diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c26b6bd..3552b42 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -75,8 +75,9 @@ nothing on Linux.
 | [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md) | Shared context for every coding agent (branch discipline, secrets). Symlinked to `~/.codex/AGENTS.md`; Claude imports it via `@~/.dotfiles/AGENTS.md`. |
 | [`CLAUDE.md`](CLAUDE.md) | Claude Code global instructions (imports `AGENTS.md`). Symlinked to `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`. |
 | [`claude/rules/`](claude/rules) | Claude Code rule files — model routing, Context7 doc lookups. Each is symlinked into `~/.claude/rules/`. |
-| [`claude/settings.plugins.json`](claude/settings.plugins.json) | Marketplaces, enabled plugins, skill overrides. **Merged** into `~/.claude/settings.json` so machine-specific keys survive. |
+| [`claude/settings.plugins.json`](claude/settings.plugins.json) | Portable Claude settings: marketplaces, enabled plugins, skill overrides, permission allowlist, statusline registration, behaviour flags. **Merged** into `~/.claude/settings.json` so machine-specific keys survive. |
 | [`claude/sync-plugins.sh`](claude/sync-plugins.sh) | Applies that fragment and installs the enabled plugins. Run by `install.sh`. |
+| [`linux/cloud-init.yaml`](linux/cloud-init.yaml) | Cloud-config for a fresh VPS. Creates the user, joins Tailscale, then hands off to `linux/provision.sh`. |
 | [`claude/marketplaces.json`](claude/marketplaces.json) | Every plugin marketplace, source only. `settings.json` records only hand-added ones, so this is the complete list. |
 | [`claude/skill-lock.json`](claude/skill-lock.json) | Manifest of the `~/.agents/skills` set (source repo + pinned hash per skill). Reference only — not consumed by `install.sh`. |
 | [`install.sh`](install.sh) | Symlinks every dotfile from this repo into the right home location. |
diff --git a/claude/settings.plugins.json b/claude/settings.plugins.json
index 54a3b87..5546f5f 100644
--- a/claude/settings.plugins.json
+++ b/claude/settings.plugins.json
@@ -1,37 +1,10 @@
 {
-  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
-    "antigravity-cc": {
-      "source": {
-        "source": "github",
-        "repo": "simplybychris/antigravity-plugin-cc"
-      }
-    },
-    "cloudflare": {
-      "source": {
-        "source": "github",
-        "repo": "cloudflare/skills"
-      }
-    },
-    "expo-plugins": {
-      "source": {
-        "source": "github",
-        "repo": "expo/skills"
-      }
-    },
-    "openai-codex": {
-      "source": {
-        "source": "github",
-        "repo": "openai/codex-plugin-cc"
-      }
-    },
-    "RevenueCat": {
-      "source": {
-        "source": "github",
-        "repo": "RevenueCat/ai-toolkit"
-      }
-    }
-  },
+  "agentPushNotifEnabled": true,
+  "autoCompactEnabled": true,
+  "autoUpdatesChannel": "latest",
+  "effortLevel": "xhigh",
   "enabledPlugins": {
+    "RevenueCat@RevenueCat": false,
     "agy@antigravity-cc": false,
     "clangd-lsp@claude-plugins-official": false,
     "cloudflare@claude-plugins-official": true,
@@ -48,7 +21,6 @@
     "plugin-dev@claude-plugins-official": false,
     "posthog@claude-plugins-official": false,
     "revenuecat-play-billing@RevenueCat": false,
-    "RevenueCat@RevenueCat": false,
     "stripe@claude-plugins-official": false,
     "supabase@claude-plugins-official": false,
     "superpowers@claude-plugins-official": true,
@@ -57,6 +29,69 @@
     "upgrading-expo@expo-plugins": false,
     "vercel@claude-plugins-official": false
   },
+  "env": {
+    "CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS": "1"
+  },
+  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
+    "RevenueCat": {
+      "source": {
+        "repo": "RevenueCat/ai-toolkit",
+        "source": "github"
+      }
+    },
+    "antigravity-cc": {
+      "source": {
+        "repo": "simplybychris/antigravity-plugin-cc",
+        "source": "github"
+      }
+    },
+    "cloudflare": {
+      "source": {
+        "repo": "cloudflare/skills",
+        "source": "github"
+      }
+    },
+    "expo-plugins": {
+      "source": {
+        "repo": "expo/skills",
+        "source": "github"
+      }
+    },
+    "openai-codex": {
+      "source": {
+        "repo": "openai/codex-plugin-cc",
+        "source": "github"
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "permissions": {
+    "allow": [
+      "Bash(cat:*)",
+      "Bash(cd:*)",
+      "Bash(curl:*)",
+      "Bash(do echo -n \"  $f: \" ffmpeg -i \"$f\" -af ebur128 -f null -)",
+      "Bash(do echo -n \"$f: \" ffmpeg -i \"$f\" -af ebur128 -f null -)",
+      "Bash(ffmpeg:*)",
+      "Bash(find:*)",
+      "Bash(npm run build:*)",
+      "Bash(npm run lint)",
+      "Bash(swift:*)",
+      "Bash(swiftlint:*)",
