feat(installer): simplify capability selection and add agent setup skill

[TomCC7]

Contribution path

Follow-up to #4073, stacked on cc/fix/install-sh. This PR contains the capability UX and agent setup changes; merge the original installer repairs first.

Problem

The installer asks users to assemble robot and feature extras, while developer mode installs all. The choices are confusing, and agents lack a clear setup workflow with predictable unattended behavior.

Solution

• Replace granular installer extras with navigation/manipulation bundles; retain native/Nix setup and contributor tools.
• Recommend agent-assisted setup with one shared skill and explicit unattended options.
• Verify dependencies, suggest README examples, and keep network tuning opt-in.
• Consolidate installer tests; install both bundles in every CI job.

Installer UX and logic

flowchart TD
    Start["Run install.sh"] --> Args{"Valid flags and required options?"}
    Args -->|No| Error["Show error and exit"]
    Args -->|Yes| Host["Detect and display OS, Python, GPU, Nix, RAM, and disk"]
    Host --> Mode["Mode: library or developer"]
    Mode --> Directory["Destination: new project or existing checkout"]
    Directory --> Capabilities["Capabilities: navigation and/or manipulation<br/>Arrow keys to move, Space to toggle, Enter to confirm<br/>At least one selection required"]
    Capabilities --> Method["System dependencies: native or Nix<br/>Recommend apt on Ubuntu/WSL, Homebrew on macOS,<br/>Nix on other Linux; NixOS defaults to Nix"]
    Method --> Check["Check existing environment<br/>Resolve capability dependencies and CPU/CUDA backend"]
    Check --> Summary["Show installation summary<br/>Mode, path, capabilities, backend, setup method,<br/>required packages and package-manager bootstrap"]
    Summary --> Dry{"Dry run?"}
    Dry -->|Yes| Preview["Print planned actions without installing"]
    Dry -->|No| Interactive{"Interactive?"}
    Interactive -->|Yes| Confirm{"Install this environment?"}
    Confirm -->|No| Cancel["Cancel and exit"]
    Confirm -->|Yes| System
    Interactive -->|No| System["Install required system dependencies and uv"]
    System --> InstallMode{"Installation mode"}
    InstallMode -->|Library| Library["Create or reuse project virtual environment<br/>Install published package with selected capabilities"]
    InstallMode -->|Developer| Dev["Clone or reuse checkout<br/>Install selected capabilities plus test/lint groups"]
    Library --> Network
    Dev --> Network{"Network tuning requested?"}
    Network -->|Yes| Tune["Apply and persist LCM buffer settings"]
    Network -->|No| Verify
    Tune --> Verify["Verify CLI, native libraries,<br/>capability dependencies, and PyTorch"]
    Verify --> Result{"Checks pass?"}
    Result -->|No| Error
    Result -->|Yes| Done["Show activation instructions and selected examples<br/>Navigation: Go2 replay with Rerun<br/>Manipulation: xArm7 keyboard teleop with visualization"]

Loading

Flags skip the corresponding interactive questions. --non-interactive requires mode, destination, and capabilities; it uses platform setup defaults unless overridden and skips confirmation. Validation and installation failures stop with instructions; unattended runs do not prompt for administrator credentials. The final examples are suggested commands, not automatically launched blueprints.

How to Test

Run this branch's interactive installer, select navigation and/or manipulation with Space, and choose native dependencies or Nix:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dimensionalOS/dimos/cc/chore/smoother-install-sh/scripts/install.sh | bash

For unattended installation of both capabilities from this branch:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dimensionalOS/dimos/cc/chore/smoother-install-sh/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --non-interactive --mode dev --project-dir ./dimos-installer-test --branch cc/chore/smoother-install-sh --capabilities navigation,manipulation

Add --dry-run to the unattended command to preview without changes. Actual installation includes required system packages and may need administrator access.

Bash syntax, ShellCheck, fast installer contract tests, skill validation, documentation links, and applicable pre-commit hooks passed. Run bash scripts/test-install.sh for fast checks covering unattended execution, invalid arguments, privilege failures, environment reuse, and capability-specific verification. Use INSTALL_TEST_ROOT="$(mktemp -d)" bash scripts/test-install.sh library (or dev) for a real installation of both bundles. Interactive menus are tested manually.

Fresh dependency installations were not run locally because available disk space was below the installer's minimum. End-to-end installation results were not validated locally; macOS and Nix installation remain outside installation CI coverage.

