Linux/unix systems automatically set ownership/group to the acting user creating the file. Umask controls the permissions of newly created files. These behaviors are favored over this provider having some default for either.

Why int64 for uid/gid?

Possible values in the field dictate it:

Modern linux allows for up to UINT32_MAX
Some OSes use negative values for Uid/Gid. For example, nobody on hp-ux is uid -2 gid -1
Therefore, a signed value is needed and 32 bits is not enough
Terraform provides int64, a perfect match
TODO ensure this is used consistently throughout the provider

Using privilege escalation

The provider can escalate privileges, using sudo, with some limitations:

Sudo binary must be present
Sudoing must be passwordless
File operations:
- Supported in SSH mode only, not local
- In SSH mode, the target server must use a standalone sftp server - not internal-sftp
Run command: not supported
Package management: supported
Service management: supported

Notes

IsUnknown() -> whether or not the attribute is set in the terraform config. Setting attr=null counts as unknown.

Planned Resources / Data Sources

"Phase 1"

Item	Type	Comment
File	Both	Text contents, base64 binary contents, line in file/absent, file absent
Directory	Both	Present, absent, data source lists children
Package	Both	Just apt for now, package present/absent, debconf options, datasource lists packages
Command	Both	Run command once and store result in state. Data source just runs it
Service	Both	Just systemd for now, manage unit file by section
User	Resource	No datasource, SysInfo covers this
Group	Resource	No datasource, SysInfo covers this
SysInfo	Data	Provides information about the system, such as OS flavor, hostname, primary ip, disks, users, groups, etc

"Phase 2" resources

User
Group
Cronjob
Application-specific package managers
- Pip (actual pip)
- Pip (via uv)

Other TODO

Look into ssh max sessions - what happens when we hit the cap? Do we need to self limit? Provider setting for limit?
Change file resource so that:
- Contents attribute is optional, and leaving it out just touches the file
- Or, other options such as line-in-file, similar to ansible, can be used