[v3ai]

What

Two changes:

1. cain vps: a server version of cain that installs only what's used in the terminal, on any mainline Linux distro.
2. An install menu: cain -i no longer installs everything by default. It asks what you want.

Install menu

What should cain install?
up/down move   enter pick   q quit

 > Full         programs, dotfiles, keybindings and desktop settings
   Light        dotfiles and keybindings; no programs, no desktop changes
   Dotfiles     just configs, shell aliases and git settings
   Keybindings  just key remaps and shortcuts
   Server       terminal programs and dotfiles, nothing graphical
   Custom       tick each part yourself

• Custom opens a checklist of the install steps: Space ticks one, a toggles all, Enter starts.
• Server only shows on Linux and is the same as cain vps.
• Controls: arrow keys or j/k, Enter, q or Esc to quit.
• Plain cain uses the same kind of menu to ask Install or Collect.
• Skipping the menu:
  • cain install light (or full, dotfiles, keybindings, server) picks a preset directly
  • cain -i -y installs everything
  • with no terminal attached (scripts, CI), cain installs everything as before
• src/tui.c is plain C with no dependencies: termios on Linux/macOS, conio on Windows. It clips lines to the terminal width so redraws don't break, and falls back to a numbered prompt if the output isn't a terminal.

Server / VPS

On a fresh server:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/v3ai/cain/master/vps.sh | sh

(That URL works once this is merged.)

• vps.sh installs git and a C compiler, clones cain to ~/cain, builds it and runs cain vps. Works with apt, dnf/yum, pacman, zypper, apk and xbps: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Rocky/Alma/CentOS/RHEL, Arch, openSUSE, Alpine, Void.
• cain vps [steps] runs packages git files bin shell only, installs packages marked "terminal": true, and skips keys, desktop settings, GUI apps and the reboot prompt.
• cain.json adds the programs cain.sh uses (python3, pip, venv, tree, nnn, fzf, nmap, ffmpeg, yt-dlp, ssh, iproute2, bash, sudo, curl, …) with each distro's package name.
• Package entries can now:
  • set null for a package manager to skip it there
  • give a "fallback" shell command, used for micro and yt-dlp, which install into ~/.local/bin
  • name a "bin" to check for when the command isn't the same as name
• Package installs:
  • apt runs non-interactively
  • apk and zypper refresh their package lists first
  • pacman does a full -Syu
  • EPEL (and CRB) are turned on for Rocky/Alma/CentOS/RHEL
  • CAIN_PM forces a package manager, for testing
• Shell: SSH login shells now load ~/.bashrc. A login shell that isn't bash or zsh (e.g. Alpine's ash) is switched to bash.
• cain.sh:
  • install, update and the other package aliases now cover apk, xbps and yum
  • ip works without hostname -I
  • open prints links when there's no desktop
  • a sudo shim for root when sudo isn't installed

Things to know

• Desktop installs change too. The Full install (and the Custom programs step) on Linux now also installs the new terminal packages.
• Arch does a full system upgrade. Installs on Arch now run pacman -Syu first.

Testing

• make test: 18 checks pass. The new ones cover each preset's steps and the package names for apt, dnf, pacman, apk and zypper.
• Builds with -Werror under gcc and clang, and cross-compiles for Windows with MinGW under -Werror.
• Menu: driven through a pseudo-terminal. Checked picking a preset, the Custom checklist (ticking and unticking), q and Esc to cancel, and the Install/Collect menu.
• Not tested: the Windows console menu was only compiled, never run.
• Ubuntu 24.04, full run of vps.sh in a container:
  • every package installed
  • aliases and functions load in a login shell
  • running it a second time is safe
  • the yt-dlp fallback works
• Other distros: checked with dry runs only. The test sandbox could only reach Ubuntu's mirrors.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_012UFcA7u8gWu2RPdtQjpqhW