DZC Defiant

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Defiant

1. Terminal Specs

2. Programs and Optimizations for Our Work

These are the actual tools on Defiant that matter for our work, with what each one is for.

Shell, Editing, and Control

  • PowerShell 7.6: the main shell for Windows automation, REST calls, SQL scripts, file movement, JSON handling, and long-running local jobs.
  • Git 2.53: version control for checkpoints, diffs, rollback, branches, and knowing exactly what changed before a publish or data update.
  • GitHub CLI 2.89: command-line access to GitHub repos, issues, pull requests, releases, and authentication when a project lives on GitHub.
  • Visual Studio Code 1.117: the main editor for scripts, SQL, JavaScript, PowerShell, Python, content files, and repo navigation.
  • Codex CLI 0.126: the local coding-agent command. It is now on PATH from fresh terminals through the Codex sandbox-bin.
PowerShell 7.6.1Microsoft Git 2.54.0Git GitHub CLI 2.92.0Microsoft Visual Studio CodeMicrosoft Visual Studio CommunityMicrosoft Codex CLIOpenAI

Search, Inspection, and File Handling

  • ripgrep 15.1: fast text search across huge folders, scripts, SQL files, manifests, logs, and generated artifacts.
  • jq 1.8: command-line JSON filtering, validation, reshaping, and extraction for API payloads, manifests, exports, and logs.
  • yq 4.52: command-line YAML/XML/TOML-style inspection and edits for config files, manifests, and pipeline metadata.
  • curl.exe: direct HTTP requests from the terminal for REST APIs, downloads, headers, auth checks, and endpoint testing.
  • wget.exe: reliable command-line downloading when a workflow wants wget specifically instead of curl.
  • tar: unpacking and creating tar archives from the Windows terminal.
  • tree: quick directory maps for checking folder shape before or after asset and data operations.
  • 7-Zip 26: archive extraction and creation for zip, 7z, and source/media bundles. It is now on PATH as 7z.
ripgrep 15.1.0ripgrep jq 1.8.1jq yq 4.53.2yq curl.execurl wget 1.21.4GNU tarGNU treetree 7-Zip 26.017-Zip

Python, Node, Languages, Build Systems and Browser Automation

  • Python 3.13: local scripting for data cleanup, media helpers, file transforms, API utilities, and one-off conversion jobs.
  • pip: Python package installation for scripts that need libraries outside the standard library.
  • uv 0.11: faster Python dependency and environment management, useful for isolated task folders and avoiding global package mess.
  • Node.js 24.14: JavaScript runtime for build scripts, publishing scripts, web tooling, content transforms, and local servers.
  • npm 11.9: JavaScript package manager for project dependencies, scripts, Playwright tooling, and frontend/build tasks.
  • Playwright 1.59: browser automation for page checks, screenshots, visual verification, form testing, and live-site regression checks. The plain playwright command now resolves to the npm CLI first, and Python Playwright browsers are installed too.
Python 3.12.10Python Software Foundation pipPython Software Foundation uv 0.11.8Astral Node.js 25.9.0OpenJS Foundation npm 11.12.1Microsoft Playwright 1.59.1Microsoft

Databases and Data Stores

  • SQL Server 2022: local SQL Server engine and Microsoft database stack for Windows-native database work.
  • SQL Server Management Studio 20.2: GUI for inspecting, editing, querying, and managing SQL Server databases.
  • sqlcmd 16: terminal SQL Server client for live verification, scripted queries, automation, and remote database checks.
  • SQLite 3.52: direct inspection of local .db files, browser databases, temporary stores, small extracted datasets, and cache files.
  • PostgreSQL 18 and psql: local PostgreSQL install plus command-line client for Postgres databases, imports, exports, and testing.
  • MySQL Server 8.4: local MySQL engine for MySQL-backed testing, imports, and compatibility work.
  • mysql: MySQL command-line client for queries, imports, exports, and connection checks.
  • MySQL Shell 9.6: richer MySQL administration shell for JavaScript/Python-style MySQL operations and advanced inspection.
SQL Server 2022 DeveloperMicrosoft SQL Server Management StudioMicrosoft sqlcmdMicrosoft bcpMicrosoft SQLite 3.53.0SQLite PostgreSQL 18.3PostgreSQL psqlPostgreSQL MySQL Server 8.4.8Oracle mysqlOracle MySQL Shell 8.4.8Oracle

