feature: bootstrap diagnostics on port 17081 during the first setup.

feature: the web service creates its key and database itself and shows its starting phase.
2026-10-24 10:07:22 +02:00 · 2026-10-24 09:07:28 +02:00
15 changed files with 398 additions and 96 deletions
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ The service listens on plain HTTP on the internal network.

 Decision: `/config`, `/users` and `/groups` need a JWT in an `Authorization: Bearer` header,
 HS256, verified with `hmac` and `hashlib`; no other algorithm is accepted. The key is
-`/etc/vpn-router/web.key`, random, made by `vpn-router-setup` on the router and readable by root
-only; it is never configured or output, and `web.jwt_secret` is ignored. The router itself issues
+`/etc/vpn-router/web.key`, random, made by the web service on its first run and readable by root
+only; it is never configured or output. The router itself issues
 the tokens: `POST /auth` checks a user's password and TOTP code with a bind (ADR-14) and answers
 an access token naming the user in `sub`, valid for 5 minutes, and a refresh token valid for 8
 hours (ADR-15); `vpn-router-token` makes tokens with the `admin` claim (ADR-13). A token without
@@ -337,8 +337,8 @@ sessions in PostgreSQL too.

 Decision: Refresh tokens are random strings, stored as their SHA-256 with the user name and the
 expiry in the table `refresh_tokens`, through psycopg 3 (`python3-psycopg`). The database is
-`web.database`, or by default the database and role `vpn-router` on the router, which
-`vpn-router-setup` creates with `runuser -u postgres -- psql` and a random password in
+`web.database`, or by default the database and role `vpn-router` on the router, which the web
+service creates on its first run (ADR-16) with `runuser -u postgres -- psql` and a random password in
 `/etc/vpn-router/database.secret`, reached over TCP on `localhost`, as Ubuntu's `pg_hba.conf`
 takes peer authentication on the local socket. A refresh token is used once: refreshing deletes
 it and issues a new one, after checking that the user is neither disabled nor locked.
@@ -347,3 +347,46 @@ Consequences: The package depends on `postgresql` and `python3-psycopg`. A stole
 no usable token. Changing a user's password, disabling, unlocking or removing the user, and
 signing out, end the user's sessions at once; an access token already issued lives out its
 5 minutes.
+
+## ADR-16: Each service creates what it needs on its first run
+
+Status: Accepted
+
+Context: The package manager configures packages in an order of its own; on a new VM the Router
+Manager was configured before the PostgreSQL server, so a database created at installation was
+missing. PostgreSQL may also start after the services at boot.
+
+Decision: The web service makes its signing key and creates the refresh tokens' database itself,
+and the Router Manager its sessions database; neither `vpn-router-setup` nor a maintainer script
+creates them. Each service does it before it listens, retrying every 15 seconds and logging each
+failure, then listens.
+
+Consequences: The order of installation and of the start of PostgreSQL does not matter; a
+database that cannot be created is created once the cause is gone, and the reason is in the
+service's log. The web unit may write `/etc/vpn-router` for the key and the database password.
+
+## ADR-17: Bootstrap diagnostics run only until the first setup succeeds
+
+Status: Accepted
+
+Context: A new VM is reachable only once its setup has worked, and the reason of a failure must
+be readable from the internal network before an SSH session is possible. A service that reports
+the setup cannot be one of the services being set up: those import packages that may not load yet
+(psycopg could not find libpq before `ldconfig` ran), and they would fail before reporting
+anything. Once the router has been set up, SSH is the way to diagnose it. The more a diagnostic
+page does, the more ways it has to fail itself.
+
+Decision: Each package ships a bootstrap service of the Python standard library alone, a script
+that answers every request with the plain-text output of a fixed list of commands: the setup
+state, the services, the failed units, the addresses and the end of the logs. The router's
+listens on 17081 and the Router Manager's on 17080, beside the ports of the services, 7081 and
+7080, on every address. The units are never enabled and not started at installation;
+`vpn-router-setup` starts them while `/var/lib/vpn-router/setup.done` does not exist, and opens
+their ports on the internal interface. The first successful run writes that file, closes the ports
+and stops them; a failed run leaves them running, so the reason stays readable. Setup records its
+state, step and failure in `/run/vpn-router/setup.json` at every step; `vpnrouter.fail` ends with
+a `SystemExit` carrying its message, so setup records it.
+
+Consequences: The diagnostics need nothing the setup provides and cannot collide with the real
+services. After the first success they never run again, also not after an upgrade or a reboot.
+The page shows log lines to whoever reaches the internal network during the first setup.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ must have the type shown below; an unknown section or setting is an error.
 | `docker` | `exposed_ports` | list | | TCP ports and port ranges (`8000:8100`) reachable from the external interface; at most 15, a range counting as two |
 | `web` | `enabled` | boolean | `true` | The status web service on the internal address |
 | `web` | `port` | integer | `7081` | TCP port of the status web service |
-| `web` | `database` | string | | A PostgreSQL connection string for the refresh tokens; without it, the `vpn-router` database on this host that `vpn-router-setup` creates |
+| `web` | `database` | string | | A PostgreSQL connection string for the refresh tokens; without it, the `vpn-router` database on this host that the web service creates |
 | `web` | `trusted_proxies` | list | the listening address | Addresses whose `X-Forwarded-For` header names the client for the `/auth` rate limit |

