By default Debian ships without sudo so it needs to be installed as root:
su -
apt update
apt install sudo
Next you will need to add yourself to the sudoers group. Do this while still as root:
usermod -aG sudo username
You will need to log out of user account and log back in for this to take effect.
You’ll probably want a nice MOTD with debian logo. You can use this one:
Copy the file to /etc/update-motd.d/ and rename it to something like 15-logo.
Log out and log back in to see if it took effect.
If you’re not using your own .bashrc but want color prompt on the physical tty then edit the stock .bashrc and uncomment the following line:
force_color_prompt=yes
This will give you color prompt on the physical console.
To make sure your server can be accessed both by hostname and hostname.local install Avahi:
sudo apt install avahi-daemon
This should resolve that issue.
Install vim:
sudo apt install vim
If you want a minimal .vimrc you can use this:
To make vim the default editor when you use the sudoedit command:
sudo update-alternatives --config editor
Then choose Vim from the command line.
To install apache:
sudo apt install apache2
If you want users to be able to have personal websites running out of the public_html folder in their home directory:
sudo a2enmod userdir
The server will then have main website in /var/www/ and each user will be able to set up their own accessible via http://servername/~username/
Next, install a firewall:
sudo apt install ufw
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw enable
If you are planning to run a web server:
sudo ufw allow http
sudo ufw allow https
This will protect all the ports except the ones you allow.
To configure a print server install the cups package:
sudo apt install cups
Note that CUPS requires Apache to run the web based UI.
If you’re running headless, you will need to allow remote administration:
sudo cupsctl --remote-admin --remote-any --share-printers
Also, add yourself to the lpadmin group:
sudo usermod -aG lpadmin username
Finally restart CUPS:
sudo /etc/init.d/cups restart
This should allow you to log into the web UI on port 631 and add any printers you need.