WayCup Engine

Terminal Rescue Guide

2 min read

🆘 TCI Disaster Recovery & Setup Guide

This guide provides the definitive protocol for restoring the WayCup Engine (Debian/Linux) or a new Controller (Laptop/Chromebook) from scratch.

📡 1. Connectivity: The Tailscale Mandate

Everything in the TCI ecosystem routes through the WayCup Tailnet.

  • The Constraint: Public IPs are ephemeral and insecure. We strictly use MagicDNS and Tailscale IPs.
  • Restoration:
    1. Install Tailscale: curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
    2. Authenticate: sudo tailscale up
    3. Verify: Ensure you can ping the-box (The Chromebox Engine) using its Tailnet name.

🔐 2. Identity: Headless 1Password

1Password is the single source of truth for all SSH keys, API tokens, and service credentials.

  • Restoration:
    1. Install 1Password CLI (op).
    2. Authenticate using the Service Account token (stored in the physical vault or recovery kit).
    3. SSH Agent: Ensure the Engine is configured to use the 1Password SSH agent for all Git operations.

🏗️ 3. Environment: Nix & Home Manager

The Engine is “Coded Infrastructure.” We do not install tools manually via apt if they are in the Nix config.

  • Restoration:
    1. Install Nix: curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh
    2. Clone the Dotfiles: git clone [email protected]:kevindockman/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles
    3. Apply Configuration: cd ~/dotfiles && home-manager switch
    • Result: Node 22, GCloud SDK, and all WayCup aliases are restored instantly.

🧠 4. Intelligence: Restoring the Vault

  1. Navigate to the project directory: mkdir -p ~/projects/01_internal
  2. Clone the Core Engine: git clone [email protected]:waycup/waycup-vault.git ~/projects/01_internal/core
  3. Re-index Gemini CLI: gemini /obsidian:index (Points to the Vertex AI Brain).

💻 5. Essential App Roster (New Machine)

Ensure these apps are installed on the Controller (Laptop) for TCI interaction:

  • Terminal: Native Linux terminal or VS Code Terminal (Antigravity).
  • Tailscale Desktop: For persistent network membership.
  • 1Password Desktop: For biometric auth and secret management.
  • Google Chrome: Authenticated with [email protected] for GCP and Workspace access.

Created by the WayCup Lead Architect on 2026-05-14.

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