 A minimal site-to-site configuration in `auto` mode:
@@ -473,6 +473,27 @@ The `vpn-router-web` service shows the state of the router on its internal addre
 `web.port` (7081 by default). Its pages `/` and `/status` need no authentication and show no
 configuration: no key, identity, address or subnet.

+The service first makes its signing key and the refresh tokens' database, retrying every 15
+seconds, for example while PostgreSQL is not running yet, and logs each failure; then it listens.
+
+### Bootstrap diagnostics
+
+Until a run of `vpn-router-setup` has succeeded, every run starts `vpn-router-bootstrap`, which
+serves diagnostics as plain text on port 17081 of every address, and the firewall opens 17081 and
+17080 (the Router Manager's bootstrap) on the internal interface. The first successful run stops
+the bootstrap services and closes their ports, and writes `/var/lib/vpn-router/setup.done`, after
+which they never run again; a failed run leaves them running, so the reason stays readable until
+a later run succeeds. The unit is never enabled.
+
+The page, read again every 10 seconds, shows the state, the step and the failure of the last
+setup run (`/run/vpn-router/setup.json`, which setup writes at every step), the state of the
+router's services, the failed units, the addresses and routes, `cloud-init status`, and the end of
+the logs of `vpn-router-setup` and `vpn-router-web`:
+
+```bash
+curl http://10.0.0.4:17081/
+```
+
 | Page | Content |
 | --- | --- |
 | `/` | The status for people: plain text for `curl` and `wget`, a page styled with Tailwind CSS for a browser, in the browser's light or dark scheme, that reloads itself every minute (the style sheet is loaded from a CDN, so the browser needs internet access; the text is readable without it) |
@@ -500,7 +521,7 @@ curl http://10.0.0.4:7081/status
 ### Tokens and signing in

 `/config`, `/users` and `/groups` need a JWT in an `Authorization: Bearer` header, signed with
-HS256 by the key `vpn-router-setup` makes on the router, `/etc/vpn-router/web.key` (root only).
+HS256 by the key the web service makes on its first run, `/etc/vpn-router/web.key` (root only).
 The key never leaves the router; while it does not exist these paths and `/auth` are not served
 (404). A missing, expired or wrongly signed token, or one of another algorithm, gets 401 with
 `WWW-Authenticate: Bearer`. There are two kinds of tokens:
@@ -539,7 +560,7 @@ default the address the service listens on, the client address is the last entry
 `X-Forwarded-For`.

 Refresh tokens are kept, as their SHA-256, in PostgreSQL: by default in the database and role
-`vpn-router` on the router, which `vpn-router-setup` creates with a password in
+`vpn-router` on the router, which the web service creates on its first run with a password in
 `/etc/vpn-router/database.secret` (root only), reached over TCP on `localhost`; `web.database`
 names another database. Tokens and passwords travel over plain HTTP on the internal network.

@@ -1,3 +1,35 @@
+vpn-router (0.9.0-1) unstable; urgency=medium
+
+  feature: bootstrap diagnostics on port 17081 during the first setup.
+
+  * vpn-router-bootstrap serves, on port 17081, the setup state, the
+    services, the failed units, the addresses, cloud-init status and the end
+    of the logs of setup and the web service, as plain text.
+  * vpn-router-setup starts it, and the Router Manager's bootstrap on port
+    17080, until a run has succeeded, and opens both ports on the internal
+    interface; the first successful run writes
+    /var/lib/vpn-router/setup.done, closes the ports and stops them. A
+    failed run leaves them running.
+  * The web service no longer has a starting phase: it creates its key and
+    database, then listens.
+
+ -- Slawomir Koszewski <slawek@koszewscy.waw.pl>  Sun, 25 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0200
+
+vpn-router (0.8.0-1) unstable; urgency=medium
+
+  feature: the web service creates its key and database itself and shows its starting phase.
+
+  * vpn-router-web makes its signing key and creates the refresh tokens'
+    database on its first run, retrying every 15 seconds until PostgreSQL
+    answers; vpn-router-setup no longer creates them.
+  * Until then / and /status show the web service's phase and its failure,
+    with the state, the step and the failure of the last run of
+    vpn-router-setup, and every page answers 503.
+  * vpn-router-setup records its state, current step and failure in
+    /run/vpn-router/setup.json.
+
+ -- Slawomir Koszewski <slawek@koszewscy.waw.pl>  Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:00:00 +0200
+
 vpn-router (0.7.1-1) unstable; urgency=medium

