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The AI wrote a runbook of a whole Linux desktop and used it to move to a new laptop in an afternoon

A man used AI to build a full runbook of how his Linux desktop is set up, covering installed software, configs, hacks and workarounds. He then used the runbook to move to a new laptop in one afternoon, and the runbook now keeps itself up to date.

How it works

  1. The AI documents his whole desktop setup in a runbook, including software, configs, hacks and workarounds
  2. He gets a new laptop
  3. The AI uses the runbook to set the new laptop up in one afternoon
  4. The runbook keeps itself up to date as the setup changes

Why it’s worth knowing

The setup document the agent wrote is the same document it used to rebuild the machine, and it now updates itself.

Where it’s from

Summarized from a public post on news.ycombinator.com. See the original ↗

Upgraded prompt

A ready-to-use prompt for this idea, built from research on what makes AI agents do the job right: who the AI should be, the exact steps, and a check to make sure it was done the way you wanted.

1Who the AI should be
2The prompt, with the steps
3The check when it’s done
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Try next

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Every idea is a real post from someone who tried it, summarized in our words, with a link to the original. App names are swapped for plain words.