Build guides
These guides are reviewed starting points for common image classes. They show how to turn an outcome into normalized recipe fields and narrow guest evidence.
They are not prequalified production designs. Package versions, upstream sources, hardware, network policy, licensing, and deployment procedures remain environment-specific.
Use every guide this way
- Adapt the prompt into explicit, observable requirements.
- Validate the recipe and compare its normalized form with the entire request.
- Review base support, feature expansion, external sources, users, and secrets.
- Add tests for each material outcome and negative security boundary.
- Build once and follow the returned build ID.
- Inspect package inventory, warnings, artifact digest, and test output.
- Run hardware, installer, network, performance, and recovery tests outside the build VM where relevant.
Available guides
| Guide | Scope |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu GPU Workstation | Driver/toolkit intent and the difference between VM evidence and physical GPU qualification |
| Network Appliance | Routing, firewall, VPN, DNS, and deployment-time network validation |
| Hardened Server | The current Ubuntu 24.04 CIS Level 1 evidence path |
| Development Workstation | Desktop, language tools, containers, and application smoke tests |
| Embedded Device | Minimal edge images and the physical-hardware evidence boundary |
| Robotics with ROS 2 | ROS middleware, simulated checks, and robot-side qualification |
Start with Your First Build, then use Features and Recipe Schema to review what the guide actually produced.