laptop-setup

name	laptop-setup
description	This skill should be used when the user says "install <something>", "brew install", "add a package", "install tool", "remove package", "add symlink", "add config", "update ansible", "change laptop setup", "add brew package", "add cask", or mentions modifying the dotfiles ansible playbook. Trigger on ANY install request for CLI tools or GUI apps.

Laptop Setup

Manage the dotfiles-based laptop provisioning via ansible/install_packages.yaml.

Dotfiles repo: ~/Documents/git/dotfiles

Architecture

All setup is declared in ansible/install_packages.yaml:

• brew_packages — CLI tools installed via Homebrew
• brew_casks — GUI apps installed via Homebrew Cask
• home_symlinks — files from dotfiles root symlinked to $HOME
• config_symlinks — dirs from .config/ symlinked to ~/.config/
• Tasks section — ordered setup steps (brew, symlinks, git hooks, mise, cleanup)

Step 1: Read current playbook

Read ansible/install_packages.yaml

Understand the current vars and tasks before making changes.

Step 2: Determine the change type

User wants to...	Action
Add a CLI tool	Add to brew_packages under the right category comment
Add a GUI app	Add to brew_casks
Add a dotfile to $HOME	Add to home_symlinks, create the file in repo root
Add a config dir	Add to config_symlinks, create dir under .config/
Add a setup step	Add a new task in the tasks section, in logical order
Remove a tool/app	Remove from vars list, remove related files/symlinks/tasks

Step 3: Make the change

Edit ansible/install_packages.yaml with the minimal change needed.

Rules

• Categories: brew packages are grouped by comment (# shell, # tools, # git, # dev, # terminal, # apps). Place new entries under the correct category.
• Alphabetical within category: keep packages sorted alphabetically within each category group.
• One change at a time: don't combine adding a package with restructuring the playbook.
• Matching files: if adding a symlink, ensure the source file/dir exists in the dotfiles repo. Create it if needed.
• No orphans: if removing a tool, also remove its config files, symlinks, and any related zshrc sourcing.
• Test after change: run ansible-playbook ansible/install_packages.yaml --check --diff to verify syntax.

Step 4: Verify

# Dry-run to check for errors
ansible-playbook ansible/install_packages.yaml --check --diff -c local -i localhost,

Quick reference

# Full provisioning run
ansible-playbook ansible/install_packages.yaml -c local -i localhost,

# Just install packages (skip symlinks, hooks, etc.)
ansible-playbook ansible/install_packages.yaml -c local -i localhost, --tags packages