ao

Admin Operations (ao) is a centralized, unified command line wrapper written in Rust designed to perform sysop operations across fragmented Linux environments. Instead of context-switching between apt, dnf, systemctl, usermod, and ip, you just use ao.

ao is distributed as a statically compiled binary using musl, providing a single standalone executable that works on most x86_64 Linux distributions without any external dependencies, with a relatively small footprint (there is work in progress to further reduce size; currently at ~1.5MB).

[!CAUTION] ao is currently Alpha software. While designed for efficiency, it interacts with critical system components. Exercise caution and always verify commands in sensitive environments.

Pro Tip: If in doubt, run any command with the --print flag (e.g., ao --print user add jane) to see the exact bash commands that would be executed without actually running them.

Philosophy

• Ergonomic Speed: Fast, predictable muscle memory (ao <domain> <action>).
• Zero Overhead: Instantaneous startup time via Rust.
• Abstraction: Hides the differences between Debian, Fedora, Arch, etc.

Architecture

ao uses a multi-layered abstraction model to provide a consistent interface across different Linux distributions:

1. CLI Layer (src/cli.rs): Defines the command-line interface and argument parsing using clap. It includes a global Interactive Mode for guided command execution.
2. Domain Abstraction (src/os/mod.rs): Defines traits (e.g., PackageManager, ServiceManager, LogManager) and unified data structures that all backends must implement.
3. OS Detection (src/os/detector.rs): Identifies the host distribution at runtime (via /etc/os-release).
4. Backend Implementations:
   • Generic Linux (src/os/linux_generic/): Provides standard implementations for core domains using common tools like ip, systemctl, journalctl, and lsblk.
   • Distro-Specific (src/os/debian.rs, src/os/arch.rs, etc.): Overrides generic behavior where necessary (e.g., package management via apt vs pacman).

Command Tree

ao
├── interactive
├── boot
│   ├── ls
│   └── mod
│       ├── ls
│       ├── load
│       └── unload
├── dev
│   ├── ls
│   ├── pci
│   ├── usb
│   ├── bt
│   │   ├── status
│   │   ├── scan
│   │   ├── pair
│   │   └── connect
│   └── print
│       └── ls
├── disk
│   ├── ls
│   ├── mount
│   ├── unmount
│   └── usage
├── distro
│   ├── info
│   └── upgrade
├── group
│   ├── add
│   ├── del
│   ├── ls
│   └── mod
├── gui
│   ├── info
│   └── display
│       └── ls
├── log
│   ├── auth
│   ├── boot
│   ├── crash
│   ├── dev
│   ├── error
│   ├── file
│   ├── pkg
│   ├── svc
│   └── sys
├── monitor
├── net
│   ├── interfaces
│   ├── ips
│   ├── routes
│   ├── fw
│   │   ├── status
│   │   ├── allow
│   │   └── deny
│   └── wifi
│       ├── scan
│       └── connect
├── pkg
│   ├── add
│   ├── ls
│   ├── del
│   ├── search
│   └── update
├── sec
│   ├── audit
│   └── context
├── self
│   ├── completions
│   │   ├── generate
│   │   ├── install
│   │   └── setup
│   ├── info
│   └── update
├── svc
│   ├── down
│   ├── ls
│   ├── reload
│   ├── restart
│   ├── status
│   └── up
├── sys
│   ├── info
│   ├── power
│   └── time
├── user
│   ├── add
│   ├── del
│   ├── ls
│   ├── mod
│   └── passwd
└── virt
    ├── ls
    ├── start
    ├── stop
    ├── rm
    └── logs

Installation

Via Cargo

You can install ao directly from crates.io:

cargo install ao-cli

Note: The crate is named ao-cli due to naming availability, but the installed binary will be named ao.

Binary Downloads

Statically compiled binaries are available for every release in the GitHub Releases section.