LibrePortal/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md

LibrePortal — Development & Releases

How to run a development copy, cut stable/edge releases, and test them before they go out. For installing/using LibrePortal, see USER.md.

Mental model (read this first)

Install modes — CFG_INSTALL_MODE decides where the code comes from:

Mode	Source	Use
release (default)	a checksum-verified .tar.gz over HTTPS	end users / stable
git	git clone of the repo	contributors tracking a branch
local	a copy of a local folder	hacking on the code on the box

Three roots (each relocatable at install, then fixed): <system> (manager-owned: configs/db/logs/install) · <containers> (container user: app data) · <backups> (container user: repos). Defaults /libreportal-*.

Two users: the manager (sudo_user_name, default libreportal) owns the control plane and runs the runtime; the container user (CFG_DOCKER_INSTALL_USER, default dockerinstall) owns app data + runs rootless Docker. Genuine-root actions go through fixed, root-owned helpers in /usr/local/lib/libreportal/ (paths + manager name are baked into them at install — never read from runtime config).

Key files:

• init.sh — the installer (self-contained; creates users/folders/helpers, bakes things).
• install.sh — the thin bootstrap (download+verify+extract a release, then run init.sh).
• scripts/source/paths.sh — resolves the three roots + manager user.
• scripts/source/fetch.sh — lpFetchRelease / lpVersionGt (runtime fetch + version compare).
• scripts/release/make_release.sh — builds release artifacts.
• VERSION — the single source of the version number.

Run a development copy

From a clone of the repo, on a throwaway Debian/Ubuntu host (install is destructive — it creates system users and dirs):

Local mode (install from the working tree — best for hacking):

sudo ./init.sh --random-password --local init
# custom locations work in dev too:
sudo ./init.sh --random-password --local --system-dir=/srv/lp --manager-user=lpadmin init

Git mode (track a branch):

# via the bootstrap:
sudo ./install.sh --git-url=https://example.com/you/LibrePortal.git \
                  --git-user=USER --git-token=TOKEN
# or directly:  ./init.sh init <password> <git_user> <git_token> <git_url> true git

Iterating: re-run the installer to redeploy after changes (local mode re-copies the tree). To wipe and start over:

sudo ./init.sh uninstall                    # removes the three roots + users + footprint
sudo ./init.sh --skip-docker-images uninstall   # keep the Docker layer for a fast reinstall

This repo's CI/hook setup may auto-deploy on commit (commit on a branch → auto-merge → redeploy). That's environment-specific; the commands above are the portable way to stand up and refresh a dev box.

Cut a release (stable or edge)

1. Bump the version in VERSION (semver, e.g. 0.2.0 → 0.3.0). Commit it.
2. Build the artifact (uses git archive, so it ships only committed files and honours .gitattributes export-ignore — scripts/unused, site, docs, .claude, the release tooling, etc. never ship):

   scripts/release/make_release.sh stable        # or: edge   [git-ref]
   

   Produces, under dist/<channel>/:
   • libreportal-<version>.tar.gz — the release
   • libreportal-<version>.tar.gz.sha256 — its checksum
   • latest.json — { version, channel, url, sha256, notes } (the channel pointer)
3. Publish by serving dist/<channel>/* at https://get.libreportal.org/<channel>/…. The host (the getlibreportal + weblibreportal apps) lives in the separate LibrePortal-Infra repo, which overlays onto an install and picks these up via its publish.sh. latest.json is what makes a version "the latest".

Channels: stable is the default users get; edge is for early/testing builds. Same tooling, different <channel>. To promote an edge build to stable, rebuild with make_release.sh stable at that ref (or copy its artifacts into the stable/ path and update stable/latest.json).

Test a release locally before publishing

No hosting needed — serve dist/ and point an install at it:

# build, then serve the artifacts
scripts/release/make_release.sh stable
( cd dist && python3 -m http.server 8000 )

# on a throwaway host, install from your local server:
LP_RELEASE_BASE_URL=http://<your-ip>:8000 \
  sudo ./install.sh --channel=stable --system-dir=/libreportal-system

LP_RELEASE_BASE_URL overrides the release host everywhere (installer, updater, recovery). Quick non-destructive checks:

# fetch + verify + stage only (no install):
LP_RELEASE_BASE_URL=http://<ip>:8000 ./install.sh --dry-run
# tamper with the tarball and confirm it's refused:
echo x >> dist/stable/libreportal-*.tar.gz
LP_RELEASE_BASE_URL=http://<ip>:8000 ./install.sh --dry-run   # => CHECKSUM MISMATCH

How updates work (so you can reason about them)

In release mode the WebUI badge + libreportal update apply compare the local VERSION against the channel's latest.json (lpVersionGt); if newer, they lpFetchRelease the new tarball (verified) and redeploy. Because the install tree is code only (configs/logs/backups live in the other roots), the update just replaces it — no backup/restore dance. git/local modes keep their existing git-based update path.

The footprint exception (important). update apply runs as the manager, and the manager is deliberately forbidden from rewriting the root-owned footprint (the helpers in /usr/local/lib/libreportal/, the CLI wrapper, the uninstall launcher, the systemd unit, the sudoers) — that immutability is the de-sudo security boundary. So a manager-run update can refresh code/apps/WebUI, but not those. To track when an update touches them, init.sh carries a footprint_version integer, baked at install into /usr/local/lib/libreportal/.footprint_version and published in latest.json. When the channel's footprint_version exceeds the installed one, the updater refuses the WebUI apply and the badge flags footprint_update_needed — the user re-runs the installer as root (curl … install.sh | sudo bash), which fetches and re-bakes the footprint atomically. (Re-running the installer is idempotent.)

➡️ BUMP footprint_version in init.sh whenever you change anything in scripts/system/*, the CLI wrapper, the uninstall launcher, the systemd unit, or the sudoers. Forgetting it means those root components silently stay stale until the next full reinstall.

Signing releases (minisign)

The sha256 only proves a download is intact — a compromised host could swap the tarball and its checksum. A minisign signature proves the release is genuinely ours: the host can't forge it without the offline secret key. It ships inactive (a REPLACE_ME placeholder), so installs work today; once you set a real key, verification becomes required for release installs + updates.

One-time setup:

minisign -G -p libreportal.pub -s ~/.minisign/libreportal.key   # generate the keypair
# 1. keep ~/.minisign/libreportal.key OFFLINE (this is the thing to protect)
# 2. paste the PUBLIC key (the RW… line) into BOTH:
#      - libreportal.pub   (ships + installed to the root footprint, used by updates)
#      - install.sh         LP_MINISIGN_PUBKEY=…  (the standalone bootstrap)
# 3. bump footprint_version in init.sh (the footprint's public key changed)

Signing a build: point make_release at the secret key on the release machine:

LP_MINISIGN_SECKEY=~/.minisign/libreportal.key scripts/release/make_release.sh stable

It emits libreportal-<ver>.tar.gz.minisig alongside the tarball. install.sh and the updater (lpFetchRelease) download .minisig, verify it against the public key, and refuse on a bad/missing signature. --no-verify-signature on install.sh is a dev-only escape hatch.

Rotating the key later = repeat steps 2–3 and re-bump footprint_version (the root-owned public key is part of the footprint).

Conventions

• Versioning: semver in VERSION. Bump before building; latest.json carries it.
• New runtime script? Add it under scripts/<area>/… and run scripts/source/files/generate_arrays.sh run so it's sourced (build/standalone tooling under scripts/release and scripts/system is intentionally excluded).
• Don't make the OS footprint (/etc/*, /usr/local/*) relocatable — it's fixed by design for the privilege model.