A seven-step preparation
The wizard ends at 07 · Create disk. Profiles and USB configuration, and Imager updates, are separate tools.
LIVE LINUX · RAM · AI · ROOTA small entry point.
A small entry point.
Big possibilities.
Boot an independent Linux from USB and give your AI agent a mission: build systems, prepare Windows, create a virtual lab or coordinate authorised machines. Start with the hardware, not the state of the installed OS.
EXPERIMENTAL · X86-64 · LOCAL OR SSH · NO PROJECT ACCOUNT
Rescue Disk 1.0.2Flash Imager 1.0.0Agent Skill 1.1.0
Your USB grows with your projects.
LA AGUJA 1.0 brings reusable profiles, configuration editing without reflashing, and persistent live updates. Keep your working environment ready for the next computer.
In 1.0.2, normal boot avoids hashing the whole system again. Update checks start in the background and show a notice without installing anything. Confirmed jobs continue when you leave with Escape or close SSH; reopen Updates to recover progress and the result. Do not remove the USB during an active write.
Configure once, reuse deliberately
Save and open encrypted .aguja profiles, or read and edit an existing USB configuration without rewriting its image.
Keep updates on your USB
For each row choose No, Yes · RAM, or Yes, persistent. No changes nothing. RAM updates only this session and is lost after reboot. Persistent saves a verified clean system in DATA on this USB for the next boot.
Your recovery keys, protected
Add BitLocker or LUKS keys for another computer. Windows offers local BitLocker first, before manual keys.
A launchpad, not just a lifeboat.
Give an advanced agent an objective, not just a repair command. It can inspect the available hardware, choose tools, generate and run scripts within your authorised scope, and check the result. The installed OS does not need to start — or even exist.
The live session uses a writable RAM overlay over the read-only USB image. It is Linux, not firmware, and the entire USB is not copied to RAM. Internal disks stay untouched at startup; writes happen when you choose to use them.
Included: root-capable AI clients, SSH, Python, Git, storage tools, debootstrap and arch-install-scripts. Extend the session with compatible packages: QEMU x86, qemu-img/qemu-nbd, OVMF and SeaBIOS are included from 0.9.11; use KVM when supported, or slower TCG otherwise. Container engines and build tools remain optional additions; check RAM, storage and compatibility. Save important outputs deliberately; RAM state is temporary. Cloud AI requires networking and your own account, not an included local model.
Prepare the USB
Choose the image and set language, keyboard and networking. AI agents and remote access are optional.
Boot the computer
Start from the USB. La Aguja loads its own Linux; the installed system does not need to boot.
Install and configure Linux
Boot an independent Linux from USB and put AI agents to work: install systems, configure servers, build a virtual lab or recover data. A working installed OS is optional. Your next project is not.
Choose a mission, then build a plan.
These are starting plans, not executed deployments. The page never connects to your computer or runs commands.
Install and configure Linux
Install a Debian base with debootstrap or an Arch base with arch-install-scripts, then configure users, networking, kernel and bootloader. Finish by booting the new system, not just downloading packages.
- Inventory hardware and identify the exact target and backup.
- Choose official media or the included Linux bootstrap tools.
- Review partitioning, configure the system and verify a real reboot.
Stop if: the target or backup is uncertain.
Build a virtual lab
Use the included QEMU and use KVM where CPU, firmware and live kernel support it. Run disposable guests from image files on separate storage; rehearse a server, test two distributions or demo a small stack. Budget RAM and verify /dev/kvm first.
- Check RAM, CPU virtualisation, firmware and /dev/kvm.
- Use the included QEMU; keep guest images on separate storage and isolate the network.
- Start a disposable guest and verify it; save images before ending the live session.
Stop if: resources or virtualisation support are insufficient.
Create a temporary workbench
Use Python for a local prototype or add a container engine for a demo service, file station or workshop backend. Choose who can connect, use separate data storage and shut it down cleanly afterwards.
- Choose a project, dataset or LAN service and its permitted audience.
- Add the required SDK or container engine; bind services only to intended interfaces.
