docs: backup and recovery, plus units; move host runbook to a private repo
Adds bin/mempalace-backup and docs/backup-and-recovery.md — the mechanism a palace actually needs, none of it site-specific. Why a palace cannot be backed up with cp: it is chroma.sqlite3 (authoritative), knowledge_graph.sqlite3 (usually WAL, so -wal/-shm make a plain copy a same-instant gamble), derived HNSW segment dirs, hallways.json, the embedder descriptor, and a HIDDEN .mempalace/origin.json. Both SQLite files are therefore copied through the online-backup API. Two bugs are documented because both produce a backup that looks fine: "$PALACE"/*/ silently skips the hidden dir, and per-directory rsync collides the identically named data_level0.bin in every HNSW segment. Treating the palace as one tree fixes both and makes a backup a faithful palace IMAGE, so restore is a copy rather than a procedure. Two modes: hot (default, zero downtime, ~4 s, index may lag but SQLite is authoritative and repair --mode from-sqlite rebuilds) and cold (--cold, ~5 s downtime, byte-consistent, restart trapped so a failed run still brings the server back). Verification runs on the COPY — quick_check plus row counts — and the backup is committed by mv only after it passes, with retention pruned only after a verified commit, so a broken new backup cannot delete the last good one. Documented because they are easy to get wrong: the sqlite3 CLI is often absent where the Python module is present; mempalace_embedder.json must be restored with the drawers or search silently degrades; a tested restore means running status AND search against the restored copy, since search is what actually exercises the index; mempalace-serve is a USER unit, so root systemctl reports "not found"; Persistent=true is what makes a missed window run after boot; and installing against the system Python couples the palace's availability to distribution upgrades, with the uv-managed-interpreter fix plus the two PATH traps that bite scripted upgrades. Also moves docs/synlig-primary-runbook.md out to a private fleet repository, leaving a stub that explains the split, since a host inventory is operator data for one deployment rather than part of a public toolkit. The path stays valid so existing links do not break. Remaining host references in the README, RFCs and ARCHITECTURE are left alone deliberately: they are load-bearing prose, contain no secrets, and are best generalised as they are next edited rather than in one churn-heavy pass.
This commit is contained in:
Joakim Persson
@@ -0,0 +1,282 @@
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
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# mempalace-backup — consistent, verified backups of a file-backed MemPalace palace.
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#
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# WHY THIS EXISTS
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# The fleet primary (RFC-001) had no backups at all. A palace is not one file:
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# it is two SQLite databases (one of them in WAL mode), a set of chromadb HNSW
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# segment directories, and a few JSON sidecars. `cp -r` on a live palace can
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# capture a torn WAL and an index that disagrees with the sqlite.
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#
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# TWO MODES
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# hot (default) Zero downtime. Both SQLite files are copied with the sqlite
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# ONLINE BACKUP API (a transactionally consistent snapshot,
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# WAL included). The HNSW segment dirs are rsynced and may be
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# slightly skewed relative to the sqlite — which is RECOVERABLE,
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# because the sqlite is the source of truth and the index can be
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# rebuilt: `mempalace repair --mode from-sqlite`.
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# cold (--cold) Stops the server, copies everything byte-for-byte, restarts.
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# Guaranteed self-consistent including the index. The restart is
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# trapped so an error still brings the server back.
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#
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# BONUS: restoring the hot backup via `repair --mode from-sqlite --archive-existing`
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# re-CREATES the collections, which is also the only path that applies the modern
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# chromadb HNSW defaults (batch_size=100 / sync_threshold=1000). Palaces created
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# under mempalace <=3.6 are stuck on 2/2 and sync the index every 2 records.
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#
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# NOTE: synlig has no sqlite3 CLI, so every SQLite operation here goes through
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# python3's stdlib sqlite3 module. Do not "simplify" this to `VACUUM INTO`.
