diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
index 98b83852..c7444752 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -32,3 +32,9 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: nix build .#checks.x86_64-linux.deployment-basic -L
+
+  check-launch:
+    runs-on: native
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - run: cd launch && nix-build -A tests
diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
index 4eff9508..d4530ac9 100644
--- a/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -201,6 +201,24 @@
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
+    "flake-utils_2": {
+      "inputs": {
+        "systems": "systems_3"
+      },
+      "locked": {
+        "lastModified": 1710146030,
+        "narHash": "sha256-SZ5L6eA7HJ/nmkzGG7/ISclqe6oZdOZTNoesiInkXPQ=",
+        "owner": "numtide",
+        "repo": "flake-utils",
+        "rev": "b1d9ab70662946ef0850d488da1c9019f3a9752a",
+        "type": "github"
+      },
+      "original": {
+        "owner": "numtide",
+        "repo": "flake-utils",
+        "type": "github"
+      }
+    },
     "git-hooks": {
       "inputs": {
         "flake-compat": "flake-compat",
@@ -323,6 +341,47 @@
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
+    "home-manager": {
+      "inputs": {
+        "nixpkgs": [
+          "agenix",
+          "nixpkgs"
+        ]
+      },
+      "locked": {
+        "lastModified": 1703113217,
+        "narHash": "sha256-7ulcXOk63TIT2lVDSExj7XzFx09LpdSAPtvgtM7yQPE=",
+        "owner": "nix-community",
+        "repo": "home-manager",
+        "rev": "3bfaacf46133c037bb356193bd2f1765d9dc82c1",
+        "type": "github"
+      },
+      "original": {
+        "owner": "nix-community",
+        "repo": "home-manager",
+        "type": "github"
+      }
+    },
+    "home-manager_2": {
+      "inputs": {
+        "nixpkgs": [
+          "nixpkgs"
+        ]
+      },
+      "locked": {
+        "lastModified": 1743860185,
+        "narHash": "sha256-TkhfJ+vH+iGxLQL6RJLObMmldAQpysVJ+p1WnnKyIeQ=",
+        "owner": "nix-community",
+        "repo": "home-manager",
+        "rev": "b5e29565131802cc8adee7dccede794226da8614",
+        "type": "github"
+      },
+      "original": {
+        "owner": "nix-community",
+        "repo": "home-manager",
+        "type": "github"
+      }
+    },
     "mk-naked-shell": {
       "flake": false,
       "locked": {
@@ -341,9 +400,9 @@
     },
     "nix": {
       "inputs": {
-        "flake-compat": "flake-compat_3",
-        "flake-parts": "flake-parts_4",
-        "git-hooks-nix": "git-hooks-nix_2",
+        "flake-compat": "flake-compat_2",
+        "flake-parts": "flake-parts_3",
+        "git-hooks-nix": "git-hooks-nix",
         "nixfmt": "nixfmt",
         "nixpkgs": [
           "nixops4-nixos",
@@ -414,6 +473,24 @@
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
+    "nixfmt_2": {
+      "inputs": {
+        "flake-utils": "flake-utils_2"
+      },
+      "locked": {
+        "lastModified": 1736283758,
+        "narHash": "sha256-hrKhUp2V2fk/dvzTTHFqvtOg000G1e+jyIam+D4XqhA=",
+        "owner": "NixOS",
+        "repo": "nixfmt",
+        "rev": "8d4bd690c247004d90d8554f0b746b1231fe2436",
+        "type": "github"
+      },
+      "original": {
+        "owner": "NixOS",
+        "repo": "nixfmt",
+        "type": "github"
+      }
+    },
     "nixops4": {
       "inputs": {
         "flake-parts": "flake-parts_3",
@@ -682,6 +759,7 @@
       "inputs": {
         "flake-parts": "flake-parts",
         "git-hooks": "git-hooks",
+        "home-manager": "home-manager_2",
         "nixops4": [
           "nixops4-nixos",
           "nixops4"
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 6dd3d3df..24dbd789 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -42,7 +42,10 @@