AI assistance

Codex (GPT-6) implemented the changes and tests, ran local validation, and prepared this description following a design interview with the author. Human code review remains pending.

Agent: Codex (GPT-6).

Checklist

• I have read and approved the CLA.

[codecov]

❌ 1 Tests Failed:

Tests completed	Failed	Passed	Skipped
5229	1	5228	187

View the top 1 failed test(s) by shortest run time

dimos.codebase_checks.test_docs_branding::test_docs_use_current_branding

Stack Traces | 0.014s run time

def test_docs_use_current_branding() -> None:
        """Fail if any file under docs/ spells the brand "DimOS" instead of "dimOS"."""
        hits = find_old_branding()
        if hits:
            listing = "\n".join(
                f"  - {p.relative_to(DIMOS_PROJECT_ROOT)}:{lineno}: {line.strip()}"
                for p, lineno, line in hits
            )
>           raise AssertionError(f'Found "DimOS" in docs/:\n{listing}\n\nThe brand is spelled "dimOS".')
E           AssertionError: Found "DimOS" in docs/:
E             - docs/installation/index.md:7: > Read https://raw.githubusercontent..../dimos/main/.agents.../skills/setup-dimos/SKILL.md and help me install DimOS. Ask about installation options, then install, verify, and show the next commands.
E           
E           The brand is spelled "dimOS".

hits       = [(PosixPath('.../docs/installation/index.md'), 7, '> Read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/...KILL.md and help me install DimOS. Ask about installation options, then install, verify, and show the next commands.')]
listing    = '  - docs/installation/index.md:7: > Read https://raw.githubusercontent..../dimos/main/.agents/skills/se.../SKILL.md and help me install DimOS. Ask about installation options, then install, verify, and show the next commands.'

dimos/codebase_checks/test_docs_branding.py:43: AssertionError

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[greptile-apps]

Confidence Score: 4/5

The reproduced issues are non-blocking reliability and usability concerns; the change can merge, though the affected setup flows should be improved.

Findings

1.  Sudo Timeout Skips Tuning ▶
2.  Retry Empty Gum Selection ▶

Summary

• Two installer issues were reproduced in scripts/install.sh: unattended network tuning can be skipped after a long installation if sudo credentials expire, and an empty Gum capability selection exits instead of returning the user to the menu. Both are non-blocking concerns, so the change can merge, but addressing them will make setup more reliable.

_{Reviews (1) · Last reviewed commit: "docs(installer): trim repeated setup gui..."}

[greptile-apps]

Sudo Timeout Skips Tuning

For an unattended install requesting network configuration, this validates sudo before dependency and project installation, then requires the same non-interactive credential again before applying network settings. If the credential expires during the installation, setup exits before the requested tuning is applied, leaving an otherwise installed environment partially configured. This is a non-blocking reliability concern, but it makes unattended setup fail its requested configuration after a lengthy install.

Artifacts

Evidence from the check

• The authored Bash harness sources the installer and runs its actual privilege and network-configuration functions with a mock credential cache, showing the safe focused test method.

Command output from the check

• The valid-cache control executed the early and late checks plus the mocked network sysctl operation successfully, showing the expected configured path.

Command output from the check

• The expiry simulation passed the early check, expired during simulated installation, then failed at the late noninteractive sudo check before any network operation, confirming the finding.

_{Ran code and verified through T-Rex}

[greptile-apps]

Retry Empty Gum Selection

Pressing Enter without choosing a capability in the Gum menu produces an empty successful result, which later fails capability validation and exits the installer. The built-in menu instead asks the user to select at least one option. This is a non-blocking interactive usability concern that forces users to restart setup instead of correcting an empty selection.

Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!

Artifacts

Evidence from the check

• The authored focused harness extracts the production installer functions, simulates Enter through a controlling terminal, and asserts the before/after behavior; it demonstrates the tested interaction.

Command output from the check

• Running `bash trex-artifacts/install-menu-empty-selection-validation.sh` completed successfully and reports the built-in retry versus Gum-path validation exit; the finding is reproduced.

Command output from the check

• The executed PTY session presses Enter with no selection in the built-in menu and captures its retry prompt before controlled cancellation; empty Enter does not terminate there.

Command output from the check

• The executed PTY session presses Enter with the focused successful-empty Gum stub and captures the installer validation error with exit code 64; empty Enter terminates instead of retrying.

_{Ran code and verified through T-Rex}