I just got a new computer at work that's running Ubuntu, and I'm excited to set it up. However, I can't use external drives or install my own operating system. My personal Ubuntu laptop is fully configured for work, and I want to replicate that setup on my new machine.
Specifically, I need to:
1. Install the same programs as on my personal laptop. I believe I can export a list from apt and use it on the new machine, but I'm not entirely sure how to do that.
2. Transfer my personal settings, which include things like tmux configurations, my preferred shell application, shell config files, GNOME extensions, and browser settings with plugins. Is copying the Home directory enough for this? Any tips would be appreciated!
3 Answers
There are several methods to list installed packages. You could run something like `dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/{print $2}' | paste -sd ' '` to list all installed apps through the package manager. Just a heads up, this won’t include apps installed via `pip` or similar package managers, so you'll need to handle those separately. And yes, copying the home directory should work, but don't forget to use `find [blah] -exec chown` to change ownership of the files after copying them over for your new user on the machine.
You should definitely be able to copy over the .local and .config folders from your home directory to the new machine. Just keep in mind that different applications might store settings in various locations. Also, if there are hardcoded usernames or home paths, you might run into some issues if you're logged in as a different user on the new machine. If there are just a few tweaks, it might be simpler to adjust them manually instead of copying everything and risking potential errors.
To get a list of the programs you've installed, you might want to try `apt-mark showmanual` to see manually installed packages. As for your settings, most of them live in what's called "dot-files" in your home directory. It's a bit of a rabbit hole, but managing those files will make your life easier!
I totally get you on the rabbit hole with dot file management. I personally use GNU Stow to keep things organized; it really helps.
Thanks for that! For the ownership part, if I keep the usernames the same, should that solve the problems? I also thought about zipping up my miniconda directory to transfer it; since it's not too big, would that work as long as I keep the names consistent?