           pre-commit.settings.hooks =
             let
               ## Add a directory here if pre-commit hooks shouldn't apply to it.
-              optout = [ "npins" ];
+              optout = [
+                "npins"
+                "launch/.terraform"
+              ];
               excludes = map (dir: "^${dir}/") optout;
               addExcludes = lib.mapAttrs (_: c: c // { inherit excludes; });
             in
diff --git a/infra/common/nixos/default.nix b/infra/common/nixos/default.nix
index b870ab03..572bee46 100644
--- a/infra/common/nixos/default.nix
+++ b/infra/common/nixos/default.nix
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 let
   inherit (lib) mkDefault;
-
 in
 {
   imports = [
diff --git a/infra/common/resource.nix b/infra/common/resource.nix
index 7e86467c..e92cf1a3 100644
--- a/infra/common/resource.nix
+++ b/infra/common/resource.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ let
   inherit (lib.attrsets) concatMapAttrs optionalAttrs;
   inherit (lib.strings) removeSuffix;
   sources = import ../../npins;
-  inherit (sources) nixpkgs agenix disko;
+  inherit (sources) nixpkgs agenix disko home-manager;
 
   secretsPrefix = ../../secrets;
   secrets = import (secretsPrefix + "/secrets.nix");
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ in
   ## should go into the `./nixos` subdirectory.
   nixos.module = {
     imports = [
-      (import "${agenix}/modules/age.nix")
-      (import "${disko}/module.nix")
+      "${agenix}/modules/age.nix"
+      "${disko}/module.nix"
+      "${home-manager}/nixos"
       ./options.nix
       ./nixos
     ];
diff --git a/infra/flake-part.nix b/infra/flake-part.nix
index 09f9718e..62fab15e 100644
--- a/infra/flake-part.nix
+++ b/infra/flake-part.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 }:
 
 let
-  inherit (builtins) readDir readFile fromJSON;
+  inherit (builtins) readDir;
   inherit (lib)
     attrNames
     mkOption
@@ -15,32 +15,16 @@ let
   inherit (lib.attrsets) genAttrs;
   sources = import ../../npins;
 
-  ## Given a machine's name and whether it is a test VM, make a resource module,
+  ## Given a machine's name, make a resource module,
   ## except for its missing provider. (Depending on the use of that resource, we
   ## will provide a different one.)
   makeResourceModule =
-    { vmName, isTestVm }:
+    { vmName }:
     {
-      imports =
-        [
-          ./common/resource.nix
-        ]
-        ++ (
-          if isTestVm then
-            [
-              ./test-machines/${vmName}
-              {
-                nixos.module.users.users.root.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = [
-                  # allow our panel vm access to the test machines
-                  (import ../keys).panel
-                ];
-              }
-            ]
-          else
-            [
-              ./machines/${vmName}
-            ]
-        );
+      imports = [
+        ./common/resource.nix
+        ./machines/${vmName}
+      ];
       fediversityVm.name = vmName;
     };
 
@@ -57,42 +41,12 @@ let
           inputs.nixops4-nixos.modules.nixops4Resource.nixos
           (makeResourceModule {
             inherit vmName;
-            isTestVm = false;
           })
         ];
       });
     };
   makeDeployment' = vmName: makeDeployment [ vmName ];
 
-  ## Given an attrset of test configurations (key = test machine name, value =
-  ## NixOS configuration module), make a deployment with those machines'
-  ## configurations as resources.
-  makeTestDeployment =
-    (import ../deployment)
-      {
-        inherit lib;
-        inherit (inputs) nixops4 nixops4-nixos;
-        fediversity = import ../services/fediversity;
-      }
-      {
-        garageConfigurationResource = makeResourceModule {
-          vmName = "test01";
-          isTestVm = true;
-        };
-        mastodonConfigurationResource = makeResourceModule {
-          vmName = "test06"; # somehow `test02` has a problem - use test06 instead
-          isTestVm = true;
-        };
-        peertubeConfigurationResource = makeResourceModule {
-          vmName = "test05";
-          isTestVm = true;
-        };
-        pixelfedConfigurationResource = makeResourceModule {
-          vmName = "test04";
-          isTestVm = true;
-        };
-      };
-
   nixops4ResourceNixosMockOptions = {
     ## NOTE: We allow the use of a few options from
     ## `nixops4-nixos.modules.nixops4Resource.nixos` such that we can
@@ -119,18 +73,18 @@ let
 
   ## Given a VM name, make a NixOS configuration for this machine.
   makeConfiguration =
-    isTestVm: vmName:
+    vmName:
     let
       inherit (sources) nixpkgs;
     in
     import "${nixpkgs}/nixos" {
       modules = [
-        (makeResourceConfig { inherit vmName isTestVm; }).nixos.module
+        (makeResourceConfig { inherit vmName; }).nixos.module
       ];
     };
 
-  makeVmOptions = isTestVm: vmName: {
-    inherit ((makeResourceConfig { inherit vmName isTestVm; }).fediversityVm)
+  makeVmOptions = vmName: {
+    inherit ((makeResourceConfig { inherit vmName; }).fediversityVm)
       proxmox
       vmId
       description
@@ -148,33 +102,16 @@ let
   listSubdirectories = path: attrNames (filterAttrs (_: type: type == "directory") (readDir path));
 
   machines = listSubdirectories ./machines;
-  testMachines = listSubdirectories ./test-machines;
 
 in
 {
-  ## - Each normal or test machine gets a NixOS configuration.
