Fixes #85: Make it easier to use this playbook to manage remote Macs.

README.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 This playbook installs and configures most of the software I use on my Mac for web and software development. Some things in macOS are slightly difficult to automate, so I still have some manual installation steps, but at least it's all documented here.
 
-This is a work in progress, and is mostly a means for me to document my current Mac's setup. I'll be evolving this set of playbooks over time.
+This is a work in progress, and is mostly a means for me to document my current Mac's setup. I'll be evolving this playbook over time.
 
 *See also*:
 
@@ -21,10 +21,25 @@ This is a work in progress, and is mostly a means for me to document my current
   2. [Install Ansible](http://docs.ansible.com/intro_installation.html).
   3. Clone this repository to your local drive.
   4. Run `$ ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml` inside this directory to install required Ansible roles.
-  5. Run `ansible-playbook main.yml -i inventory -K` inside this directory. Enter your account password when prompted.
+  5. Run `ansible-playbook main.yml -i inventory --ask-become-pass` inside this directory. Enter your account password when prompted.
 
 > Note: If some Homebrew commands fail, you might need to agree to Xcode's license or fix some other Brew issue. Run `brew doctor` to see if this is the case.
 
+### Use with a remote Mac
+
+You can use this playbook to manage other Macs as well; the playbook doesn't even need to be run from a Mac at all! If you want to manage a remote Mac, either another Mac on your network, or a hosted Mac like the ones from [MacStadium](https://www.macstadium.com), you just need to make sure you can connect to it with SSH:
+
+  1. (On the Mac you want to connect to:) Go to System Preferences > Sharing.
+  2. Enable 'Remote Login'.
+
+Then edit the `inventory` file in this repository and change the line that starts with `127.0.0.1` to:
+
+```
+[ip address or hostname of mac]  ansible_user=[mac ssh username]
+```
+
+If you need to supply an SSH password (if you don't use SSH keys), make sure to pass the `--ask-pass` parameter to the `ansible-playbook` command.
+
 ### Running a specific set of tagged tasks
 
 You can filter which part of the provisioning process to run by specifying a set of tags using `ansible-playbook`'s `--tags` flag. The tags available are `dotfiles`, `homebrew`, `mas`, `extra-packages` and `osx`.
@@ -133,13 +148,6 @@ It's my hope that I can get the rest of these things wrapped up into Ansible pla
   6. Set mouse tracking rate.
   7. Configure extra Mail and/or Calendar accounts (e.g. Google, Exchange, etc.).
 
-### Applications/packages to be added:
-
-These are mostly direct download links, some are more difficult to install because of custom installers or other nonstandard install quirks:
-
-  - [iShowU HD](http://www.shinywhitebox.com/downloads/iShowU_HD_2.3.20.dmg)
-  - [Adobe Creative Cloud](http://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html)
-
 ### Configuration to be added:
 
   - I have vim configuration in the repo, but I still need to add the actual installation:

inventory

@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-[localhost]
+[all]
-127.0.0.1
+127.0.0.1  ansible_connection=local

main.yml

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 ---
 - hosts: all
-  connection: local
 
   vars_files:
     - default.config.yml