Hardware Assessment

Hardware Assessment

When to Use This Skill

USE when:

• Inventorying machines for consolidation or repurposing decisions
• Comparing hardware specs across multiple devices
• Planning GPU, RAM, or storage upgrades
• Auditing SMART health status across storage devices
• Keeping machines updated (OS packages, tools, custom software)
• Tracking what changed after updates via changelogs
• Documenting system configurations for compliance or handoff

DON'T USE when:

• You need real-time monitoring (use Prometheus/Grafana instead)
• You need benchmark/performance data (this collects specs, not performance)

Quick Start

Linux

# Copy script to target machine, then:
bash hardware-assess.sh -p

# With sudo for SMART data + RAM type:
sudo bash hardware-assess.sh -p

# Custom output path:
bash hardware-assess.sh -o /tmp/inventory.json --pretty

Windows (PowerShell)

# Run in PowerShell:
.\hardware-assess.ps1 -Pretty

# Custom output:
.\hardware-assess.ps1 -OutputFile C:\temp\inventory.json -Pretty

Full Maintenance (assess + update + re-assess)

# Linux — runs all 4 phases, outputs to maintenance/ directory:
sudo bash system-maintain.sh -d ./maintenance

# With custom software config:
sudo bash system-maintain.sh -c ./custom-packages.json -d ./maintenance

# Assessment only (no updates):
bash system-maintain.sh --skip-update -d ./maintenance

See sub-skills for full details.

Update Only (no assessment)

# Linux:
sudo bash system-update.sh -c ./custom-packages.json

# Windows:
.\system-update.ps1 -ConfigFile .\custom-packages.json

Workstation Input Troubleshooting

X11: typing is uppercase even though Caps Lock looks off

Observed on ace-linux-1 with a Logitech K350 receiver attached: a plain text editor typed uppercase, Caps Lock initially appeared off, and unplugging the keyboard left X11 with Caps Lock: on but no physical key held. Treat this as an XKB latched modifier before assuming an application bug.

Verify state:

xset q | sed -n '/Keyboard Control:/,/Pointer Control:/p'

If Caps Lock: on, clear the XKB lock directly:

python3 - <<'PY'
import ctypes, ctypes.util

lib = ctypes.cdll.LoadLibrary(ctypes.util.find_library("X11"))
d = lib.XOpenDisplay(None)
if not d:
    raise SystemExit("NO_DISPLAY")

XkbUseCoreKbd = 0x0100
LockMask = 1 << 1
lib.XkbLockModifiers(d, XkbUseCoreKbd, LockMask, 0)
lib.XFlush(d)
lib.XCloseDisplay(d)
PY

Verify it cleared:

xset q | sed -n '/XKB indicators:/,/auto repeat delay:/p'

If it comes back after reconnecting the keyboard, suspect the keyboard or USB receiver is sending a Caps Lock toggle. Tap both Shift keys, then Caps Lock; if state still recurs, re-seat or replace the receiver/keyboard before chasing editor or accessibility settings. Sticky keys can be checked with:

gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard stickykeys-enable

Custom Software Config (JSON)

{
  "packages": {
    "apt": ["openfoam", "freecad", "paraview", "smartmontools"],
    "snap": ["code"],
    "pip": ["numpy", "polars"]
  },
  "ppas": ["ppa:openfoam/latest"],
  "scripts": [
    { "name": "custom-tool", "check": "custom-tool --version", "install": "./install-custom-tool.sh" }
  ]
}

Keep custom installer scripts checked in or otherwise provenance-verified. Do not pipe downloaded installer content directly into a shell in this config.

Version History

• 1.1.0 (2026-02-02): Add system-update and system-maintain orchestrator scripts for OS/tools/custom software updates with changelog tracking
• 1.0.0 (2026-02-02): Initial release — Linux Bash + Windows PowerShell scripts with unified JSON schema

Sub-Skills

• Troubleshooting

Sub-Skills

• Scripts
• Linux (hardware-assess.sh) (+1)
• Output Schema (v1.0)
• Linux (+1)
• Workflow: Multi-Machine Inventory