-  ## - Each normal or test machine gets a VM options entry.
-  ## - Each normal machine gets a deployment.
-  ## - We add a “default” deployment with all normal machines.
-  ## - We add a “test” deployment with all test machines.
+  ## - Each machine gets a NixOS configuration.
+  ## - Each machine gets a VM options entry.
+  ## - Each machine gets a deployment.
+  ## - We add a “default” deployment with all infra machines.
   nixops4Deployments = genAttrs machines makeDeployment' // {
     default = makeDeployment machines;
-    test = makeTestDeployment (
-      fromJSON (
-        let
-          env = builtins.getEnv "DEPLOYMENT";
-        in
-        if env != "" then
-          env
-        else
-          builtins.trace "env var DEPLOYMENT not set, falling back to ./test-machines/configuration.json!" (readFile ./test-machines/configuration.json)
-      )
-    );
   };
-  flake.nixosConfigurations =
-    genAttrs machines (makeConfiguration false)
-    // genAttrs testMachines (makeConfiguration true);
-  flake.vmOptions =
-    genAttrs machines (makeVmOptions false)
-    // genAttrs testMachines (makeVmOptions true);
+  flake.nixosConfigurations = genAttrs machines makeConfiguration;
+  flake.vmOptions = genAttrs machines makeVmOptions;
 }
diff --git a/infra/machines/fedi201/fedipanel.nix b/infra/machines/fedi201/fedipanel.nix
index 5c4236fc..b49471bb 100644
--- a/infra/machines/fedi201/fedipanel.nix
+++ b/infra/machines/fedi201/fedipanel.nix
@@ -37,6 +37,24 @@ in
     enable = true;
     production = true;
     domain = "demo.fediversity.eu";
+    # FIXME: make it work without this duplication
+    settings =
+      let
+        cfg = config.services.${name};
+      in
+      {
+        STATIC_ROOT = "/var/lib/${name}/static";
+        DEBUG = false;
+        ALLOWED_HOSTS = [
+          cfg.domain
+          cfg.host
+          "localhost"
+          "[::1]"
+        ];
+        CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS = [ "https://${cfg.domain}" ];
+        COMPRESS_OFFLINE = true;
+        LIBSASS_OUTPUT_STYLE = "compressed";
+      };
     secrets = {
       SECRET_KEY = config.age.secrets.panel-secret-key.path;
     };
diff --git a/launch/.envrc b/launch/.envrc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26ef376b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/.envrc
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# the shebang is ignored, but nice for editors
+
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+if type -P lorri &>/dev/null; then
+  eval "$(lorri direnv --flake .)"
+else
+  echo 'while direnv evaluated .envrc, could not find the command "lorri" [https://github.com/nix-community/lorri]'
+  use flake
+fi
diff --git a/launch/.gitignore b/launch/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9fd1eb48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# generated
+.auto.tfvars.json
+.npins.json
+.terraform/
+.terraform.lock.hcl
+.terraform.tfstate.lock.info
+terraform.tfstate*
diff --git a/launch/README.md b/launch/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0599bc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# service deployment
+
+deploys [NixOS](https://nixos.org/) templates using [OpenTofu](https://opentofu.org/).
+
+## requirements
+
+- [nix](https://nix.dev/)
+
+## usage
+
+### development
+
+before using other commands, if not using direnv:
+
+```sh
+nix-shell
+```
+
+then to initialize, or after updating pins or TF providers:
+
+```sh
+setup
+```
+
+## implementing
+
+proper documentation TODO.
+until then, a reference implementation may be found in [`panel/`](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/src/branch/main/panel).
diff --git a/launch/default.nix b/launch/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8615ffd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{
+  system ? builtins.currentSystem,
+  sources ? import ../npins,
+  # match the same versions we deploy locally
+  inputs ? import sources.flake-inputs {
+    root = ../.;
+  },
+  # match the same version of opentofu that is deployed by the root flake
+  pkgs ? import inputs.nixpkgs {
+    inherit system;
+  },
+}:
+let
+  inherit (pkgs) lib;
+  setup = pkgs.writeScriptBin "setup" ''
+    echo '${lib.strings.toJSON sources}' > .npins.json
+    rm -f .terraform.lock.hcl
+    rm -rf .terraform/
+    tofu init
+  '';
+in
+{
+  # shell for testing TF directly
+  shell = pkgs.mkShellNoCC {
+    packages = [
+      (import ./tf.nix { inherit lib pkgs; })
+      pkgs.jaq
+      setup
+    ];
+  };
+
+  tests = pkgs.callPackage ./tests.nix { };
+
+  # re-export inputs so they can be overridden granularly
+  # (they can't be accessed from the outside any other way)
+  inherit
+    sources
+    system
+    pkgs
+    ;
+}
diff --git a/launch/garage.nix b/launch/garage.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..559ca37f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/garage.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+let
+  ## NOTE: All of these secrets are publicly available in this source file
+  ## and will end up in the Nix store. We don't care as they are only ever
+  ## used for testing anyway.