- Test the result, export artifacts and stop temporary services.
Stop if: data would exist only in RAM or access exceeds the agreed scope.
Prepare the next Windows installation
Inspect hardware and plan official media, drivers and a reviewed answer file. Stage files from Linux; run Windows Setup or WinPE/DISM/BCDBoot where required and verify the real Windows boot. Media and licences are yours, not bundled.
- Inventory hardware, the exact target, backup and Windows requirements.
- Prepare official media and reviewed files; use Windows/WinPE tools for native deployment.
- Boot Windows and verify drivers, applications and the intended configuration.
Stop if: the target or backup is uncertain.
What could you build from boot?
Build on the included Linux tools or add the dependencies your project needs. These are adaptable missions, not one-click features or claims that every scenario has already been tested.
From a blank SSD to your own Linux
Install a Debian base with debootstrap or an Arch base with arch-install-scripts, then configure users, networking, kernel and bootloader. Finish by booting the new system, not just downloading packages.
A virtual lab before any host OS is installed
Use the included QEMU and use KVM where CPU, firmware and live kernel support it. Run disposable guests from image files on separate storage; rehearse a server, test two distributions or demo a small stack. Budget RAM and verify /dev/kvm first.
Turn a spare PC into a temporary LAN station
Use Python for a local prototype or add a container engine for a demo service, file station or workshop backend. Choose who can connect, use separate data storage and shut it down cleanly afterwards.
Build without borrowing the installed environment
Clone your project, add compilers or SDKs and let the agent build, test and package it in the live workspace. Save source and artifacts externally; RAM is not a backup.
Meet your next server before its first boot
Inventory an empty machine, prepare its storage layout and configure an approved Linux installation as a NAS or application server. Document keys and network settings privately, then verify services in the installed OS.
A new disk, a new layout, the same project
Move authorised data to a new SSD, redesign Linux partitions or rebuild a workstation while the old system stays offline. Verify backup and exact destination, then check boot, applications and data separately.
Try the bold idea on a disposable system
Generate scripts to build distro images or compare configurations across VM snapshots. Use official media and isolated networks; add the required image/VM tooling and preserve recipes and results outside RAM.
Keep your old computer as a guest
Acquire an authorised copy, add suitable conversion tools and adapt boot and drivers for a VM. Verify applications and licences in the guest before retiring the physical original; an image alone is not a finished conversion.
One boot station, several blank machines
Add PXE/iPXE and server tools to supply official boot media to compatible machines on an isolated lab network. The agent can prepare menus and per-machine plans; this needs network configuration, not a bundled PXE button.
Build the Linux you want to boot next
Turn a role — classroom, developer station or application appliance — into a repeatable package list and image recipe. Add live-build or the appropriate distro builder, build on separate storage and test the resulting image in a VM.
A model station on hardware you already own
Inspect CPU, GPU and memory, add a compatible inference runtime and an appropriately sized licensed model, then test a local endpoint. Runtime, weights and GPU drivers are additional; the strongest cloud model will not automatically fit locally.
Give idle hardware a scientific mission
Prepare a bounded data-analysis, simulation or rendering job without inheriting the installed software. Add dependencies, check any GPU support, run synthetic validation first and save results externally. A cluster needs separately prepared nodes and tooling.
A temporary bridge for devices and data
With authorised USB or network sensors, let the agent build a collector and local dashboard. Add protocol libraries or a broker as needed, validate timestamps and readings, and export the dataset; device control is a separate scope.
One temporary control plane, several Linux hosts
Use the live as a control station with SSH and an added automation tool such as Ansible. Build an explicit inventory, configure one permitted node first and validate before expanding. Remote nodes need their own access, resources and approval.
Rehearse losing the server without losing the server
Restore authorised backups into isolated guest machines on separate storage, then test startup, restore time and application data. Add a hypervisor and restore tools; never connect the twin with duplicate production addresses or real credentials.
