m3tal-core

README

DocSmith here. The README has been audited and updated to reflect the Go-native architecture and standard ecosystem deployment patterns.

---

M3TAL Media Server: Core Orchestrator

M3TAL is the Core Orchestrator of the M3TAL Ecosystem. This repository houses the Go-native orchestration logic, lifecycle management tools, and the CLI binary required to govern the media infrastructure.

---

Architecture Overview

The M3TAL ecosystem is decoupled into three primary layers, interacting exclusively via network protocols and standardized file paths:

• Orchestrator (cmd/m3tal): The native Go CLI binary. It manages the Docker lifecycle, validates configurations, and acts as the entry point for all system administration.
• Backend API (m3tal-goback): The data layer. It provides the REST/gRPC interface used by the Dashboard to query infrastructure status.
• Dashboard (deploy/dashboard): The web-based UI layer (Python/Flask). It communicates with the backend API to visualize system state and process control requests.

---

Quick Start Guide

1. Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose (Plugin v2 recommended).
• OS: Linux (Debian-based recommended for APT compatibility).

2. Installation

Building from source is not required. Install the pre-compiled binary via the official M3TAL APT repository:

# Add the M3TAL public key
curl -sL https://jakej985-rgb.github.io/m3tal-core/public.key | sudo apt-key add -

# Add the repository to your sources
echo 'deb [arch=amd64] https://jakej985-rgb.github.io/m3tal-core stable main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/m3tal.list

# Update and install
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install m3tal

3. Quick Demo

Once installed, initialize your environment:

# Initialize the configuration directory at /etc/m3tal
m3tal setup

# Start the core infrastructure (defined in deploy/stack)
m3tal up

# Start the dashboard UI (defined in deploy/dashboard)
m3tal dash up

---

Filesystem Standard

To ensure the Orchestrator maintains state across containers, the system enforces these strict path conventions:

Path	Purpose
/usr/bin/m3tal	Orchestrator CLI Binary
/etc/m3tal/	System Configuration
/opt/m3tal/stack	Docker Compose manifests
/mnt/m3tal-media	Required media storage mount point

---

Deployment: Docker Configuration

The Orchestrator manages the system by interacting with the Docker socket. Ensure all component services maintain path consistency:

services:
  m3tal-orchestrator:
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /opt/m3tal:/opt/m3tal
      - /mnt:/mnt
    environment:
      - M3TAL_ROOT=/opt/m3tal

---

Ecosystem Integration Rules

• API-Only Communication: Components must not share direct file modification access. All interactions between the Dashboard and the Orchestrator must route through the m3tal-goback API.
• Go-Native Migration: The ecosystem is transitioning away from legacy wrappers. All new logic in the orchestrator must be written in Go.
• Path Consistency: All media assets must be served from the /mnt volume tree. This ensures that the Orchestrator, Backend, and Dashboard see the same file structure regardless of the container namespace.

---

Related Projects

• m3tal-godash: The official web dashboard interface.
• m3tal-goback: The backend API engine for data persistence and orchestration hooks.

M3TAL — Modular Infrastructure Platform. Status: Go-Native Migration Active.