+  ##
+  ## FIXME: Generate and store in NixOps4's state.
+  mastodonS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GK3515373e4c851ebaad366558";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "7d37d093435a41f2aab8f13c19ba067d9776c90215f56614adad6ece597dbb34";
+    };
+  peertubeS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GK1f9feea9960f6f95ff404c9b";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "7295c4201966a02c2c3d25b5cea4a5ff782966a2415e3a196f91924631191395";
+    };
+  pixelfedS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GKb5615457d44214411e673b7b";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "5be6799a88ca9b9d813d1a806b64f15efa49482dbe15339ddfaf7f19cf434987";
+    };
+in
+{
+  fediversity = {
+    garage.enable = true;
+    pixelfed = pixelfedS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; };
+    mastodon = mastodonS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; };
+    peertube = peertubeS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/main.tf b/launch/main.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..909577a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/main.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+locals {
+  system = "x86_64-linux"
+  # dependency paths pre-calculated from npins
+  pins = jsondecode(file("${path.root}/.npins.json"))
+  # nix path: expose pins, use nixpkgs in flake commands (`nix run`)
+  nix_path = "${join(":", [for name, path in local.pins : "${name}=${path}"])}:flake=${local.pins["nixpkgs"]}:flake"
+  # user-facing applications
+  application_configs = {
+    # FIXME: wrap applications at the interface to grab them in one go?
+    mastodon = {
+      cfg = var.mastodon
+      hostname = "test06"
+    }
+    pixelfed = {
+      cfg = var.pixelfed
+      hostname = "test04"
+    }
+    peertube = {
+      cfg = var.peertube
+      hostname = "test05"
+    }
+  }
+  # services shared between applications
+  peripherals = { for name, inst in {
+    garage = "test01"
+  } : name => {
+      hostname = inst
+      cfg = {
+        # enable if any user applications are enabled
+        enable = anytrue([for _, app in local.application_configs: app.cfg.enable])
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+# hash of our code directory, used in dev to trigger re-deploy
+# FIXME settle for pwd when in /nix/store?
+# FIXME calculate separately to reduce false positives
+data "external" "hash" {
+  program = ["sh", "-c", "echo \"{\\\"hash\\\":\\\"$(nix-hash ..)\\\"}\""]
+}
+
+# TF resource to build and deploy NixOS instances.
+resource "terraform_data" "nixos" {
+
+  for_each = {for name, inst in merge(
+    local.peripherals,
+    local.application_configs,
+  ) : name => inst if inst.cfg.enable}
+
+  # trigger rebuild/deploy if (FIXME?) any potentially used config/code changed,
+  # preventing these (20+s, build being bottleneck) when nothing changed.
+  # terraform-nixos separates these to only deploy if instantiate changed,
+  # yet building even then - which may be not as bad using deploy on remote.
+  # having build/deploy one resource reflects wanting to prevent no-op rebuilds
+  # over preventing (with less false positives) no-op deployments,
+  # as i could not find a way to do prevent no-op rebuilds without merging them:
+  # - generic resources cannot have outputs, while we want info from the instantiation (unless built on host?).
+  # - `data` always runs, which is slow for deploy and especially build.
+  triggers_replace = [
+    data.external.hash.result,
+    var.domain,
+    var.initialUser,
+    local.system,
+    each.key,
+    each.value,
+  ]
+
+  provisioner "local-exec" {
+    # directory to run the script from. we use the TF project root dir,
+    # here as a path relative from where TF is run from.
+    # note that absolute paths can cause false positives in triggers,
+    # so are generally discouraged in TF.
+    working_dir = path.root
+    environment = {
+      # nix path used on build, lets us refer to e.g. nixpkgs like `<nixpkgs>`
+      NIX_PATH = local.nix_path
+    }
+    # TODO: refactor back to command="ignoreme" interpreter=concat([]) to protect sensitive data from error logs?
+    # TODO: build on target?
