docs: why the tunnel and the feeder's SSH path are not redundant; newt done

Asked "why do we need Pangolin if you proposed rsync/ssh?", and the runbook did
not actually answer it -- it stated both were needed without saying why neither
substitutes. New section 1.3:

  - Pangolin/HTTPS carries the MCP tool surface (search, add_drawer,
    diary_write, kg_*) -- every live tool call, from any MCP client.
  - SSH/rsync carries transcript *files* only, because mempalace_mine expands
    its source path server-side, so the server can only mine its own disk.

HTTPS alone is a palace you can query but cannot feed; SSH alone is files with
no query API. The rsync is not a transport preference, it is a workaround for
where `mine` resolves paths.

Records honestly that `ssh -L 8765:172.17.0.1:8765 synlig` *would* replace the
tunnel for MCP, and why we don't: synlig dials out (reaching for a dial-out
tunnel is itself the evidence inbound was unavailable), MCP clients want a
durable URL rather than a per-session forward, and the forward must be up on
every device before every session.

And the design's weak point, stated instead of glossed: the rsync runs
client -> synlig, so mining needs synlig's SSH reachable *from the client*. Were
that true everywhere, no tunnel would be needed for MCP either. Honest
expectation after Phase 1 is therefore: query/write from anywhere, mine only
from devices that can reach synlig's SSH. Section 4 now carries the upstream ask
that would close the gap -- have the feeder send content over MCP (add_drawer /
diary_write, which it already calls) instead of asking the server to mine a path
it must first rsync there.

New section 3.7, a live trap for the imminent client flip:
MEMPALACE_REMOTE_URL on its own does not degrade to local feeding, it *stops*
feeding. auto mode switches to remote as soon as the URL is set (:286) and
remote mode then exits 1 without MEMPALACE_PI_SSH_TARGET (:298-300), before
anything is staged or filed -- so a cron feeder just starts failing, and the
loudest symptom is silence. Two safe orders given: set all three variables in
one edit, or set URL+token and pin --mode local until the SSH target exists.

newt is installed on synlig and connected to Pangolin (done 2026-08-12), marked
here and in the synlig runbook's item 2; the blocker is now item 3, the one
sudo. Added the follow-up that "connected to Pangolin" only proves newt reached
nyvaken -- reaching the *palace* is a separate claim that fails independently,
so probe 172.17.0.1:8765/healthz from inside newt's namespace.

All seven code citations verified against the source at commit time.
This commit is contained in:
Joakim Persson
2026-08-13 00:15:57 +02:00
parent 29e660e18f
commit 00a95d1a2f
2 changed files with 83 additions and 9 deletions
+12 -8
View File
@@ -129,16 +129,20 @@ standing up a network-reachable service while you were asleep was not mine to de
## 4. Tomorrow, in order
> **2026-08-12: items 12 and 5 now have their own runbook —**
> [`phase-1-exposure-runbook.md`](./phase-1-exposure-runbook.md). Pangolin on nyvaken is updated (done).
> newt is still missing on synlig. That doc also records why per-device Pangolin users are the wrong layer,
> and an additional loopback finding: a loopback bind does not merely 403, it also silently starts the
> server with **no token at all** (auto-minting is gated on the bind being non-loopback).
> [`phase-1-exposure-runbook.md`](./phase-1-exposure-runbook.md). Pangolin on nyvaken is updated (done),
> and **newt is now installed on synlig and connected to Pangolin (done 2026-08-12)** — so the blocker is
> now item 3, the one `sudo`. That doc also records why per-device Pangolin users are the wrong layer, why
> the HTTPS tunnel and the feeder's SSH path are **not** redundant (§1.3), the client-flip variable trap
> (§3.7), and an additional loopback finding: a loopback bind does not merely 403, it also silently starts
> the server with **no token at all** (auto-minting is gated on the bind being non-loopback).
1. **Pangolin update on nyvaken** (yours). ✅ done 2026-08-12.
2. **⚠️ synlig has no tunnel client.** `docker ps` shows only the Gitea runner and digikam — no `newt`.
Pangolin on nyvaken cannot reach synlig by itself; synlig needs a newt container (or an equivalent
outbound tunnel) added. Easy to miss because Pangolin will look healthy on its own side. If newt runs
in Docker here, the docker0 bind above is already correct for it.
2. ~~**⚠️ synlig has no tunnel client.**~~**done 2026-08-12** — newt installed and connected to Pangolin.
(Kept for the reasoning: `docker ps` showed only the Gitea runner and digikam. Pangolin on nyvaken
cannot reach synlig by itself; synlig had to dial out. Easy to miss because Pangolin looks healthy on
its own side — which is also why "connected" is not yet proof it can reach the palace: verify
`172.17.0.1:8765/healthz` from *inside* newt's namespace, exposure runbook §3.3.) Since newt runs in
Docker here, the docker0 bind above is already correct for it.
3. **One sudo, then start** (the unit is already staged; just drop the suffix):
```sh
sudo loginctl enable-linger ecsjper