Prepare Ubuntu

Station 6 - Server ready. Time: 15-20 min. You update the server and install basic tools. Pass when the commands finish without a blocking error.

What this is

This is the basic server hygiene step before Hermes installation.

Why it matters

Fresh servers are minimal. Hermes setup is smoother when Ubuntu is updated and has common tools such as curl, git, and tmux.

What to do

Open the Command Sheet if you want the short copy-only version.

Update Ubuntu:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

If the room is short on time, the facilitator may ask you to run only sudo apt update and install basics first, then do the full upgrade after class.

Install basics:

sudo apt install -y curl git tmux

Facilitator-only optional rescue for very small or slow servers, add swap:

sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile || true
grep -q '^/swapfile ' /etc/fstab || echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
free -h

If /swapfile already exists, ask the facilitator before rerunning the whole block.

Optional safer-user step:

If the facilitator has time, create a non-root user for daily Hermes work. If the room is moving fast, finish the core Hermes setup first and return to safer user cleanup after class.

Common mistakes

• Running random commands from the internet outside the workshop guide.
• Ignoring an apt lock instead of waiting a minute.
• Skipping swap on a very small server that later feels slow.
• Confusing optional safety cleanup with the required class checkpoint.

Next step

Go to Install Hermes.