  fix: a failing user directory or token database no longer leaves the tunnels down.
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ src/etc/sysctl.d/99-vpn-router.conf                   etc/sysctl.d/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter.py                   usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_ldap.py              usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_net.py               usr/lib/vpn-router/
+src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_serve.py             usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_users.py             usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_auth.py              usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/openvpn-same-user              usr/lib/vpn-router/
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ src/usr/lib/vpn-router/configure                      usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/docker-rules                   usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/setup                          usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/web                            usr/lib/vpn-router/
+src/usr/lib/vpn-router/bootstrap                      usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/generate-config                usr/lib/vpn-router/
 src/usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_platforms/*.py       usr/lib/vpn-router/vpnrouter_platforms/
 src/usr/share/vpn-router/templates/*                  usr/share/vpn-router/templates/
@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ strip_ufw_blocks() {

    tmp="$(mktemp)"
    awk '
-        /^# (IPSEC|WIREGUARD|OPENVPN|P2S DNS|WEB|MANAGER|ROUTER FORWARD|ROUTER NAT|ROUTER MSS) RULES START$/ {
+        /^# (IPSEC|WIREGUARD|OPENVPN|P2S DNS|WEB|BOOTSTRAP|MANAGER|ROUTER FORWARD|ROUTER NAT|ROUTER MSS) RULES START$/ {
            skip = 1; pending = 0; next
        }
-        /^# (IPSEC|WIREGUARD|OPENVPN|P2S DNS|WEB|MANAGER|ROUTER FORWARD|ROUTER NAT|ROUTER MSS) RULES END$/ {
+        /^# (IPSEC|WIREGUARD|OPENVPN|P2S DNS|WEB|BOOTSTRAP|MANAGER|ROUTER FORWARD|ROUTER NAT|ROUTER MSS) RULES END$/ {
            skip = 0; next
        }
        skip { next }
@@ -50,7 +50,9 @@ case "$1" in
              /etc/openvpn/server/vpn-router.conf \
              /etc/openvpn/server/vpn-router-ldap.conf \
              /etc/vpn-router/vpn-router.json \
-              /etc/vpn-router/web.key
+              /etc/vpn-router/web.key \
+              /var/lib/vpn-router/setup.done
+        rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty /var/lib/vpn-router 2>/dev/null || true

        # The refresh tokens' database and role, when the package created them.
        if [ -f /etc/vpn-router/database.secret ] && command -v psql >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ override_dh_installsystemd:
 	dh_installsystemd --name=vpn-router-setup
 	dh_installsystemd --name=vpn-router-docker
 	dh_installsystemd --name=vpn-router-web
+	dh_installsystemd --name=vpn-router-bootstrap --no-enable --no-start
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=VPN Router bootstrap diagnostics page
+Documentation=file:/usr/share/doc/vpn-router/README.md
+
+# Never enabled: vpn-router-setup starts it until a setup has succeeded, and stops it after that.
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /usr/lib/vpn-router/bootstrap
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5
+NoNewPrivileges=yes
+ProtectSystem=strict
+ProtectHome=yes
+PrivateTmp=yes
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=15
 NoNewPrivileges=yes
 ProtectSystem=strict
-ReadWritePaths=-/run/vpn-router -/etc/vpn-router/pki -/etc/swanctl/x509crl
+ReadWritePaths=-/run/vpn-router -/etc/vpn-router -/etc/swanctl/x509crl
 ProtectHome=yes
 PrivateTmp=yes