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set -euo pipefail
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PALACE="${MEMPALACE_PALACE_PATH:-$HOME/.mempalace/palace}"
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DEST="${MEMPALACE_BACKUP_DIR:-$HOME/backups/mempalace}"
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UNIT="mempalace-serve"
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KEEP=7
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COLD=0
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DRY=0
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VERIFY=""
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usage() {
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cat <<'USAGE'
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usage: mempalace-backup [--cold] [--dest DIR] [--keep N] [--palace DIR] [--dry-run]
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mempalace-backup --verify BACKUP_DIR
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--cold quiesce the server (stop/copy/start) for a byte-consistent copy
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--dest DIR backup root (default: $HOME/backups/mempalace)
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--keep N how many backups to retain (default: 7; 0 = keep all)
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--palace DIR palace to back up (default: $MEMPALACE_PALACE_PATH or ~/.mempalace/palace)
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--dry-run report what would happen, touch nothing
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--verify DIR integrity-check an existing backup and print its counts
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USAGE
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}
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while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
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case "$1" in
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--cold) COLD=1 ;;
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--dest) DEST="$2"; shift ;;
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--keep) KEEP="$2"; shift ;;
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--palace) PALACE="$2"; shift ;;
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--dry-run) DRY=1 ;;
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--verify) VERIFY="$2"; shift ;;
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-h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
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*) echo "mempalace-backup: unknown option $1" >&2; usage >&2; exit 2 ;;
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esac
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shift
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done
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log() { printf '%s %s\n' "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" "$*"; }
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die() { log "ERROR: $*"; exit 1; }
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# ── shared python helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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# check_db: PRAGMA quick_check + row counts, on a copy. Prints JSON.
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py_check() {
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python3 - "$1" <<'PY'
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import json, os, sqlite3, sys
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path = sys.argv[1]
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out = {"file": os.path.basename(path), "bytes": os.path.getsize(path)}
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try:
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c = sqlite3.connect(f"file:{path}?mode=ro", uri=True)
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out["quick_check"] = c.execute("PRAGMA quick_check").fetchone()[0]
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tables = [r[0] for r in c.execute(
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"SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'")]
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out["tables"] = len(tables)
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counts = {}
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if "embedding_metadata" in tables:
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counts["drawers"] = c.execute(
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"SELECT count(*) FROM embedding_metadata "
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"WHERE key='chroma:document'").fetchone()[0]
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for t in ("facts", "triples", "entities"):
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if t in tables:
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counts[t] = c.execute(f"SELECT count(*) FROM {t}").fetchone()[0]
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out["counts"] = counts
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c.close()
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except Exception as exc: # noqa: BLE001 — report, never mask
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out["error"] = repr(exc)
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print(json.dumps(out))
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PY
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}
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# ── --verify: inspect an existing backup, then exit ──────────────────────────
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if [ -n "$VERIFY" ]; then
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[ -d "$VERIFY" ] || die "no such backup dir: $VERIFY"
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log "verifying $VERIFY"
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rc=0
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for db in "$VERIFY"/chroma.sqlite3 "$VERIFY"/knowledge_graph.sqlite3; do
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[ -f "$db" ] || { log " MISSING $(basename "$db")"; rc=1; continue; }
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res=$(py_check "$db")
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log " $res"
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printf '%s' "$res" | grep -q '"quick_check": "ok"' || rc=1
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done
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if [ -f "$VERIFY/MANIFEST.json" ]; then
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python3 - "$VERIFY/MANIFEST.json" <<'PY'
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import json, sys
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m = json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))
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print(" manifest: created={created_utc} mode={mode} bytes={bytes_total} "
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"mempalace={mempalace_version}".format(**m))
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print(" index :", m.get("index_consistency", "?"))
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PY
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fi
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[ "$rc" -eq 0 ] && log "VERIFY OK" || log "VERIFY FAILED"
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exit "$rc"
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fi
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# ── preflight ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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[ -d "$PALACE" ] || die "palace not found: $PALACE"
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[ -f "$PALACE/chroma.sqlite3" ] || die "no chroma.sqlite3 in $PALACE — wrong dir?"
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command -v rsync >/dev/null || die "rsync not found"
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STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
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MODE=$([ "$COLD" -eq 1 ] && echo cold || echo hot)
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OUT="$DEST/mp-$STAMP-$MODE"
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TMP="$OUT.incomplete"
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log "palace : $PALACE ($(du -sh "$PALACE" | cut -f1))"
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log "dest : $OUT"
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log "mode : $MODE keep: $KEEP"
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if [ "$DRY" -eq 1 ]; then
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log "dry-run: would create $OUT"
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log "dry-run: would copy chroma.sqlite3 + knowledge_graph.sqlite3 via sqlite backup API"
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log "dry-run: would rsync the palace tree ($(find "$PALACE" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 | wc -l) top-level entries, hidden included) minus SQLite"
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[ "$COLD" -eq 1 ] && log "dry-run: would stop/start $UNIT"
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exit 0
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fi
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mkdir -p "$TMP"
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# ── cold mode: quiesce, with a trap so the server always comes back ─────────
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STOPPED=0
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restart_if_stopped() {
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if [ "$STOPPED" -eq 1 ]; then
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log "restarting $UNIT"
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systemctl --user start "$UNIT" || log "WARNING: failed to start $UNIT — CHECK MANUALLY"
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STOPPED=0
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fi
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}
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trap restart_if_stopped EXIT INT TERM
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if [ "$COLD" -eq 1 ]; then
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log "stopping $UNIT (quiesce)"
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systemctl --user stop "$UNIT"
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STOPPED=1
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# Give an in-flight mine a moment to release the writer lease.
