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Setting up the host

1. Bare-Metal Provisioning (Debian 13 "Trixie")

The recommended host is an Intel N100 Mini-PC. It must be provisioned with a minimal, headless OS.

  • Boot Menu: Insert the bootable USB and tap F7 (or Delete for BIOS) on startup to boot from the drive.
  • Installer Choice: Select the standard, text-based Install (Do NOT use Graphical or Expert).
  • Network Firmware Prompt: If prompted for missing non-free firmware (usually for Wi-Fi), select No and proceed with the wired Ethernet connection.
  • The Sudo Trick: When prompted for a root password, leave it completely blank. This automatically installs sudo and grants the primary user administrative privileges.
  • Software Selection: UNCHECK all Desktop Environments (GNOME, etc.). CHECK SSH server and standard system utilities.

2. Host Preparation

Debian requires specific commands to set up the ansible service account correctly. Log into the newly provisioned host with your main user and execute:

# Do NOT use `useradd` as it is not in the standard user path and omits home directory creation.
sudo adduser ansible

# Ensure the password is explicitly set (adduser will prompt for it, but use this to verify or change it)
sudo passwd ansible

# Grant the ansible user necessary escalation privileges
sudo usermod -aG sudo ansible