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python3
+"""Serve diagnostics of the router's first setup on PORT, with the Python standard library alone.
+
+Run by vpn-router-bootstrap.service, which vpn-router-setup starts until a setup has succeeded and
+then stops. Every request on any address answers, as plain text, the output of COMMANDS run at that
+moment: the state of the last setup run, the state of the services, the addresses, and the end of
+the logs.
+"""
+
+import subprocess
+from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, ThreadingHTTPServer
+
+PORT = 17081
+
+#: The title of each section and its command.
+COMMANDS = (
+    ('Setup state', ['cat', '/run/vpn-router/setup.json']),
+    ('Services', ['systemctl', 'is-active', 'vpn-router-setup', 'vpn-router-web', 'slapd', 'postgresql',
+                  'strongswan', 'openvpn-server@vpn-router', 'wg-quick@wg0']),
+    ('Failed units', ['systemctl', '--failed', '--no-legend', '--plain']),
+    ('Addresses', ['ip', '-brief', 'address']),
+    ('Routes', ['ip', 'route']),
+    ('cloud-init', ['cloud-init', 'status', '--long']),
+    ('vpn-router-setup log', ['journalctl', '--unit', 'vpn-router-setup', '--lines', '60', '--no-pager', '--output', 'short-iso']),
+    ('vpn-router-web log', ['journalctl', '--unit', 'vpn-router-web', '--lines', '30', '--no-pager', '--output', 'short-iso']),
+)
+
+
+def report():
+    """The output of every command of COMMANDS under its title."""
+    sections = []
+    for title, command in COMMANDS:
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(command, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10)
+            text = (result.stdout + result.stderr).rstrip()
+        except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired) as exc:
+            text = f'cannot run {command[0]}: {exc}'
+        sections.append(f'== {title} ==\n{text}\n')
+    return '\n'.join(sections)
+
+
+class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
+    def do_GET(self):
+        body = report().encode()
+        self.send_response(200)
+        self.send_header('Content-Type', 'text/plain; charset=utf-8')
+        self.send_header('Content-Length', str(len(body)))
+        self.send_header('Cache-Control', 'no-store')
+        self.send_header('Refresh', '10')
+        self.end_headers()
+        self.wfile.write(body)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    ThreadingHTTPServer(('', PORT), Handler).serve_forever()
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ Regenerates the configuration files first, then does everything that needs
 the live system: routes, DNS-derived identity, WireGuard keys, firewall rules
 and service reloads. Idempotent - a second run changes nothing.

+Until a run has succeeded (SETUP_DONE), every run starts the bootstrap
+services, BOOTSTRAP_UNITS, which show the progress and the failure recorded in
+SETUP_STATE on BOOTSTRAP_PORTS, and the firewall opens those ports on the
+internal interface. The first successful run writes SETUP_DONE, closes the
+ports and stops the bootstrap services; a failed run leaves them running.
+
 Interface names come from the configuration and are never guessed. The
 firewall and NAT rules are written against them, so choosing the wrong one
 would be a silent and security-relevant mistake.
@@ -17,11 +23,11 @@ import re
 import socket
 import subprocess
 import sys
+import time

 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))

 import vpnrouter
-import vpnrouter_auth
 import vpnrouter_ldap
 from vpnrouter import fail

@@ -30,6 +36,16 @@ UFW_DEFAULTS = pathlib.Path('/etc/default/ufw')
 WG_DIR       = pathlib.Path('/etc/wireguard')
 WEB_STATE    = pathlib.Path('/run/vpn-router/web.json')

+#: The state, the current step and the failure of the last run, which the bootstrap services show.
+SETUP_STATE  = pathlib.Path('/run/vpn-router/setup.json')
+
+#: Written once a run has succeeded; until then setup runs the bootstrap services and opens their ports.
+SETUP_DONE   = pathlib.Path('/var/lib/vpn-router/setup.done')
+
+#: The units of the bootstrap services, and their ports: the Router Manager's and the router's.
+BOOTSTRAP_UNITS = ('vpn-router-bootstrap.service', 'vpn-router-manager-bootstrap.service')
+BOOTSTRAP_PORTS = (17080, 17081)
+
 #: The Router Manager, vpn-router-manager, when it is installed, and its settings.
 MANAGER        = pathlib.Path('/usr/lib/vpn-router-manager/manager')
 MANAGER_CONFIG = pathlib.Path('/etc/vpn-router-manager/manager.json')
@@ -46,6 +62,7 @@ BLOCKS = (
    ('# OPENVPN RULES START',       '# OPENVPN RULES END'),
    ('# P2S DNS RULES START',       '# P2S DNS RULES END'),
    ('# WEB RULES START',           '# WEB RULES END'),
+    ('# BOOTSTRAP RULES START',     '# BOOTSTRAP RULES END'),
    ('# MANAGER RULES START',       '# MANAGER RULES END'),
    ('# ROUTER FORWARD RULES START', '# ROUTER FORWARD RULES END'),
    ('# ROUTER NAT RULES START',    '# ROUTER NAT RULES END'),
@@ -199,6 +216,14 @@ def filter_block(ctx):
            '# WEB RULES END',
        ]