+    command = <<-EOF
+      set -euo pipefail
+
+      # INSTANTIATE
+      command=(
+        nix-instantiate
+        --expr
+        'let
+          os = import <nixpkgs/nixos> {
+            system = "${local.system}";
+            configuration = {
+              # note interpolations here TF ones
+              imports = [
+                # shared NixOS config
+                ${path.root}/shared.nix
+                # FIXME: separate template options by service
+                ${path.root}/options.nix
+                # for service `mastodon` import `mastodon.nix`
+                ${path.root}/${each.key}.nix
+                # FIXME: get VM details from TF
+                ${path.root}/../infra/test-machines/${each.value.hostname}
+              ];
+              # nix path for debugging
+              nix.nixPath = [ "${local.nix_path}" ];
+              ## FIXME: switch root authentication to users with password-less sudo, see #24
+              users.users.root.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = let
+                keys = import ../keys;
+              in attrValues keys.contributors ++ [
+                # allow our panel vm access to the test machines
+                keys.panel
+              ];
+            } //
+            # template parameters passed in from TF thru json
+            builtins.fromJSON "${replace(jsonencode({
+              terraform = {
+                domain = var.domain
+                hostname = each.value.hostname
+                initialUser = var.initialUser
+              }
+            }), "\"", "\\\"")}";
+          };
+        in
+        # info we want to get back out
+        {
+          substituters = builtins.concatStringsSep " " os.config.nix.settings.substituters;
+          trusted_public_keys = builtins.concatStringsSep " " os.config.nix.settings.trusted-public-keys;
+          drv_path = os.config.system.build.toplevel.drvPath;
+          out_path = os.config.system.build.toplevel;
+        }'
+      )
+      # instantiate the config in /nix/store
+      "$${command[@]}" -A out_path
+      # get the other info
+      json="$("$${command[@]}" --eval --strict --json)"
+
+      # DEPLOY
+      declare substituters trusted_public_keys drv_path
+      # set our variables using the json object
+      eval "export $(echo $json | jaq -r 'to_entries | map("\(.key)=\(.value)") | @sh')"
+      # FIXME: de-hardcode domain
+      host="root@${each.value.hostname}.abundos.eu" # FIXME: #24
+      buildArgs=(
+        --option extra-binary-caches https://cache.nixos.org/
+        --option substituters $substituters
+        --option trusted-public-keys $trusted_public_keys
+      )
+      sshOpts=(
+        -o BatchMode=yes
+        -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
+      )
+      # get the realized derivation to deploy
+      outPath=$(nix-store --realize "$drv_path" "$${buildArgs[@]}")
+      # deploy the config by nix-copy-closure
+      NIX_SSHOPTS="$${sshOpts[*]}" nix-copy-closure --to "$host" "$outPath" --gzip --use-substitutes
+      # switch the remote host to the config
+      ssh "$${sshOpts[@]}" "$host" "nix-env --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/system --set $outPath; $outPath/bin/switch-to-configuration switch"
+    EOF
+  }
+}
diff --git a/launch/mastodon.nix b/launch/mastodon.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26682f50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/mastodon.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+let
+  mastodonS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GK3515373e4c851ebaad366558";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "7d37d093435a41f2aab8f13c19ba067d9776c90215f56614adad6ece597dbb34";
+    };
+in
+{
+  fediversity = {
+    mastodon = mastodonS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; } // {
+      enable = true;
+    };
+    temp.cores = 1; # FIXME: should come from NixOps4 eventually
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/options.nix b/launch/options.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..22344017
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/options.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# TODO: could (part of) this be generated somehow? c.f #275
+{
+  lib,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  inherit (lib) types mkOption;
+  inherit (types) str enum submodule;
+in
+{
+  options.terraform = {
+    domain = mkOption {
+      type = enum [
+        "fediversity.net"
+      ];
+      description = ''
+        Apex domain under which the services will be deployed.
+      '';
+      default = "fediversity.net";
+    };
+    hostname = mkOption {
+      type = str;
+      description = ''
+        Internal name of the host, e.g. test01
+      '';
+    };
+    initialUser = mkOption {
+      description = ''
+        Some services require an initial user to access them.
+        This option sets the credentials for such an initial user.
+      '';
+      type = submodule {
+        options = {
+          displayName = mkOption {
+            type = str;
+            description = "Display name of the user";
+          };
+          username = mkOption {
+            type = str;
+            description = "Username for login";
+          };
+          email = mkOption {
+            type = str;
+            description = "User's email address";
+          };
+          password = mkOption {
+            type = str;
+            description = "Password for login";
+          };
+        };
+      };
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/peertube.nix b/launch/peertube.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4124568a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/peertube.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+let
+  peertubeS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GK1f9feea9960f6f95ff404c9b";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "7295c4201966a02c2c3d25b5cea4a5ff782966a2415e3a196f91924631191395";
+    };
+in
+{
+  fediversity = {
+    peertube = peertubeS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; } // {
+      enable = true;
+      ## NOTE: Only ever used for testing anyway.
+      ##
+      ## FIXME: Generate and store in NixOps4's state.
