# Ham Lab — MVP plan

Proxmox-style web console for a bare-metal Debian 13 host. First target: `core`
(10.0.0.234). MVP is **service + shell + persistent terminals**; everything else is a
stub tab or a roadmap item.

## Decisions

| Area | Decision | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Backend | **Go 1.24**, single static binary, frontend embedded via `embed` | `core` has ~370 MiB free RAM; a Go daemon idles at ~15 MiB vs ~80+ for Node. One file to deploy, no nvm path in the unit. Same binary later installs on `grid` unchanged. |
| PTY | `creack/pty` — server-owned PTYs running `core`'s login shell | Sessions live in the daemon, not the browser, so refresh/tab-switch reattaches. No tmux dependency (not installed on `core`). |
| Transport | One WebSocket per attached terminal; REST for everything else | Standard; NPM passes WebSockets with one toggle. |
| Frontend | **React + TypeScript + Vite**, `xterm.js` (+ fit, webgl, web-links addons) | Matches `calorie-counter` / `wedding-website`, so no new toolchain to learn. |
| Auth | Single-user **password login**, argon2id hash, HttpOnly/Secure/SameSite=Strict session cookie, login rate-limit, Origin check on WS upgrade | This is a root-capable shell on the public internet. Auth is MVP, not roadmap. |
| Service | `hamlab.service`, `User=core`, `Restart=always`, binary at `/usr/local/bin/hamlab` | Same pattern as `calorie-counter.service`. Runs as `core` so `sudo` works in the terminal without a password, as on the SSH path. |
| Listen | `10.0.0.234:8100` (free) | NPM is a container, so loopback-only won't do. Firewalling to NPM is a later hardening step. |
| Data | `/home/core/apps/hamlab/` — `config.yaml`, `state.db` (SQLite) | `apps/` is the nightly rsync target to `grid`, so it's backed up for free. |
| Ingress | NPM proxy host `hamlab.bigham.dev` → `:8100`, LE cert, WebSockets on, caching off, force-SSL + HSTS + HTTP/2 set in a **second** API call (NPM drops them on create-with-new-cert) | `*.bigham.dev` already resolves; the proxy host alone makes it live. |
| Repo | Gitea `mitchell/hamlab`, private, `main` | Created 2026-09-17. |

## Layout

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ header: Ham Lab · core · load 0.42 · ● connected · [logout]    │
├──────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ▾ Terminal   │                                               │
│   shell 1  ● │                                               │
│   backups    │        main content (xterm)                   │
│   + New      │                                               │
│ ▸ Services   │                                               │
│ ▸ Cron       │                                               │
│ ▸ ZFS        │                                               │
│ ▸ Dashboard  │                                               │
├──────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ footer: v0.1.0 · up 12d · hamlab.bigham.dev                   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

- Left rail: collapsible groups, one expanded at a time. Active leaf highlighted.
- Terminal group: one leaf per session, `● ` when a process is running, "+ New
  Terminal" pinned at the bottom. Right-click / long-press → rename, close.
- Non-MVP groups render as disabled leaves with "coming soon" — the rail shape is
  the product; stubs keep it honest about scope.
- **Mobile**: rail becomes a slide-in drawer; xterm fits the viewport; a sticky key
  bar above the keyboard (`Esc Tab Ctrl Alt ↑ ↓ ← → |`) because phone keyboards
  have none of those. This is what makes it usable as a PWA rather than a novelty.

## Terminal semantics

- A session is a PTY + shell owned by the daemon, with an ID, name, cwd hint, and a
  **scrollback ring buffer** (256 KiB). Attaching replays the buffer, then streams.
- Any number of browser tabs can attach to the same session (all get output; all can
  type). Resize follows the most recent attacher.
- Switching tabs in the UI just detaches/attaches; the shell keeps running.
- Closing a session sends `SIGHUP` to the process group and drops it. Shell exit
  closes the session automatically (leaf shows "exited" until dismissed).
- Session names persist in `state.db` so the sidebar order survives a service
  restart. **The shells themselves do not survive a daemon restart** in the MVP —
  see roadmap (tmux backing).
- Idle sessions cost one shell process each; no automatic reaping in MVP.