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sleep 2
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fi
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# ── the copy ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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# Order matters: rsync the tree FIRST, then write the two SQLite files as
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# consistent snapshots, so the databases are the freshest thing in the backup.
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#
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# rsync takes everything EXCEPT the SQLite files (and their -wal/-shm): the HNSW
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# segment dirs, the JSON sidecars, and hidden dirs such as .mempalace/origin.json
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# — a `"$PALACE"/*/` glob silently skips those, which is exactly the bug this
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# structure removes. The payoff: a backup dir IS a palace image, so restore is a
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# copy rather than a procedure.
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log "rsyncing palace tree (excluding SQLite)"
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rsync -a \
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--exclude 'chroma.sqlite3' --exclude 'chroma.sqlite3-*' \
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--exclude 'knowledge_graph.sqlite3' --exclude 'knowledge_graph.sqlite3-*' \
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"$PALACE"/ "$TMP"/
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# SQLite: online backup API. Consistent even mid-write, and WAL-aware — which
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# matters because knowledge_graph.sqlite3 runs in WAL mode (-wal/-shm present).
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for db in chroma.sqlite3 knowledge_graph.sqlite3; do
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[ -f "$PALACE/$db" ] || { log "skip $db (absent)"; continue; }
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log "sqlite-backup $db"
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python3 - "$PALACE/$db" "$TMP/$db" <<'PY'
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import sqlite3, sys
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src_path, dst_path = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
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try:
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src = sqlite3.connect(f"file:{src_path}?mode=ro", uri=True)
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except sqlite3.OperationalError:
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src = sqlite3.connect(src_path) # fall back if ro open is refused
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dst = sqlite3.connect(dst_path)
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with dst:
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src.backup(dst) # atomic, consistent snapshot
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dst.close(); src.close()
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PY
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done
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restart_if_stopped
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trap - EXIT INT TERM
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# ── verify the COPY, not the original ───────────────────────────────────────
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log "verifying copies"
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CHROMA_JSON=$(py_check "$TMP/chroma.sqlite3")
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log " $CHROMA_JSON"
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printf '%s' "$CHROMA_JSON" | grep -q '"quick_check": "ok"' \
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|| die "chroma.sqlite3 copy failed quick_check — backup NOT committed"
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KG_JSON='{}'
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if [ -f "$TMP/knowledge_graph.sqlite3" ]; then
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KG_JSON=$(py_check "$TMP/knowledge_graph.sqlite3")
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log " $KG_JSON"
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printf '%s' "$KG_JSON" | grep -q '"quick_check": "ok"' \
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|| die "knowledge_graph.sqlite3 copy failed quick_check — backup NOT committed"
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fi
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# ── manifest ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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MEMPALACE_VER=$("$HOME/.local/bin/mempalace" --version 2>/dev/null | head -1 || echo unknown)
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python3 - "$TMP/MANIFEST.json" "$STAMP" "$MODE" "$PALACE" "$MEMPALACE_VER" \
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"$CHROMA_JSON" "$KG_JSON" <<'PY'
