OS Config

Multi-location OS management for localhost, remote SSH, and ARM images/SD cards.

Setup

Create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

This project uses a hierarchical configuration system. config.yaml files are automatically discovered and loaded from the following locations:

1. config.yaml in the project root (Highest Priority)
2. core/**/config.yaml (Base Configuration)
3. plugins/**/config.yaml (Plugin Configuration)

Files are loaded in order of depth (deepest first), meaning:

• A config.yaml in the project root will override settings from core/ or plugins/.
• Files in core/ or plugins/ (usually lower in the directory tree) provide defaults.

Configuration Format

Example config.yaml:

# Root config.yaml
serialport:
    baudrate: 115200

network:
    wifi_ssid: "MyHomeNetwork"

If a key is missing for a selected operation, the script prompts for it at runtime.

network:
    wifi_ssid: "MyHomeNetwork"
    # wifi_password omitted -> prompted when network operation runs

Advanced Configuration

• Overriding a List: Lists are replaced, not merged. Redefining a list in a higher-priority file will completely overwrite the deeper one.

  # If core/config.yaml has:
  # packages: [vim, git]
  
  # Root config.yaml:
  packages:
      - nano
      - curl
  # Result: packages = [nano, curl]

• Unspecifying a Value (null): Use null to explicitly set a value to None.

  rtc:
      addr: null # Disables the address setting, effectively "unsetting" it

Overriding Keys

To override a value from a lower-precedence config file, simply define the key in your higher-precedence config.yaml.

Original (core/config.yaml):

network:
    wifi_ssid: "DefaultSSID"

Override (root config.yaml):

network:
    wifi_ssid: "MyHomeNetwork"
    # To set an explicit empty value, use null
    wifi_password: null

Result: wifi_ssid is "MyHomeNetwork", and wifi_password is None.

Cross-Module Orchestration CLI

Use the project-level orchestration runner:

python install.py

This CLI:

• Loads merged config from core/**/config.yaml, plugins/**/config.yaml, and root config.yaml
• Dynamically discovers available operations from OperationBase subclasses under core and plugins
• Lists orchestration names defined in config
• Provides a custom (manual operation selection) option to select multiple operations interactively
• Runs two phases: gather all required configs first, then execute all selected operations

Custom selection behavior:

• In custom multi-select mode, press Enter with no selected operations to return to the main menu.

Discovery notes:

• New operation classes are discovered automatically if they subclass OperationBase and support no-arg construction.
• Duplicate operation keys (moduleName.name) are rejected at startup with a clear error.

Orchestration YAML Shapes

Preferred shape:

orchestrations:
    genSetup:
        hostname: [hostname, username]
        region: [timezone]

Shorthand shape (also supported):

genSetup:
    - hostname:
            - hostname
            - username
    - region:
            - timezone

Validation rules:

• If orchestrations exists, it must be a mapping.
• Each module entry in an explicit orchestration must map to a non-empty string or non-empty list of strings.
• Invalid explicit orchestration entries fail fast with a ValueError that includes orchestration/module context.