+      secretsFile = pkgs.writeText "secret" "574e093907d1157ac0f8e760a6deb1035402003af5763135bae9cbd6abe32b24";
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/pixelfed.nix b/launch/pixelfed.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..75790409
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/pixelfed.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+let
+  pixelfedS3KeyConfig =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      s3AccessKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3AccessKey" "GKb5615457d44214411e673b7b";
+      s3SecretKeyFile = pkgs.writeText "s3SecretKey" "5be6799a88ca9b9d813d1a806b64f15efa49482dbe15339ddfaf7f19cf434987";
+    };
+in
+{
+  fediversity = {
+    pixelfed = pixelfedS3KeyConfig { inherit pkgs; } // {
+      enable = true;
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/resource.nix b/launch/resource.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ec719e20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/resource.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+{
+  lib,
+  config,
+  ...
+}:
+
+let
+  inherit (lib) attrValues elem mkDefault;
+  inherit (lib.attrsets) concatMapAttrs optionalAttrs;
+  inherit (lib.strings) removeSuffix;
+
+  secretsPrefix = ../secrets;
+  secrets = import (secretsPrefix + "/secrets.nix");
+  keys = import ../keys;
+
+in
+{
+  fediversityVm.hostPublicKey = mkDefault keys.systems.${config.fediversityVm.name};
+
+  ## The configuration of the machine. We strive to keep in this file only the
+  ## options that really need to be injected from the resource. Everything else
+  ## should go into the `./nixos` subdirectory.
+  imports = [
+    ../infra/common/options.nix
+    ../infra/common/nixos
+  ];
+
+  ## Read all the secrets, filter the ones that are supposed to be readable
+  ## with this host's public key, and add them correctly to the configuration
+  ## as `age.secrets.<name>.file`.
+  age.secrets = concatMapAttrs (
+    name: secret:
+    optionalAttrs (elem config.fediversityVm.hostPublicKey secret.publicKeys) {
+      ${removeSuffix ".age" name}.file = secretsPrefix + "/${name}";
+    }
+  ) secrets;
+
+  ## FIXME: switch root authentication to users with password-less sudo, see #24
+  users.users.root.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = attrValues keys.contributors ++ [
+    # allow our panel vm access to the test machines
+    keys.panel
+  ];
+}
diff --git a/launch/shared.nix b/launch/shared.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46d6ccc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/shared.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  pkgs,
+  config,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  inherit (config.terraform) hostname domain initialUser;
+in
+{
+  imports = [
+    <disko/module.nix>
+    <agenix/modules/age.nix>
+    ../services/fediversity
+    ./resource.nix
+  ];
+  fediversityVm.name = hostname;
+  fediversity = {
+    inherit domain;
+    temp.initialUser = {
+      inherit (initialUser) username email displayName;
+      # FIXME: disgusting, but nvm, this is going to be replaced by
+      # proper central authentication at some point
+      passwordFile = pkgs.writeText "password" initialUser.password;
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/shell.nix b/launch/shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a6bdf202
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+(import ./. { }).shell
diff --git a/launch/tests.nix b/launch/tests.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b86c7747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/tests.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{ lib, pkgs }:
+let
+  defaults = {
+    virtualisation = {
+      memorySize = 2048;
+      cores = 2;
+    };
+  };
+  tf = pkgs.callPackage ./tf.nix { };
+  tfEnv = pkgs.callPackage ./tf-env.nix { };
+in
+lib.mapAttrs (name: test: pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest (test // { inherit name; })) {
+  tf-validate = {
+    inherit defaults;
+    nodes.server = {
+      environment.systemPackages = [
+        tf
+        tfEnv
+      ];
+    };
+    testScript = ''
+      server.wait_for_unit("multi-user.target")
+      server.succeed("${lib.getExe tf} -chdir='${tfEnv}/launch' validate")
+    '';
+  };
+}
diff --git a/launch/tf-env.nix b/launch/tf-env.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a29114f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/tf-env.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{
+  lib,
+  pkgs,
+  sources ? import ../npins,
+  ...
+}:
+pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "tf-repo";
+  src =
+    with lib.fileset;
+    toSource {
+      root = ../.;
+      # don't copy ignored files
+      fileset = intersection (gitTracked ../.) ../.;
+    };
+  buildInputs = [
+    (import ./tf.nix { inherit lib pkgs; })
+  ];
+  buildPhase = ''
+    runHook preBuild
+    pushd launch/
+    # calculated pins
+    echo '${lib.strings.toJSON sources}' > .npins.json
+    # generate TF lock for nix's TF providers
+    tofu init -input=false
+    popd
+    runHook postBuild
+  '';
+  installPhase = ''
+    runHook preInstall
+    cp -r . $out
+    runHook postInstall
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/launch/tf.nix b/launch/tf.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43a59298
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/tf.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# FIXME: use overlays so this gets imported just once?