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|
import json, os, socket, subprocess, sys
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|
out, stamp, mode, palace, ver, chroma, kg = sys.argv[1:8]
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|
def size(p):
|
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|
t = 0
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|
for root, _dirs, files in os.walk(p):
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||||||
|
for f in files:
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||||||
|
try: t += os.path.getsize(os.path.join(root, f))
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|
except OSError: pass
|
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|
return t
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||||||
|
man = {
|
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|
"created_utc": stamp,
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|
"mode": mode,
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|
"host": socket.gethostname(),
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|
"palace_path": palace,
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|
"mempalace_version": ver.strip(),
|
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|
"bytes_total": size(os.path.dirname(out)),
|
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|
"chroma": json.loads(chroma),
|
||||||
|
"knowledge_graph": json.loads(kg) if kg.strip() != "{}" else None,
|
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|
"index_consistency": (
|
||||||
|
"byte-consistent (server quiesced)" if mode == "cold" else
|
||||||
|
"sqlite is authoritative; HNSW segments may lag a few writes — "
|
||||||
|
"restore with `mempalace repair --mode from-sqlite` if search misbehaves"
|
||||||
|
),
|
||||||
|
"restore": [
|
||||||
|
"# a backup dir IS a palace image — restore is a copy, not a procedure",
|
||||||
|
"systemctl --user stop mempalace-serve",
|
||||||
|
"mv ~/.mempalace/palace ~/.mempalace/palace.broken-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)",
|
||||||
|
"mkdir -p ~/.mempalace/palace",
|
||||||
|
"rsync -a --exclude MANIFEST.json <backup>/ ~/.mempalace/palace/",
|
||||||
|
"systemctl --user start mempalace-serve",
|
||||||
|
"# hot backups only: if search misbehaves or the index count looks stale,",
|
||||||
|
"# rebuild the HNSW index from the authoritative sqlite -- this also",
|
||||||
|
"# re-creates collections with modern HNSW defaults (100/1000):",
|
||||||
|
"mempalace repair --mode from-sqlite --archive-existing --yes",
|
||||||
|
],
|
||||||
|
}
|
||||||
|
with open(out, "w") as fh:
|
||||||
|
json.dump(man, fh, indent=2)
|
||||||
|
print(json.dumps({k: man[k] for k in ("created_utc", "mode", "bytes_total")}))
|
||||||
|
PY
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
mv "$TMP" "$OUT"
|
||||||
|
log "committed $OUT ($(du -sh "$OUT" | cut -f1))"
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
# ── retention: only ever prune AFTER a committed, verified backup ───────────
|
||||||
|
if [ "$KEEP" -gt 0 ]; then
|
||||||
|
mapfile -t all < <(find "$DEST" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name 'mp-*' | sort)
|
||||||
|
n=${#all[@]}
|
||||||
|
if [ "$n" -gt "$KEEP" ]; then
|
||||||
|
for old in "${all[@]:0:$((n - KEEP))}"; do
|
||||||
|
log "pruning $old"
|
||||||
|
rm -rf "$old"
|
||||||
|
done
|
||||||
|
fi
|
||||||
|
log "retained $(find "$DEST" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name 'mp-*' | wc -l)/$KEEP"
|
||||||
|
fi
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
# Leftover .incomplete dirs mean a previous run died — surface, don't hide.
|
||||||
|
for stale in "$DEST"/mp-*.incomplete; do
|
||||||
|
[ -e "$stale" ] && log "NOTE: stale incomplete backup present: $stale"
|
||||||
|
done
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
log "done"
|
||||||
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ Pick **one scheduler** (systemd *or* launchd *or* cron). The opencode and pi job
|
|||||||
| `cron/mempalace-pi-session.cron` | pi → palace | Tue 03:00 |
|
| `cron/mempalace-pi-session.cron` | pi → palace | Tue 03:00 |
|
||||||
| `cron/mempalace-session-devbox.cron` | opencode (devbox) → palace | Mon 03:00 |
|
| `cron/mempalace-session-devbox.cron` | opencode (devbox) → palace | Mon 03:00 |
|
||||||
| `systemd/mempalace-serve.service` | **not a mining job** — runs the shared palace *server* | always-on |
|
| `systemd/mempalace-serve.service` | **not a mining job** — runs the shared palace *server* | always-on |
|
||||||
|
| `systemd/mempalace-backup.{service,timer}` | **not a mining job** — hot palace backup (zero downtime) | daily 04:00 |
|
||||||
|
| `systemd/mempalace-backup-cold.{service,timer}` | **not a mining job** — cold palace backup (~5 s downtime, byte-consistent) | Sun 04:30 |
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
The pi variants are drop-in copies of the opencode variants with script name and schedule updated; the install recipes below apply equally — just swap `mempalace-session` for `mempalace-pi-session` and the schedule day.