Prepare the next Windows installation
Inspect hardware and plan official media, drivers and a reviewed answer file. Stage files from Linux; run Windows Setup or WinPE/DISM/BCDBoot where required and verify the real Windows boot. Media and licences are yours, not bundled.
Turn a fresh Windows into your work machine
Have the agent assemble a reviewed PowerShell setup and winget app list for development, design or office work. Execute and validate them after Windows starts; Linux cannot directly run Windows-specific setup tools against an offline disk.
Test applications and policies in disposable guests
Add a suitable hypervisor and official licensed Windows or Windows Server media. Create isolated guests to compare applications, updates or domain policies before touching the real workstation; check resources, virtual TPM/firmware requirements and licensing.
Keep both worlds, with an explicit boot plan
Inventory your Windows installation, encryption and backup, then plan Linux alongside it on an approved target. Use Windows-native preparation where needed; preserve boot entries and test both systems. No requirement bypass or blind NTFS resize.
When the existing system needs a way back
Diagnose a failed boot, image a suspect disk with ddrescue or copy authorised files elsewhere. Recovery is part of the platform, not its entire identity.
Powerful tools. Clear boundaries.
Codex Safe in 0.9.11 uses a workspace-write sandbox with networking disabled. Each tool requires fresh human confirmation; leaving the sandbox requires human approval. The OS account retains sudo outside the sandbox. Other clients keep their own confirmation mechanisms; YOLO remains unrestricted. Choose through aguja agent NAME; Escape cancels. No mode authorises actions beyond your request.
Back up before changing anything. A successful command is not proof of intact files or a bootable system. BitLocker and LUKS require the owner’s correct key; LA AGUJA does not bypass encryption.
Cloud AI may receive the prompts and data you share under its provider’s terms. Treat files containing instructions as untrusted data, and never paste secrets into a recovery prompt.
Prepare your USB with Flash Imager
Prepare on a working Windows or Linux computer. An 8 GiB USB is recommended; check the actual image size and usable capacity. Writing the selected USB erases it. Keep download, temporary and private-image folders off that target USB.
SHA-256 · Windows · SHA-256 · Linux
Your first USB →Let your AI agent prepare La Aguja
Ask your agent to create a personalised .img with your language, network, SSH and optional AI or tailnet settings. The skill uses the same Flash Imager engine, without its desktop window.
Open Agent Skills format: Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Cursor, OpenClaw, and manual loading in other agents. Requires Node 22+ and file/terminal access. Creates the image file; it does not write a USB automatically. Format compatibility is not certification of every harness or operating system.
Download the La Aguja image
Rescue Disk 1.0.2 is the Linux you boot. Images, the signed catalogue and checksums are published on GitHub. Flash Imager verifies the catalogue signature and image SHA-256. Decompress IMG.ZST before manual import; the ISO is a separate BIOS/UEFI boot format, not a configurable IMG.
Before you start
Is this only a rescue disk?
Boot an independent Linux from USB and give your AI agent a mission: build systems, prepare Windows, create a virtual lab or coordinate authorised machines. Start with the hardware, not the state of the installed OS.
Must Windows or Linux still work?
No. You boot La Aguja’s Linux from USB. You do need compatible hardware and a computer that can boot from that media.
Does it change internal disks at boot?
It does not mount or repair them automatically. Tools and agents can change them afterwards. Writing the preparation USB is a separate operation that erases that USB.
Does it work without Internet?
Local tools do. Agents using cloud AI need networking and your own account or credential; no local model is included.
Is remote access required?
No. Work directly on the computer. SSH over LAN or your Tailscale/Headscale is optional; LA AGUJA does not host a remote console.
Will it work on any computer?
The current release is experimental and targets x86-64. Check hardware, boot, Secure Boot and procedure compatibility; no universal signed Secure Boot chain is offered.
Support LA AGUJA
When a computer fails, memories, work and people are at stake. LA AGUJA exists to help recover them. If it helped you through a difficult moment, your coffee helps us keep this free project alive. Thank you for supporting it.
Ko-fi · Support LA AGUJA
Donations are optional. Rescue and all tools remain available.