+      "Bash(wc:*)",
+      "Bash(xcodebuild:*)",
+      "WebFetch(domain:github.com)",
+      "WebSearch",
+      "mcp__context7__query-docs",
+      "mcp__context7__resolve-library-id",
+      "mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_scrape",
+      "mcp__firecrawl__firecrawl_search",
+      "mcp__gemini__consult_gemini",
+      "mcp__plugin_context7_context7__query-docs",
+      "mcp__plugin_context7_context7__resolve-library-id"
+    ],
+    "defaultMode": "auto",
+    "deny": []
+  },
   "skillOverrides": {
     "accessorysetupkit": "off",
     "adattributionkit": "off",
@@ -108,7 +143,13 @@
     "workers-best-practices": "off",
     "wrangler": "off"
   },
-  "env": {
-    "CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS": "1"
-  }
-}
+  "skipAutoPermissionPrompt": true,
+  "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true,
+  "skipWorkflowUsageWarning": true,
+  "statusLine": {
+    "command": "bash ~/.claude/statusline-command.sh",
+    "type": "command"
+  },
+  "theme": "dark-daltonized",
+  "tui": "fullscreen"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/linux/cloud-init.yaml b/linux/cloud-init.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9d1d82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/linux/cloud-init.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#cloud-config
+# Hetzner (or any cloud-init host) bootstrap for a Linux dev box.
+# Paste into the provider's "Cloud config" field. Substitute HOSTNAME and the
+# Tailscale auth key; everything else is generic.
+#
+# Tick your SSH keys in the provider's creation form as well. `- default`
+# below preserves the provider's key injection into root, and runcmd copies
+# those same keys to the non-root user — which is the only reliable way to
+# get in. Seeding from github.com/<user>.keys instead looks equivalent and is
+# not: the keys published there need not be the key your SSH agent offers.
+
+hostname: CHANGE-ME
+package_update: true
+# NOT package_upgrade: it delays runcmd by several minutes behind a full
+# apt upgrade, so Tailscale takes that long to appear. unattended-upgrades
+# below applies the backlog shortly after boot instead.
+
+users:
+  # `- default` is load-bearing. A users: block without it SUPPRESSES the
+  # provider's SSH key injection entirely, which can leave a box with no keys
+  # at all and only the web console as a way in.
+  - default
+  - name: shridhar
+    groups: [sudo]
+    shell: /bin/bash
+    sudo: ['ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL']
+
+ssh_pwauth: false
+
+packages: [git, curl, unzip, ca-certificates, unattended-upgrades]
+
+swap:
+  filename: /swapfile
+  size: 4294967296
+  maxsize: 4294967296
+
+write_files:
+  # Patch automatically, but never reboot unattended: a surprise restart would
+  # kill long-running agent sessions and detach tmux work. Reboot by hand when
+  # /var/run/reboot-required appears.
+  - path: /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades
+    content: |
+      APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "1";
+      APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade "1";
+      APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval "7";
+  - path: /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/52unattended-upgrades-local
+    content: |
+      Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "false";
+      Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Kernel-Packages "true";
+      Unattended-Upgrade::Remove-Unused-Dependencies "true";
+
+runcmd:
+  # Give the non-root user exactly the keys the provider injected into root.
+  - install -d -m 700 -o shridhar -g shridhar /home/shridhar/.ssh
+  - cat /root/.ssh/authorized_keys > /home/shridhar/.ssh/authorized_keys
+  - chown shridhar:shridhar /home/shridhar/.ssh/authorized_keys
+  - chmod 600 /home/shridhar/.ssh/authorized_keys
+
+  # Tailscale. Use a single-use, ephemeral, short-expiry auth key.
+  - curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
+  - tailscale up --hostname=CHANGE-ME --authkey=TAILSCALE_AUTH_KEY_HERE
+
+  # Apply the security backlog the base image ships with (typically ~50
+  # packages including openssh-server and a kernel).
+  - DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive unattended-upgrades
+
+  # Everything else — toolchain, shell, dotfiles, Claude plugins — is
+  # provision.sh's job. Kept there so this file and that script cannot drift.
+  - su - shridhar -c 'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sgup/new-mac-setup/master/linux/provision.sh | bash'
+
+final_message: |
+  Ready. Then, as the non-root user:
+    claude auth login
+    gh auth login          # choose HTTPS
+  A kernel update usually lands in the backlog above; reboot when convenient.