|
The pi variants are drop-in copies of the opencode variants with script name and schedule updated; the install recipes below apply equally — just swap `mempalace-session` for `mempalace-pi-session` and the schedule day.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
|||||||
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
|
|||||||
|
[Unit]
|
||||||
|
Description=MemPalace backup (cold — quiesces the server for a byte-consistent copy)
|
||||||
|
Documentation=file:%h/mempalace-toolkit/docs/backup-and-recovery.md
|
||||||
|
ConditionPathExists=%h/.mempalace/palace
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Service]
|
||||||
|
Type=oneshot
|
||||||
|
# Cold mode stops mempalace-serve, copies the palace at rest (so the HNSW index
|
||||||
|
# is byte-consistent with the SQLite, not merely repairable from it), and starts
|
||||||
|
# it again. The restart is trapped on EXIT/INT/TERM inside the script, so an
|
||||||
|
# interrupted or failed run still brings the server back up.
|
||||||
|
#
|
||||||
|
# Measured downtime on a 223 MB palace: ~5 seconds.
|
||||||
|
#
|
||||||
|
# NOTE: mempalace-serve.service ships a drop-in with Restart=always. That is
|
||||||
|
# correct for crash recovery but means an explicit `systemctl --user stop` is the
|
||||||
|
# only way to keep it down for the duration of the copy — do not expect a plain
|
||||||
|
# SIGTERM to hold it.
|
||||||
|
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/mempalace-backup --cold --keep 7
|
||||||
|
Nice=10
|
||||||
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
|
|||||||
|
[Unit]
|
||||||
|
Description=Weekly cold MemPalace backup
|
||||||
|
Documentation=file:%h/mempalace-toolkit/docs/backup-and-recovery.md
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Timer]
|
||||||
|
# Half an hour after the daily hot backup, so the two never overlap on the
|
||||||
|
# palace lock even if the hot run is unusually slow.
|
||||||
|
OnCalendar=Sun 04:30:00
|
||||||
|
Persistent=true
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Install]
|
||||||
|
WantedBy=timers.target
|
||||||
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
|
|||||||
|
[Unit]
|
||||||
|
Description=MemPalace backup (hot — zero downtime, SQLite online-backup API)
|
||||||
|
Documentation=file:%h/mempalace-toolkit/docs/backup-and-recovery.md
|
||||||
|
# Better a skipped run than a run that creates an empty palace somewhere and
|
||||||
|
# then dutifully backs it up.
|
||||||
|
ConditionPathExists=%h/.mempalace/palace
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Service]
|
||||||
|
Type=oneshot
|
||||||
|
# Hot mode never stops mempalace-serve. Both SQLite files are copied through the
|
||||||
|
# online-backup API (transactionally consistent, WAL-aware); the HNSW index
|
||||||
|
# segments are copied live and may lag a few records. That is acceptable because
|
||||||
|
# SQLite is authoritative — see docs/backup-and-recovery.md §3.
|
||||||
|
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/mempalace-backup --keep 7
|
||||||
|
# Backups are not urgent; the palace server and any running mine are. Yielding
|
||||||
|
# CPU and I/O keeps a 4-second backup from lengthening someone's interactive
|
||||||
|
# search.
|
||||||
|
Nice=10
|
||||||
|
IOSchedulingClass=idle
|
||||||
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
|
|||||||
|
[Unit]
|
||||||
|
Description=Daily hot MemPalace backup
|
||||||
|
Documentation=file:%h/mempalace-toolkit/docs/backup-and-recovery.md
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Timer]
