Setup checklists

A setup guide is a list of things to install and check. As an mdsh document, the checks run: a new teammate runs the file, reads what is missing, and sends the report to whoever helps them, instead of pasting command output into a chat.

• Say what is wrong, not just that something failed. A check that prints “missing” is easier to act on than a red exit code, and on_error: continue runs every check even when one fails.
• Keep secrets out of the report. Print whether something is set, not its value, or run a block in a sub-env with share= so it sees only the variables you name.
• Show the fix only when it’s needed. An mdsh:if section holds the install instructions and is printed only when a tool is missing.

Sample: new developer setup

onboarding.md checks the tools needed to work on mdsh and their versions, whether git has a name and email, whether there is an SSH key, and that mdsh builds from the checkout. It installs nothing.

mdsh --pdf setup.pdf onboarding.md

The report from one run: PDF · HTML · markdown