m3tal-core

README

M3TAL System Documentation

Overview

This document provides technical details and operational procedures for the M3TAL system. It describes the system's architecture, component interactions, deployment mechanisms, and management interfaces.

Prerequisites

Docker Engine and Docker Compose V2 are strictly REQUIRED and must be installed prior to M3TAL installation and operation. M3TAL internally orchestrates Docker containers using Docker Engine and Docker Compose V2.

Installation

To install the M3TAL CLI and API daemon via APT, execute the following commands:

# 1. Add the GPG signing key
curl -fsSL https://jakej985-rgb.github.io/m3tal-core/KEY.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/m3tal-archive-keyring.gpg

# 2. Add the APT repository
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/m3tal-archive-keyring.gpg] https://jakej985-rgb.github.io/m3tal-core stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/m3tal.list

# 3. Install
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y m3tal

Firewall Considerations

If you are using Traefik for public-facing access (i.e., DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE=traefik or exposing other services via Traefik), ensure that host port 80 (and 443 if HTTPS is configured) is open in your firewall (e.g., ufw allow 80/tcp).

Components

The M3TAL system comprises the following core components:

• CLI binary (/usr/bin/m3tal): A unified Go binary serving as the single entrypoint for all M3TAL operations.
• API daemon (m3tal-api.service): A Go binary running as a systemd service, listening on host-local port 8080. It manages Docker interactions, the state database, and exposes API routes.
• Dashboard container (m3tal-dashboard): A Python/Flask container running internally on port 8082. It communicates with the M3TAL API daemon via http://host.docker.internal:8080.
• Traefik gateway (routing-compose.yml): A Docker container acting as a reverse proxy, exposing services by domain name on host port 80. It utilizes a file provider for dynamic routing configurations.
• Cloudflared (routing-compose.yml): An optional Cloudflare tunnel container, facilitating zero-configuration internet access for services.

Filesystem Contract

The following table details the critical directories and files within the M3TAL filesystem:

Path	Purpose
/etc/m3tal/.env	The primary configuration file, managed by m3tal config wizard.
/var/lib/m3tal/state.db	The SQLite state database, automatically created and managed by the API daemon.
/opt/m3tal/stack/	The canonical directory containing all Docker Compose stack files and Traefik configuration.
/docker	A symlink to /opt/m3tal/stack/. This is the user-facing path for all stack operations.
/docker/users.json	The credential store for the M3TAL Dashboard, managed by m3tal dashpass.

Deployment Lifecycle

M3TAL orchestrates Docker containers using Docker Compose V2. The m3tal up command is a wrapper around docker compose that operates on all *-compose.yml files located within the /docker/ directory, effectively deploying each as an independent stack. Note that /docker is a symlink to /opt/m3tal/stack/, which is the canonical source of truth directory where all stack files reside.

Adding a New Stack

To deploy a new Docker Compose stack:

1. Place your Docker Compose file (e.g., my-stack-compose.yml) directly into the /docker/ directory. This file will be automatically included by m3tal up.
2. Ensure any required environment variables for your stack are defined in /etc/m3tal/.env (use m3tal config wizard or m3tal config set KEY value).
3. Run m3tal up to start all deployed stacks, including your new service.

Dashboard Access

The M3TAL Dashboard supports two distinct access modes, controlled by the DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE variable in /etc/m3tal/.env.

Local Mode (Default)

• Configuration: DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE=local (This is the default setting for a new installation.)
• Mechanism: This mode utilizes the m3tal-compose.local.yml override file, which adds a direct port binding to the dashboard container (${DASHBOARD_PORT:-8082}:8082).
• Access: The M3TAL Dashboard is directly accessible via http://HOST_IP:8082 or http://localhost:8082.
• Requirements: Traefik is not required for this mode. A new user performing a default M3TAL installation will access the dashboard directly via port 8082.
• Use Case: Ideal for LAN-only setups, first-time users, and local development or testing environments.

Traefik Mode

• Configuration: DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE=traefik
• Mechanism: This mode utilizes the m3tal-compose.traefik.yml override, which adds Traefik labels to the dashboard service. Traefik then routes traffic from dash.DOMAIN to the dashboard container's internal port 8082.
• Access: The M3TAL Dashboard is accessible via http://dash.DOMAIN.
• Requirements: Traefik must be running as part of the M3TAL deployment (m3tal up).
• Use Case: Suited for domain-based setups and environments where multiple services are exposed behind a single reverse proxy.

Traefik Gateway

Traefik is deployed as a Docker container via routing-compose.yml and serves as the primary ingress point for external services. It binds host port 80 (and 443 if HTTPS is configured) as its HTTP entry point.

Traefik automatically discovers and routes traffic to Docker services by interpreting Traefik labels defined within their Docker Compose service definitions. Crucially, services are not exposed by Traefik by default and require traefik.enable=true along with other relevant labels to be discoverable and routable.

Traefik also loads dynamic configuration files (such as those in /docker/dynamic/) which allow routing requests to services not directly managed by Docker Compose labels. For instance, the dynamic/api.yml file configures Traefik to route api.DOMAIN to the Go API daemon listening on the host-local port 8080 via http://host.docker.internal:8080. Similarly, dash.DOMAIN routes to the m3tal-dashboard container when DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE=traefik.

Exposing a Custom Service via Traefik

To expose a custom user service, define appropriate Traefik labels in its Docker Compose service definition, ensuring it is connected to the proxy network:

# In your /docker/my-app-compose.yml
services:
  my-app:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: my-custom-nginx
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.myapp.rule=Host(`app.DOMAIN`)"
      - "traefik.http.services.myapp.loadbalancer.server.port=80"
      - "traefik.http.routers.myapp.entrypoints=web"
    networks:
      - proxy

networks:
  proxy:
    external: true

After placing this file in /docker/ and ensuring DOMAIN is configured in /etc/m3tal/.env, run m3tal up to deploy and expose my-app at http://app.DOMAIN.

Service Management

The M3TAL API daemon is managed as a systemd service, m3tal-api.service. You can interact with it using standard systemctl commands:

• Check status: systemctl status m3tal-api.service
• Restart service: systemctl restart m3tal-api.service
• View logs: journalctl -u m3tal-api.service -f

Quick Demo

The m3tal CLI provides specific commands for managing parts of the system:

• Start the M3TAL Dashboard:

  m3tal dash up
  

  This command specifically starts the m3tal-dashboard container, ensuring the correct DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE override is applied.

• Deploy all M3TAL stacks and user-defined services:

  m3tal up
  

  This command orchestrates and deploys all Docker Compose stacks found within the /docker/ directory, including the routing stack (Traefik, Cloudflared) and any user-defined compose files.

Port Map

The following table lists the primary network ports utilized by the M3TAL system:

Port	Service	Access	Description
80	Traefik HTTP entry point	Public	The public-facing HTTP port for services exposed via Traefik.
8080	M3TAL API daemon (Go)	Host-local	The internal port the M3TAL API daemon listens on.
8081	Traefik dashboard	Host-local only	The internal Traefik dashboard port, accessible only from the host machine.
8082	M3TAL Dashboard	Direct port (local mode) or via Traefik (traefik mode)	The port the M3TAL Dashboard container listens on internally. Access method depends on DASHBOARD_EXPOSE_MODE.

Note: These are the primary M3TAL-managed ports. User-added Docker Compose stacks may expose additional ports on their own, depending on their configurations.