+    if not SETUP_DONE.exists() and ctx['int_iface']:
+        lines += [
+            '',
+            '# BOOTSTRAP RULES START',
+            *(f'-A ufw-before-input -i {ctx["int_iface"]} -p tcp --dport {port} -j ACCEPT' for port in BOOTSTRAP_PORTS),
+            '# BOOTSTRAP RULES END',
+        ]
+
    if MANAGER.exists() and ctx['int_iface']:
        port = manager_port()
        lines += [
@@ -359,16 +384,6 @@ def manage_directory():
    return ''


-def manage_tokens(cfg):
-    """Make the web service's signing key, and the database of its refresh tokens unless web.database names one; the problem, or ''."""
-    try:
-        vpnrouter_auth.ensure_key()
-        vpnrouter_auth.provision(cfg)
-    except Exception as exc:
-        return f'the token database cannot be provisioned: {exc!r}'
-    return ''
-
-
 def manage_openvpn(ctx, changed):
    """Run the OpenVPN server when it is configured, and stop it when it is not."""
    unit = 'openvpn-server@vpn-router'
@@ -444,25 +459,62 @@ def refresh_web(cfg, ctx):
    }) + '\n', encoding='utf-8')


+def progress(state, step, error=None):
+    """Record where setup is in SETUP_STATE: running, deferred, done or failed, the step, and the error of a failure."""
+    SETUP_STATE.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    SETUP_STATE.write_text(json.dumps({
+        'state': state,
+        'step': step,
+        'error': error,
+        'time': time.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z'),
+    }) + '\n', encoding='utf-8')
+
+
+def start_bootstrap():
+    """Start the bootstrap services while no run has succeeded; a unit that is not installed is skipped."""
+    if not SETUP_DONE.exists():
+        for unit in BOOTSTRAP_UNITS:
+            run(['systemctl', 'start', '--no-block', unit], check=False)
+
+
+def end_bootstrap(ctx):
+    """After the first successful run: write SETUP_DONE, close the bootstrap ports and stop the bootstrap services."""
+    if SETUP_DONE.exists():
+        return
+    SETUP_DONE.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    SETUP_DONE.touch()
+    if setup_ufw(ctx):
+        run(['ufw', 'reload'], check=False)
+    for unit in BOOTSTRAP_UNITS:
+        run(['systemctl', 'stop', unit], check=False)
+
+
 def main():
+    start_bootstrap()
+    progress('running', 'configuration')
    cfg = vpnrouter.load_config()
    ctx, changed = vpnrouter.configure(cfg)

    if ctx is None:
        print('vpn-router: platform is none, configuration deferred; '
              f'set general.platform in {vpnrouter.CONFIG_FILE}')
+        progress('deferred', 'configuration', f'general.platform is none; set it in {vpnrouter.CONFIG_FILE}')
        return 0

+    progress('running', 'routes')
    if vpnrouter.routing_ready(ctx):
        apply_routes(ctx)

    if ctx['local_id_mode'] == 'public_ip' and ctx['local_fqdn']:
+        progress('running', 'public address')
        address = resolve_public_ip(ctx['local_fqdn'])
        ctx, more = vpnrouter.configure(cfg, local_id_override=address)
        changed |= more

+    progress('running', 'WireGuard keys')
    setup_wireguard(ctx)

+    progress('running', 'firewall')
    rules_changed = setup_ufw(ctx)
    if is_configured(ctx):
        status = run(['ufw', 'status'], check=False)
@@ -475,23 +527,53 @@ def main():
    elif rules_changed:
        run(['ufw', 'reload'], check=False)

+    progress('running', 'strongSwan')
    manage_strongswan(ctx, changed)
+    progress('running', 'WireGuard')
    manage_wireguard(ctx, changed)

-    # The tunnels are up before the directory and the tokens, whose problems end setup only after every other step.
-    problems = [problem for problem in (manage_directory(), manage_tokens(cfg)) if problem]
+    # The tunnels are up before the directory, whose problem ends setup only after every other step.
+    progress('running', 'user directory')
+    problem = manage_directory()
+    progress('running', 'OpenVPN')
    manage_openvpn(ctx, changed)

    if 'resolved' in changed:
+        progress('running', 'resolver')
        run(['systemctl', 'restart', 'systemd-resolved'], check=False)