+{
+  lib,
+  pkgs,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  tofuProvider =
+    provider:
+    provider.override (oldArgs: {
+      provider-source-address =
+        lib.replaceStrings [ "https://registry.terraform.io/providers" ] [ "registry.opentofu.org" ]
+          oldArgs.homepage;
+    });
+  tf = pkgs.opentofu;
+  tfPlugins = (
+    p: [
+      p.external
+    ]
+  );
+in
+# tf.withPlugins tfPlugins
+# https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/358522
+tf.withPlugins (p: pkgs.lib.lists.map tofuProvider (tfPlugins p))
diff --git a/launch/variables.tf b/launch/variables.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..05f1b2f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch/variables.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# TODO: (partially) generate, say from nix modules, c.f. #275
+
+variable "domain" {
+  type = string
+  default = "fediversity.net"
+}
+
+variable "mastodon" {
+  type = object({
+    enable = bool
+  })
+  default = {
+    enable = false
+  }
+}
+
+variable "pixelfed" {
+  type = object({
+    enable = bool
+  })
+  default = {
+    enable = false
+  }
+}
+
+variable "peertube" {
+  type = object({
+    enable = bool
+  })
+  default = {
+    enable = false
+  }
+}
+
+variable "initialUser" {
+  type = object({
+    displayName = string
+    username = string
+    email = string
+    # TODO: mark (nested) credentials as sensitive
+    # https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/is-it-possible-to-mark-an-attribute-of-an-object-as-sensitive/24649/2
+    password = string
+  })
+  # FIXME: remove default when the form provides this value, see #285
+  default = {
+    displayName = "Testy McTestface"
+    username = "test"
+    email = "test@test.com"
+    password = "testtest"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/npins/sources.json b/npins/sources.json
index 4971590b..a28d3256 100644
--- a/npins/sources.json
+++ b/npins/sources.json
@@ -25,6 +25,35 @@
       "url": null,
       "hash": "1w2gsy6qwxa5abkv8clb435237iifndcxq0s79wihqw11a5yb938"
     },
+    "disko": {
+      "type": "GitRelease",
+      "repository": {
+        "type": "GitHub",
+        "owner": "nix-community",
+        "repo": "disko"
+      },
+      "pre_releases": false,
+      "version_upper_bound": null,
+      "release_prefix": null,
+      "submodules": false,
+      "version": "v1.11.0",
+      "revision": "cdf8deded8813edfa6e65544f69fdd3a59fa2bb4",
+      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/nix-community/disko/tarball/v1.11.0",
+      "hash": "13brimg7z7k9y36n4jc1pssqyw94nd8qvgfjv53z66lv4xkhin92"
+    },
+    "flake-inputs": {
+      "type": "Git",
+      "repository": {
+        "type": "GitHub",
+        "owner": "fricklerhandwerk",
+        "repo": "flake-inputs"
+      },
+      "branch": "main",
+      "submodules": false,
+      "revision": "559574c9cbb8af262f3944b67d60fbf0f6ad03c3",
+      "url": "https://github.com/fricklerhandwerk/flake-inputs/archive/559574c9cbb8af262f3944b67d60fbf0f6ad03c3.tar.gz",
+      "hash": "0gbhmp6x2vdzvfnsvqzal3g8f8hx2ia6r73aibc78kazf78m67x6"
+    },
     "flake-parts": {
       "type": "Git",
       "repository": {
diff --git a/panel/default.nix b/panel/default.nix
index a9c20f84..85ea2afd 100644
--- a/panel/default.nix
+++ b/panel/default.nix
@@ -21,11 +21,18 @@ in
       pkgs.npins
       manage
     ];
-    env = import ./env.nix { inherit lib pkgs; } // {
-      NPINS_DIRECTORY = toString ../npins;
-      CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY = toString ./.credentials;
-      DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///${toString ./src}/db.sqlite3";
-    };
+    env =
+      let
+        inherit (builtins) toString;
+      in
+      import ./env.nix { inherit lib pkgs; }
+      // {
+        NPINS_DIRECTORY = toString ../npins;
+        CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY = toString ./.credentials;
+        DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///${toString ./src}/db.sqlite3";
+        # locally: use a fixed relative reference, so we can use our newest files without copying to the store
+        REPO_DIR = toString ../.;
+      };
     shellHook = ''
       ${lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (
         map (file: "ln -sf ${file.from} ${toString ./src/${file.to}}") package.generated
diff --git a/panel/env.nix b/panel/env.nix
index 07ce4193..b4ecffc5 100644
--- a/panel/env.nix
+++ b/panel/env.nix
@@ -3,16 +3,14 @@
   pkgs,
   ...
