2026-02-04, 14:00–18:00, B.3.0.13
What if your entire workstation—OS configuration, installed packages, dotfiles, and secrets—lived in Git repositories? What if spinning up a perfectly configured development environment was just git clone and a reboot away? This workshop teaches you to define your computing environment entirely as code. No manual configuration. No "I think I installed this package." No hunting for that config file you tweaked six months ago. Everything—from the base operating system to your shell prompt—declared, versioned, and reproducible.
Your Workstation as Code:
- Bluefin custom image: Your OS definition—packages, settings, services—in a Containerfile you can build and version
- Chezmoi: Your dotfiles as templated, version-controlled code with conditional logic for different machines
- Gopass: Encrypted secrets stored in Git, decrypted on-demand, never in plaintext
What We'll Build:
- A complete workstation definition living in GitHub repositories
- Automated deployment from code to running system
- The ability to replicate your environment on any machine—or recover from disaster in under an hour
Configuration management patterns without traditional CM tools
Why This Matters:
- This is infrastructure as code for personal computing. Your laptop becomes cattle, not a pet. Breaking things stops being scary. New machines stop being painful. You gain the same confidence in your workstation that you have in your production infrastructure.
You'll Need:
- GitHub account (free)
- Optional: virtualization-capable laptop to test your builds
- Desire to never manually configure a system again
Leave with your entire computing environment defined in code and the skills to maintain it forever.
James Freeman is a published author and Senior Technical Account Manager at AWS, bringing over 25 years of technology expertise. With more than a decade of hands-on experience, James has tackled complex enterprise challenges in real-world production environments using Ansible, often introducing this powerful automation tool to CTOs and organizations for the first time. As the author of five authoritative books on Ansible, James is a recognized thought leader in IT automation. His expertise extends to facilitating tailored Ansible workshops and training sessions, and he is a sought-after speaker, having presented at international conferences and community meetups. James's passion for empowering others through automation continues to inspire engineers and businesses to unlock new possibilities in IT.