+    progress('running', 'platform module')
    run_platform_setup(cfg, ctx)
+    progress('running', 'Docker rules')
    refresh_docker_rules()
+    progress('running', 'web service state')
    refresh_web(cfg, ctx)
-    for problem in problems:
+    if problem:
+        progress('failed', 'user directory', problem)
        print(f'vpn-router: error: {problem}', file=sys.stderr)
-    return 1 if problems else 0
+        return 1
+    progress('done', 'done')
+    end_bootstrap(ctx)
+    return 0
+
+
+def record_failure(error):
+    """Mark the run failed in the step SETUP_STATE holds."""
+    try:
+        step = json.loads(SETUP_STATE.read_text(encoding='utf-8')).get('step')
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        step = None
+    progress('failed', step, error)


 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    sys.exit(main())
+    # A failing step ends with SystemExit carrying its message (vpnrouter.fail).
+    try:
+        code = main()
+    except SystemExit as exc:
+        record_failure(str(exc.code))
+        raise
+    except Exception as exc:
+        record_failure(repr(exc))
+        raise
+    sys.exit(code)
@@ -54,8 +54,7 @@ SCHEMA = {
    'wireguard':  {'enabled': False, 'address': '', 'listen_port': 51820},
    'openvpn':    {'enabled': False, 'address_pool': '', 'port': 1194, 'protocol': 'udp'},
    'docker':     {'mode': 'auto', 'exposed_ports': []},
-    # web.jwt_secret is read and ignored; the tokens are signed with vpnrouter_auth.WEB_KEY.
-    'web':        {'enabled': True, 'port': 7081, 'jwt_secret': '', 'database': '', 'trusted_proxies': []},
+    'web':        {'enabled': True, 'port': 7081, 'database': '', 'trusted_proxies': []},
 }

 DOCKER_MODES = ('auto', 'on', 'off')
@@ -96,8 +95,8 @@ def warn(message):


 def fail(message):
-    print(f'vpn-router: error: {message}', file=sys.stderr)
-    sys.exit(1)
+    """End with status 1; SystemExit carries the message, which Python prints to standard error."""
+    sys.exit(f'vpn-router: error: {message}')


 def load_config(path=None):
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 """The tokens of the router's web service, for the web service and vpn-router-token.

-Tokens are HS256 JWTs signed with WEB_KEY, a key vpn-router-setup makes on the router and that
-never leaves it. /auth issues an access token naming the user in sub, valid ACCESS_SECONDS, and
+Tokens are HS256 JWTs signed with WEB_KEY, a key the web service makes on its first run on the
+router and that never leaves it. /auth issues an access token naming the user in sub, valid ACCESS_SECONDS, and
 a refresh token valid REFRESH_SECONDS; vpn-router-token issues tokens with the admin claim and
 any lifetime. A token without the admin claim must expire within MAX_LIFETIME seconds.

 Refresh tokens are random strings kept in PostgreSQL as their SHA-256, in the database of
-web.database, by default the vpn-router database on this host that provision() creates, with
-the password in DATABASE_SECRET. A refresh token is used once: refreshing replaces it.
+web.database, by default the vpn-router database on this host that provision() creates on the
+web service's first run, with the password in DATABASE_SECRET. A refresh token is used once: refreshing replaces it.
 """

 import base64
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ SCHEMA = 'CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS refresh_tokens (hash text PRIMARY KEY, name


 def key():
-    """The signing key, or '' while vpn-router-setup has not made it."""
+    """The signing key, or '' while the web service has not made it."""
    try:
        return WEB_KEY.read_text(encoding='utf-8').strip()
    except OSError:
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def admin_token(seconds):
    """A token with the admin claim, valid for the seconds given."""
    secret = key()
    if not secret:
-        raise OSError(f'{WEB_KEY} does not exist; vpn-router-setup makes it once a platform is chosen')
+        raise OSError(f'{WEB_KEY} does not exist; vpn-router-web makes it when it starts')
    now = int(time.time())
    return {'token': sign({'admin': True, 'iat': now, 'exp': now + seconds}, secret), 'expires': now + seconds}

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Interfaces and addresses of the router, read from the system.

