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Ground Support: rebuild my machine by script

The problem. My laptop was dying. I wanted to pick my work back up on a new one quickly, with all my apps, tools, setup and settings, while the old one still worked. And I want the same setup on practically every machine, so it had to be repeatable.

What I built. A capture of what makes a machine mine: the software, settings, install locations, and the workarounds and the reasons for them, all the things data backups miss. My intended setup is kept separately from what the scan observes. Then rebuild scripts that run in order and state every step that has to stay manual instead of hiding it, and checks that prove the rebuild worked.

Where it stands. I only bought the one new laptop, so I built the kit up and haven't had a chance to run it end to end. I revived the old laptop and gave it a job that didn't need a rebuild. Ground Support is on deck, ready for revision and the next machine.

What I learned. The best time to capture a setup is while the old machine still works.