DevChest

DevChest simplifies and accelerates the setup of your Linux environment with a curated collection of Bash automation scripts. It installs and configures a consistent set of development and everyday tools across supported Linux distributions.

For implementation details and contracts (for humans and AI agents), see REQUIREMENTS.md.

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Overview

DevChest provides a single entry point for installing and uninstalling tools:

• install.sh – install selected tools.
• uninstall.sh – uninstall selected tools.

The entry scripts:

• Detect your OS and validate support.
• Run pre-flight checks (sudo, package manager, network, curl/wget).
• Discover tools from tools/*.sh dynamically.
• Present a multi-select menu to install or uninstall tools.
• Run each tool script in an idempotent, distro-aware way.

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Supported distributions

DevChest v1 supports the following distributions and versions:

• Ubuntu: 20.04 and newer (LTS).
• Debian: 10 and newer.
• RHEL / CentOS (including Stream): 8 and newer.
• Fedora: 39 and newer.

If your OS or version is not supported, DevChest will abort early with a clear message instead of failing midway.

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Requirements

Runtime and environment:

• A supported Linux distribution (see above).
• Bash 4.0+.
• sudo (or run as root).
• Network access (for fetching packages and repositories).
• At least one of:
  • curl
  • wget

Git is only required if you choose to clone the repository locally. Remote one-liner usage does not require git.

DevChest will check for required dependencies at startup and offer to install missing ones when possible, or abort with a clear error if it cannot safely continue.

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Quick start (remote)

Install DevChest tools directly via curl:

sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/groot-arena/devchest/main/install.sh)"

Or via wget:

sudo bash -c "$(wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/groot-arena/devchest/main/install.sh)"

This will:

1. Detect your OS.
2. Run pre-flight checks (sudo, package manager, network, curl/wget).
3. Show a multi-select menu of available tools.
4. Install each selected tool for your distro.

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Local clone usage

Clone and run from a local checkout:

git clone https://github.com/groot-arena/devchest.git
cd devchest
sudo bash install.sh

To uninstall tools from a local checkout:

sudo bash uninstall.sh

Flags:

• --help — show usage and exit.
• --verbose — enable verbose logging (or set DC_VERBOSE=1).
• --keep-workdir — when using the remote one-liner, keep the temporary directory after the run (debug; or set DC_KEEP_WORKDIR=1).

Local usage is functionally equivalent to the remote one-liners, but makes it easier to inspect and modify scripts.

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Uninstallation

You can uninstall tools the same way you installed them.

Remote uninstall (via curl):

sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/groot-arena/devchest/main/uninstall.sh)"

Remote uninstall (via wget):

sudo bash -c "$(wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/groot-arena/devchest/main/uninstall.sh)"

From a local clone:

sudo bash uninstall.sh

The uninstall flow:

• Detects which tools DevChest believes are installed (via tool-specific checks).
• Presents a multi-select uninstall menu.
• For each chosen tool:
  • Removes packages and system integration DevChest added.
  • Optionally asks whether to remove user data/config (default is no).
• Prints a summary of:
  • Installed / removed successfully.
  • Skipped (with reason).
  • Failed (with reason).

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How it works

High-level architecture:

• Entry scripts

  • install.sh and uninstall.sh are thin shims.
  • Handle OS detection, sudo, pre-flight dependency checks, and library loading.
  • Delegate to dc_main_install / dc_main_uninstall in lib/.

• Libraries (lib/)

  • common.sh: strict mode, OS detection, logging, core dependency checks, sudo helpers.
  • debian.sh: APT helpers for Debian/Ubuntu.
  • redhat.sh: DNF/YUM helpers for RHEL/CentOS/Fedora.
  • menu.sh: menu rendering via whiptail, dialog, or a text-only fallback.

• Tools (tools/*.sh)

  • One script per tool, with:
    • Metadata (TOOL_ID, TOOL_DISPLAY_NAME, TOOL_DESCRIPTION, optional categories and OS support).
    • install_<tool_id> and uninstall_<tool_id> functions.
    • Optional is_<tool_id>_installed detection function.
  • Each tool script is idempotent and uses the shared helpers instead of doing its own OS detection or package-manager plumbing.

For full contracts and examples (especially for new tools or automated agents), see REQUIREMENTS.md.

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Tools

Tools are discovered dynamically from tools/*.sh – nothing is hard-coded in the entry scripts.

Included in v1:

• docker — Docker Engine (official Docker repo).
• vscode — Visual Studio Code (official Microsoft repo).
• nvm — Node Version Manager (script-based install).
• google-chrome — Google Chrome browser (official Google repo).

Each tool script:

• Declares a stable TOOL_ID and display metadata.
• Declares optional dependency metadata (packages and commands).
• Implements install/uninstall for all supported distros.
• May restrict itself to specific OS IDs via metadata (in which case it will be hidden on unsupported distros).

For the full tool contract (metadata, function names, idempotency), see REQUIREMENTS.md.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome—whether you want to:

• Add a new tool script under tools/.
• Improve the core framework in lib/.
• Fix bugs or improve robustness.
• Enhance documentation.

Before contributing:

1. Read CONTRIBUTING.md for:
   • Branching and commit guidelines.
   • Code style and CI expectations.
   • How to open issues and pull requests.
2. Read REQUIREMENTS.md for:
   • Architecture and responsibilities (entry scripts vs lib/ vs tools).
   • Tool metadata conventions and naming.
   • Dependency handling and idempotency rules.
   • Security and forbidden patterns.

All shell scripts should:

• Target Bash 4.0+.
• Pass shellcheck and shfmt in CI.
• Follow the dc_* / DC_* namespacing and strict-mode conventions.

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Support

If you run into issues or have questions:

• Open an issue at: https://github.com/groot-arena/devchest/issues

Please include:

• Your distro and version.
• The exact command you ran.
• Relevant output from DevChest (especially the final summary and any [ERROR] logs).

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License

DevChest is open source software. See LICENSE for details.