 }:
-let
-  inherit (builtins) toString;
-in
 {
-  REPO_DIR = toString ../.;
-  # explicitly use nix, as e.g. lix does not have configurable-impure-env
   BIN_PATH = lib.makeBinPath [
-    # explicitly use nix, as e.g. lix does not have configurable-impure-env
-    pkgs.nix
-    # nixops error maybe due to our flake git hook: executing 'git': No such file or directory
+    pkgs.lix
+    pkgs.bash
+    pkgs.coreutils
+    pkgs.openssh
     pkgs.git
+    pkgs.jaq # tf
+    (import ../launch/tf.nix { inherit lib pkgs; })
   ];
 }
diff --git a/panel/nix/configuration.nix b/panel/nix/configuration.nix
index ecf06e0f..14160936 100644
--- a/panel/nix/configuration.nix
+++ b/panel/nix/configuration.nix
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ let
       ((pkgs.formats.pythonVars { }).generate "settings.py" cfg.settings)
       (builtins.toFile "extra-settings.py" cfg.extra-settings)
     ];
+    REPO_DIR = import ../../launch/tf-env.nix { inherit lib pkgs; };
   };
 
   python-environment = pkgs.python3.withPackages (
@@ -157,9 +158,7 @@ in
       };
     };
 
-    users.users.${name} = {
-      isNormalUser = true;
-    };
+    users.users.${name}.isNormalUser = true;
 
     users.groups.${name} = { };
     systemd.services.${name} = {
@@ -167,6 +166,7 @@ in
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       path = [
+        pkgs.openssh
         python-environment
         manage-service
       ];
diff --git a/panel/nix/package.nix b/panel/nix/package.nix
index e13e015a..083170d6 100644
--- a/panel/nix/package.nix
+++ b/panel/nix/package.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
   lib,
+  pkgs,
   sqlite,
   python3,
   python3Packages,
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ let
       root = ../src;
       fileset = intersection (gitTracked ../../.) ../src;
     };
-  pyproject = with lib; fromTOML pyproject-toml;
+  pyproject = fromTOML pyproject-toml;
   # TODO: define this globally
   name = "panel";
   # TODO: we may want this in a file so it's easier to read statically
@@ -89,7 +90,9 @@ python3.pkgs.buildPythonPackage {
     mkdir -p $out/bin
     cp -v ${src}/manage.py $out/bin/manage.py
     chmod +x $out/bin/manage.py
-    wrapProgram $out/bin/manage.py --prefix PYTHONPATH : "$PYTHONPATH"
+    wrapProgram $out/bin/manage.py \
+      --set REPO_DIR "${import ../../launch/tf-env.nix { inherit lib pkgs; }}" \
+      --prefix PYTHONPATH : "$PYTHONPATH"
     ${lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (
       map (file: "cp ${file.from} $out/${python3.sitePackages}/${file.to}") generated
     )}
diff --git a/panel/nix/python-packages/django-pydantic-field/default.nix b/panel/nix/python-packages/django-pydantic-field/default.nix
index 2648a0db..74349e3e 100644
--- a/panel/nix/python-packages/django-pydantic-field/default.nix
+++ b/panel/nix/python-packages/django-pydantic-field/default.nix
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+# TODO upstream, see #248
 {
   lib,
   buildPythonPackage,
diff --git a/panel/src/panel/views.py b/panel/src/panel/views.py
index 341a9135..e44202ed 100644
--- a/panel/src/panel/views.py
+++ b/panel/src/panel/views.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from enum import Enum
 import json
 import subprocess
+import logging
 import os
 
 from django.urls import reverse_lazy
@@ -19,6 +20,8 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel
 from panel import models, settings
 from panel.configuration import schema
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class Index(TemplateView):
     template_name = 'index.html'
 
@@ -106,22 +109,23 @@ class DeploymentStatus(ConfigurationForm):
         }
         env = {
             "PATH": settings.bin_path,
+            # "TF_LOG": "info",
+        } | {
             # pass in form info to our deployment
-            "DEPLOYMENT": config.json()
+            # FIXME: ensure sensitive info is protected
+            f"TF_VAR_{k}": v if isinstance(v, str) else json.dumps(v) for k, v in config.json().items()
         }
+        logger.info("env: %s", env)
+        cwd = f"{settings.repo_dir}/launch"
         cmd = [
-            "nix",
-            "develop",
-            "--extra-experimental-features",
-            "configurable-impure-env",
-            "--command",
-            "nixops4",
+            "tofu",
+            # f"-chdir={cwd}",
             "apply",
-            "test",
+            f"-state={cwd}/terraform.tfstate", # FIXME: separate users' state
+            "--auto-approve",
+            "-lock=false",
+            "-parallelism=1" # limit OOM risk
         ]
-        deployment_result = subprocess.run(
-            cmd,
-            cwd=settings.repo_dir,
-            env=env,
-        )
+        deployment_result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=cwd, env=env)
+        logger.debug("deployment_result: %s", deployment_result)
         return deployment_result, config