## API (MVP)

```
POST /api/login            {password}            → 204 + cookie
POST /api/logout                                 → 204
GET  /api/me                                     → {host, user, version, uptime, load}
GET  /api/terminals                              → [{id, name, running, created}]
POST /api/terminals        {name?}               → {id, ...}
PATCH /api/terminals/:id   {name}                → 204
DELETE /api/terminals/:id                        → 204
WS   /api/terminals/:id/attach   binary frames = raw bytes; JSON text frames = {resize}
GET  /healthz                                    → 200 (unauthenticated, for NPM)
```

Everything under `/api` except `login` and `/healthz` requires the session cookie.

## Project layout

```
hamlab/
  cmd/hamlab/main.go          serve | passwd | version
  internal/
    auth/                     argon2id, sessions, rate limit
    term/                     PTY manager, ring buffer, attach/detach
    api/                      chi router, handlers, WS
    state/                    SQLite (modernc, no cgo)
    web/                      go:embed of web/dist
  web/                        Vite + React + TS + xterm.js, PWA manifest + SW
  deploy/
    hamlab.service
    install.sh                build → /usr/local/bin/hamlab → systemctl restart
  Makefile                    build / dev / deploy / lint / test
```

## Milestones

**M0 — skeleton** (service boots, login works)
- Go module, chi, config loading, `hamlab passwd`, argon2id login, session cookie.
- `hamlab.service` on `core`, `:8100`, serves a placeholder page.
- `make deploy` from `core` itself.

**M1 — terminals** (the MVP feature)
- PTY manager with ring buffer, create/list/rename/close, WS attach with resize.
- React shell: header, rail, footer, Terminal group, xterm main pane.
- Persistence of session list across refresh and rail switching.

**M2 — polish + PWA + ingress**
- Mobile drawer, key bar, fit-on-rotate.
- `manifest.webmanifest`, icons (Ham logo on black, same recipe as HamTV), service
  worker caching the app shell only (never `/api`).
- NPM proxy host for `hamlab.bigham.dev`; verify WS through NPM; force-SSL/HSTS/HTTP2.
- Stub groups for Services / Cron / ZFS / Dashboard.

**Done when:** from the phone, open the PWA, log in, open two terminals, run
something long in one, switch away and back, refresh — it's all still there.

## Roadmap (not MVP — notes only)

- **tmux-backed sessions** so shells survive a daemon restart / redeploy. Would spawn
  `tmux new -A -s hamlab-<id>`; needs `mouse on` and status-bar handling in xterm.
- **Services tab** — `systemctl list-units`, per-unit page: status, last 200 journal
  lines (live-tail via WS), start/stop/restart/enable buttons, unit file viewer.
- **Cron tab** — parse `/etc/crontab`, `/etc/cron.d/*`, user crontabs, and systemd
  timers into one table with next-run times; edit via `crontab -` round-trip.
- **ZFS tab** — pools, datasets (`used/avail/refer/usedbysnapshots`), snapshot list,
  scrub status, and the `freeing` counter. `grid` is the target, which implies
  multi-host.
- **Dashboard** — CPU/mem/load/net, disks and SMART (`smartctl -j`), temps and fans
  (`sensors -j`), UPS from `pwrstat`. Ham Lab collects on a timer into a SQLite
  ring (e.g. 10 s resolution, 7 days) and draws sparklines. This is where the
  "collects its own data" requirement lands; no Prometheus dependency.
- **Multi-host** — same binary as a headless *agent* on `grid` / Mac mini /
  `wyse-5070-1`, `core`'s instance is the UI and fans out over mTLS. The rail grows a
  host level at the top, exactly like Proxmox's datacenter → node tree. Design the
  MVP URL space so `host` can be inserted later without breaking clients.
- **Auth hardening** — WebAuthn passkeys (phone Face ID), TOTP fallback, session
  list + revoke, optional NPM access list restricting to WireGuard/LAN.
- **Files** — browse/upload/download/edit under `/`, with a sudo toggle.
- **Docker read-only view** — `docker ps`/logs; dockhand stays the source of truth.
- **Notifications** — push on service failure / SMART warning / UPS event.
- **Terminal extras** — search, copy-mode, font/theme, split panes, upload via
  drag-drop into cwd.

## Open questions

- Idle-session reaping policy (never / after N days) — leaning never; it's a
  single-user box.
- Whether `sudo -i`-style root sessions get their own leaf colour. Cosmetic.