Media, Images, and 3D Assets

  • ImageMagick 7.1: image conversion, resizing, metadata checks, format repair, thumbnails, and batch image processing.
  • FFmpeg 8.1: audio/video conversion, extraction, normalization, preview generation, and media pipeline automation.
  • Blender 5.1: 3D modeling and asset processing, including terminal-driven import/export jobs for GLB and related model workflows.
  • MeshLab 2025.07: mesh inspection, cleanup, repair, simplification, and conversion for 3D model assets; meshlab is installed and callable from the terminal.
  • MeshLab 2025.07: mesh inspection, cleanup, repair, simplification, and conversion for 3D model assets.
FFmpeg 8.1FFmpeg ImageMagick 7.1.2-21ImageMagick Studio BlenderBlender Foundation InkscapeInkscape MeshLabMeshLab BabylonJS EditorBabylon.js QGISQGIS

Build Tools and Language Runtimes

  • CMake 4.3: cross-platform build configuration for C/C++ and native projects.
  • Ninja 1.13: fast build executor used by many CMake and native build workflows.
  • gcc and g++ 15.2: MinGW-w64 C and C++ compilers for Windows-native native builds.
  • .NET SDK 8: .NET build/runtime support for C#, tooling, and Microsoft-stack utilities.
  • Zulu JDK 21: Java runtime and development kit for Java tools, build systems, and JVM-based utilities.
  • Go 1.26: Go compiler/toolchain for Go projects and single-binary utilities.
  • Rust via rustup: Rust toolchain management, cargo builds, and Rust-based command-line tooling.
CMake 4.3.2Kitware Ninja 1.13.2Ninja MSYS2 UCRT64 GCC/G++ 15.2MSYS2 MSVCMicrosoft .NET SDK 8Microsoft Zulu JDK 21Azul Go 1.26.2Google Rust 1.95Rust Foundation

Infrastructure and Cloud CLIs

  • Docker Desktop / docker CLI: container tooling is installed and on PATH, but it still needs Docker Desktop running before containers work.
  • kubectl 1.34: Kubernetes command-line client for cluster inspection and deployment workflows.
  • Helm 4.1: Kubernetes package/chart manager for installing and managing chart-based workloads.
  • Terraform 1.14: infrastructure-as-code CLI for reproducible cloud and service configuration.
  • AWS CLI 2.34: command-line access to Amazon Web Services.
  • Azure CLI 2.85: command-line access to Microsoft Azure resources and accounts.
  • Google Cloud SDK 564: gcloud, gsutil, and bq tooling for Google Cloud work.
  • Firebase CLI 15.13: command-line tooling for Firebase projects, hosting, functions, and deployments.
WSL 2Microsoft Ubuntu 24.04Ubuntu DockerDocker kubectl 1.36.0Cloud Native Computing Foundation Helm 4.1.4Cloud Native Computing Foundation Terraform 1.14.9HashiCorp AWS CLI 2.34.38Amazon Web Services Azure CLI 2.85.0Microsoft Google Cloud SDK 566.0.0Google Firebase CLI 14.11.0Google

Path and Runtime Optimizations

  • Fresh-terminal PATH cleanup: new terminals can resolve the work tools directly, including Codex, Playwright, 7-Zip, database CLIs, Blender, MeshLab, cloud CLIs, media tools, and MinGW build tools.
  • Playwright precedence fixed: the plain playwright command resolves to the npm Playwright CLI first, avoiding the older Python wrapper when running terminal browser checks.
  • Python Playwright browsers installed: Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit launch correctly through Python for scripts that use python -m playwright or the Python API.
  • Codex binary aligned: the sandbox-bin Codex executable was aligned to the active VS Code extension version so fresh terminals launch the current Codex CLI.

3. Current Gaps and Notes