-Only the Python standard library is used, so the web service can use this module too.
+Only the Python standard library is used, so the web service and its bootstrap server can use
+this module too.
 """

 import pathlib
@@ -107,3 +108,28 @@ def internal_address(mode, internal, int_addr):
    except ConfigError:
        return ''
    return addresses[0] if addresses else ''
+
+
+def web_listen(configuration, default_port):
+    """Where the web service listens, from vpn-router.json read as configuration, as ((address, port), '').
+
+    The address is the internal address as general.mode directs, the port web.port, else
+    default_port. While web.enabled is false or the address is not known, the answer is (None,
+    the reason).
+    """
+    def section(name):
+        value = configuration.get(name)
+        return value if isinstance(value, dict) else {}
+
+    web = section('web')
+    if web.get('enabled', True) is False:
+        return None, 'the web service is disabled in the configuration'
+    port = web.get('port', default_port)
+    if isinstance(port, bool) or not isinstance(port, int) or not 1 <= port <= 65535:
+        port = default_port
+    general, interfaces, local = section('general'), section('interfaces'), section('local')
+    address = internal_address(str(general.get('mode') or 'manual'), str(interfaces.get('internal') or ''),
+                               str(local.get('int_addr') or ''))
+    if not address:
+        return None, 'the internal address is not known yet'
+    return (address, port), ''
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+"""The listening loop of the web service and of its bootstrap server.
+
+Only the Python standard library is used, so the bootstrap server, which must run whatever else
+is broken, can use it.
+"""
+
+import threading
+import time
+from http.server import ThreadingHTTPServer
+
+
+def serve(wanted, handler, log, interval):
+    """Work out where to listen every interval seconds with wanted, and run an HTTP server of handler there.
+
+    wanted answers ((address, port), '') or (None, the reason not to listen). When the address or
+    the port changes, the server is stopped and a new one listens at the new place; while there is
+    no place or it cannot be bound, no server runs and the next round tries again. Every new
+    reason is logged with log. Does not return.
+    """
+    server, thread, listening, reported = None, None, None, None
+    while True:
+        target, reason = wanted()
+        if target != listening and server is not None:
+            server.shutdown()
+            server.server_close()
+            thread.join()
+            server, listening = None, None
+        if target is not None and server is None:
+            try:
+                server = ThreadingHTTPServer(target, handler)
+            except OSError as exc:
+                reason = f'cannot listen on {target[0]}:{target[1]}: {exc}'
+            else:
+                thread = threading.Thread(target=server.serve_forever, name='server', daemon=True)
+                thread.start()
+                listening, reason = target, f'serving on http://{target[0]}:{target[1]}'
+        if reason and reason != reported:
+            log(reason)
+            reported = reason
+        time.sleep(interval)
@@ -30,11 +30,15 @@ default the address the service listens on, is the last entry of its X-Forwarded
 Docker is installed, and the state of site-to-site, road-warrior (IPsec P2S), OpenVPN and
 WireGuard. No configuration data, key or address is shown.

-The service needs nothing else to start and does not end on its own. A discovery thread works
-out the internal address from /etc/vpn-router/vpn-router.json as general.mode directs, with
-web.port and web.enabled, every DISCOVERY_SECONDS, and runs the server thread there: it starts
-it, moves it when the address or the port changes, and stops it while the service is disabled
-or the address is not known. Every request reads what it needs when it is made: the signing
+The service first initializes, without listening: it makes the signing key and the refresh
+tokens' database (vpnrouter_auth), retrying every INIT_RETRY_SECONDS until both are ready and
+logging each failure. Then it listens.
+
+The service needs nothing else to start and does not end on its own. Every DISCOVERY_SECONDS it
+works out the internal address from /etc/vpn-router/vpn-router.json as general.mode directs,
+with web.port and web.enabled (vpnrouter_net.web_listen), and runs the server there
+(vpnrouter_serve.serve): it starts it, moves it when the address or the port changes, and stops
+it while the service is disabled or the address is not known. Every request reads what it needs when it is made: the signing
 key, the configuration, and the features of the router and the facts shown by /config from
 /run/vpn-router/web.json, which vpn-router-setup writes. Before setup has written that file
 the router has no features, and /config shows no configuration or interfaces.
@@ -49,7 +53,7 @@ import sys
 import threading
 import time
 from html import escape
-from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, ThreadingHTTPServer
+from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler

 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))

@@ -59,11 +63,15 @@ import psycopg
 import vpnrouter
 import vpnrouter_auth
 import vpnrouter_net
+import vpnrouter_serve
 import vpnrouter_users

 STATE_FILE = '/run/vpn-router/web.json'
 CONFIG_FILE = '/etc/vpn-router/vpn-router.json'

+#: Seconds between two attempts of the initialization.
+INIT_RETRY_SECONDS = 15
+
 #: The port when web.port is not set.
 DEFAULT_PORT = 7081

@@ -434,9 +442,9 @@ def users(state, method, path, body):
        return 500, {'error': f'the user directory failed: {exc}'}
    except psycopg.Error as exc:
        return 500, {'error': f'the token database failed: {exc}'}
-    except SystemExit:
-        # vpnrouter ends with SystemExit on a configuration it cannot read; it has printed the reason.
-        return 500, {'error': 'the router configuration cannot be read'}
+    except SystemExit as exc:
+        # vpnrouter ends with SystemExit, carrying the reason, on a configuration it cannot read.
+        return 500, {'error': str(exc.code)}
    return (201 if route == ('POST', 1, None) else 200), document


