Setupitems

Setupitems is a generic term used in software engineering to describe a collection of items that are executed or applied during the setup, initialization, or bootstrap phase of a system. It may appear as a data structure within code, a configuration object in a deployment script, or a named component inside an installer framework. The common idea is to group discrete steps that establish a system's initial state.

An item typically includes an identifier, a human-readable name, an action or type (for example create_resource, configure_service, apply_migration), optional parameters, and optional dependencies on other items. Many implementations support an idempotent execution model, so re-running the set does not cause unintended changes. Dependencies are used to determine a safe execution order, and error handling paths may trigger rollback of already executed items.

Usage patterns: setupitems are used in installers to provision environments, in test suites to prepare fixtures, and in bootstrap scripts to initialize services. They promote modularity by isolating each setup step and enabling reuse across environments.

Data model: a setupitems collection is often serialized as JSON or YAML, allowing tooling to introspect, validate, and document the steps. Practical considerations include ensuring reproducibility, handling secrets securely, and maintaining clear provenance.

Examples contexts: a cloud deployment script that creates databases and configures access, an application bootstrapping sequence that mounts storage and loads initial configuration, or a database seeding routine that runs specific insertions.

See also: bootstrap, initialization, configuration management, migrations, deployment scripts.