup –log-level debug apply -f setup.yml
- journalctl -u
- ssh
and inspect /var/log/unitedsetup
Best Practices
- Keep manifests small and focused; compose with includes/modules.
- Version-control manifests and modules.
- Use CI to validate and test changes.
- Use parameterized modules to avoid duplication.
- Prefer declarative resource definitions over imperative scripts.
- Start with a dry-run on a non-production host for any change.
Example: Full Small Web App Setup
A simple flow to set up a Node.js app with nginx reverse proxy:
manifest.yml
version: 1 name: node-webapp packages: - name: nginx - name: nodejs users: - name: deploy services: - name: nginx state: started files: - path: /var/www/app/current source: ./app templates: - src: templates/nginx.conf.j2 dest: /etc/nginx/sites-available/app.conf notify: - reload nginx handlers: - name: reload nginx action: systemctl restart nginx Run:
unitedsetup apply -f manifest.yml Where to Go Next
- Create a small proof-of-concept: set up one VM or container and use UnitedSetup to provision it.
- Convert one manual setup you already have into a manifest.
- Explore community modules or write a module for a common internal service.
UnitedSetup reduces repetitive setup work by making configuration explicit, versioned, and repeatable. Start small, iterate, and integrate with your CI/CD pipeline to gain predictable deployments and faster onboarding.
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