@@ -538,8 +546,8 @@ def auth(path, body):
        return 500, {'error': f'the user directory failed: {exc}'}
    except psycopg.Error as exc:
        return 500, {'error': f'the token database failed: {exc}'}
-    except SystemExit:
-        return 500, {'error': 'the router configuration cannot be read'}
+    except SystemExit as exc:
+        return 500, {'error': str(exc.code)}


 def auth_wait(address):
@@ -683,63 +691,40 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
        sys.stderr.write('%s - %s [%s] %s\n' % (self.client_address[0], principal, self.log_date_time_string(), format % args))


-def wanted():
-    """Where the service should listen now, as (address, port), or the reason it should not listen."""
-    configuration = read_json(CONFIG_FILE)
-    web = section(configuration, 'web')
-    if web.get('enabled', True) is False:
-        return None, 'the web service is disabled in the configuration'
-    port = web.get('port', DEFAULT_PORT)
-    if isinstance(port, bool) or not isinstance(port, int) or not 1 <= port <= 65535:
-        port = DEFAULT_PORT
-    general, interfaces, local = (section(configuration, name) for name in ('general', 'interfaces', 'local'))
-    address = vpnrouter_net.internal_address(str(general.get('mode') or 'manual'), str(interfaces.get('internal') or ''),
-                                             str(local.get('int_addr') or ''))
-    if not address:
-        return None, 'the internal address is not known yet'
-    return (address, port), ''
-
-
 def log(message):
    print(f'vpn-router-web: {message}', file=sys.stderr, flush=True)


-def discover():
-    """Work out where to listen every DISCOVERY_SECONDS, and run the server thread there.
-
-    When the address or the port changes, the server thread is stopped and a new one listens at
-    the new place; while the service is disabled, the address is not known or it cannot be bound,
-    no server runs and the next round tries again.
-    """
-    server, thread, listening, reported = None, None, None, None
+def initialize():
+    """Make the signing key and the refresh tokens' database, retrying every INIT_RETRY_SECONDS until both are ready."""
+    reported = None
    while True:
-        target, reason = wanted()
-        if target != listening and server is not None:
-            server.shutdown()
-            server.server_close()
-            thread.join()
-            server, listening = None, None
-        if target is not None and server is None:
-            try:
-                server = ThreadingHTTPServer(target, Handler)
-            except OSError as exc:
-                reason = f'cannot listen on {target[0]}:{target[1]}: {exc}'
-            else:
-                thread = threading.Thread(target=server.serve_forever, name='server', daemon=True)
-                thread.start()
-                listening, reason = target, f'serving on http://{target[0]}:{target[1]}'
-        if reason and reason != reported:
-            log(reason)
-            reported = reason
-        time.sleep(DISCOVERY_SECONDS)
+        phase = 'reading the configuration'
+        try:
+            cfg = vpnrouter.load_config()
+            phase = 'making the signing key'
+            vpnrouter_auth.ensure_key()
+            phase = 'creating the token database'
+            vpnrouter_auth.provision(cfg)
+            phase = 'connecting to the token database'
+            vpnrouter_auth.connect(cfg).close()
+        except (OSError, psycopg.Error, SystemExit) as exc:
+            error = f'{phase} failed: {exc.code if isinstance(exc, SystemExit) else exc}'
+            if error != reported:
+                log(f'{error}; retrying every {INIT_RETRY_SECONDS} seconds')
+                reported = error
+            time.sleep(INIT_RETRY_SECONDS)
+            continue
+        log('ready')
+        return


 def main():
    signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, lambda *_: sys.exit(0))
-    discovery = threading.Thread(target=discover, name='discovery', daemon=True)
-    discovery.start()
+    initialize()
    try:
-        discovery.join()
+        vpnrouter_serve.serve(lambda: vpnrouter_net.web_listen(read_json(CONFIG_FILE), DEFAULT_PORT), Handler, log,
+                              DISCOVERY_SECONDS)
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        pass
    return 0
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
slawek	c0cd323a0c	feature: bootstrap diagnostics on port 17081 during the first setup. Release / release (push) Successful in 13s Details	2026-10-24 10:07:22 +02:00
slawek	2e2bacee7d	feature: the web service creates its key and database itself and shows its starting phase. Release / release (push) Successful in 29s Details	2026-10-24 09:07:28 +02:00