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Try It in 5 Minutes

You don't have to commit to anything to try Bootible. The first run is a preview (a "dry run"): it walks through the entire setup and shows you every change it would make — without making any of them. You read the list, and nothing is applied until you decide to type bootible.

This page is the zero-config version: no GitHub account, no YAML, no preparation. Just the preview.

What will happen

When you run the one-liner below, Bootible:

  1. Downloads itself — served from bootible.dev with SHA-256 checksum verification.
  2. Sets up its own tooling — Git on Windows, Ansible on Steam Deck. This tooling (and the bootible command below) is the only thing actually installed during the preview.
  3. Asks you one question — about a private config repo. Just press Enter (more below).
  4. Installs the bootible command — so applying later is one word.
  5. Shows you the full preview — every app the default setup would install and every setting it would change, labeled [DRY RUN].

What won't happen

  • Nothing from the preview is applied. No apps from the list are installed, no settings are changed. When the preview ends, you can simply close the window.
  • Nothing is ever applied without a second command. Changes only happen when you type bootible yourself, after you've seen the list.
  • And when you do apply, Bootible first creates a System Restore Point (Windows) or a btrfs snapshot of your home folder (Steam Deck) — so there's a way back.

Run the preview

Open Terminal as Administrator (right-click the Start button → Terminal (Admin)) and paste:

irm https://bootible.dev/rog | iex

Switch to Desktop Mode (Steam button → Power → Switch to Desktop), open Konsole, and paste:

curl -fsSL https://bootible.dev/deck | bash

You'll need a sudo password set — if you've never set one, run passwd first.

The preview is the fast part. A real run's length depends on how many apps your config installs and your connection speed.

The one question it asks

Partway through, Bootible asks:

Do you have a private config repo? (y/N)

Just press Enter. That answers "no", and Bootible carries on with the default setup. A private config repo is how you customize Bootible later — you can add one any time, and nothing about today's run is wasted.

What Bootible never touches

  • Your personal files. Documents, photos, videos, music, downloads — Bootible installs and configures apps; it does not read, move, or delete your files. One cosmetic exception you'll see in the preview: the default Windows setup tidies app shortcuts off the Desktop (the shortcuts, not the apps), and it's a config key you can turn off (clean_desktop_shortcuts: false).
  • Your game saves and game libraries. Installing Steam or other launchers doesn't touch existing game installs or save files.
  • Your Windows license. Nothing in Bootible interacts with Windows activation or licensing.

"Should I really paste a command from the internet?"

A healthy question. Three honest answers:

  • The delivery is verified. bootible.dev serves the script with a SHA-256 checksum pinned at deploy time, so what you download is exactly what was released.
  • The code is open source. MIT-licensed, on GitHub — every line is auditable.
  • The preview is the safety net. Nothing applies until you've read what would happen and typed bootible yourself.

The full trust story — release pinning, verification headers, and how to check the checksum yourself — is at Release Channels & Integrity.

Ready to make it yours?

The defaults are a curated gaming baseline. The moment you want your picks — Discord, Moonlight, a different browser — your settings live in a small private GitHub repo you can edit from any web browser.

Your Config Repo