|
||||||
|
OnCalendar=*-*-* 04:00:00
|
||||||
|
# If the host was powered off at 04:00, run shortly after the next boot instead
|
||||||
|
# of silently skipping that day. Without this, a laptop or an occasionally-off
|
||||||
|
# server quietly accumulates days with no backup.
|
||||||
|
Persistent=true
|
||||||
|
# Avoid colliding with other maintenance that also picked the top of the hour.
|
||||||
|
RandomizedDelaySec=300
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
[Install]
|
||||||
|
WantedBy=timers.target
|
||||||
@@ -0,0 +1,275 @@
|
|||||||
|
# Backing up and recovering a palace
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
A palace is not one file, so `cp -r` is not a backup. This document explains what
|
||||||
|
a palace is made of, why the obvious approaches silently corrupt it, and how
|
||||||
|
`bin/mempalace-backup` avoids that — plus how to actually restore one and prove
|
||||||
|
the restore worked.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Host-specific details (which machine is primary, addresses, users, offsite
|
||||||
|
targets) deliberately live outside this repo. Substitute `<PRIMARY_HOST>` and
|
||||||
|
`<USER>` throughout.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 1. What is actually in a palace
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Run `ls -a` on a palace directory and you get something like this — sizes are
|
||||||
|
from a real ~25k-drawer palace, for a sense of proportion:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
| Path | Size | What it is |
|
||||||
|
|---|---|---|
|
||||||
|
| `chroma.sqlite3` | 167 MB | **The authoritative store.** Drawers, chunks, metadata, embeddings. |
|
||||||
|
| `<uuid>/` (one per segment) | 50 MB, 2.8 MB | chromadb HNSW index segments (`data_level0.bin`, `index_metadata.pickle`). Derived data. |
|
||||||
|
| `knowledge_graph.sqlite3` | 64 KB | KG triples + entities. **Usually in WAL mode** — see §2. |
|
||||||
|
| `knowledge_graph.sqlite3-wal` / `-shm` | varies | Live write-ahead log. Their existence is the whole problem. |
|
||||||
|
| `hallways.json` | 10.8 MB | Within-wing co-occurrence links, rebuilt by `mempalace hallways`. |
|
||||||
|
| `known_entities.json`, `mempalace_embedder.json` | < 1 KB | Entity list; **which embedder model this palace was built with**. |
|
||||||
|
| `.mempalace/origin.json` | small | Provenance. **Hidden** — see the glob trap in §3. |
|
||||||
|
| `.collection_type_fixed`, `.blob_seq_ids_migrated` | 0 B | Migration marker files. Presence is the signal. |
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Two consequences worth internalising:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- **The SQLite files are the truth; the index segments are derived.** If the
|
||||||
|
index is stale or damaged you can rebuild it from SQLite. The reverse is not
|
||||||
|
true. This asymmetry is what makes a zero-downtime backup possible at all.
|
||||||
|
- **`mempalace_embedder.json` is not optional.** Restoring drawers next to a
|
||||||
|
*different* embedder model gives you a palace whose stored vectors and future
|
||||||
|
queries live in different spaces — search silently degrades rather than
|
||||||
|
failing. Back it up, and check it after a restore.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 2. Why `cp` is unsafe, specifically
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
SQLite in WAL mode keeps recent commits in `-wal` and shared state in `-shm`.
|
||||||
|
Copying those three files with `cp` gives you no guarantee they are from the same
|
||||||
|
instant: the copier can read `chroma.sqlite3` before a checkpoint and `-wal`
|
||||||
|
after it. The result usually *opens* — which is the dangerous part — and then
|
||||||
|
misbehaves later, or fails `PRAGMA integrity_check` under load.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
`rsync` has exactly the same problem: it is not a snapshot, it is a sequence of
|
||||||
|
reads.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The supported approach is SQLite's **online backup API**, which takes a
|
||||||
|
transactionally consistent copy of a live database while writers continue:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```python
|
||||||
|
import sqlite3
|
||||||
|
src = sqlite3.connect(f"file:{src_path}?mode=ro", uri=True)
|
||||||
|
dst = sqlite3.connect(dst_path)
|
||||||
|
with dst:
|
||||||
|
src.backup(dst) # WAL-aware, consistent, no writer downtime
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Two practical notes:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- **`VACUUM INTO` is a fine alternative in principle**, but it needs either the
|
||||||
|
`sqlite3` CLI or a Python build new enough for it. Do not assume the CLI is
|
||||||
|
present: a stock Ubuntu server often has the Python `sqlite3` *module* and no
|
||||||
|
`sqlite3` *binary*. Check with `command -v sqlite3` before writing tooling
|
||||||
|
that depends on it.
|
||||||
|
- Open the source with `mode=ro` so a backup can never be the thing that
|
||||||
|
creates a `-wal` file in a directory you meant only to read.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 3. Two backup modes, and the honest tradeoff
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
`bin/mempalace-backup` implements both. Neither is strictly better.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
### hot (default) — zero downtime
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
1. `rsync` the whole palace tree **excluding** the SQLite files.
|
||||||
|
2. Write both SQLite files via the online-backup API.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The server never stops. The index segments are copied while they may be being
|
||||||
|
written, so in principle they can lag the SQLite by a few records. That is
|
||||||
|
acceptable *because the SQLite is authoritative*: if search misbehaves after a
|
||||||
|
restore, rebuild the index (§5).
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Measured on a 223 MB palace: **~4 s**.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
### cold (`--cold`) — byte-consistent
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
1. Stop the server (`systemctl --user stop mempalace-serve`).
|
||||||
|
2. Copy everything, including the index, at rest.
|
||||||
|
3. Restart the server.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The restart is in a `trap … EXIT INT TERM`, so an interruption mid-copy still
|
||||||
|
brings the server back. Measured downtime: **~5 s**.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Recommended schedule: **hot daily, cold weekly**. The cold copy is your
|
||||||
|
byte-exact reference; the hot copies bound your data loss between them.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
### The glob trap that cost two rewrites
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Two bugs are worth naming because both produce a backup that looks fine:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- **`"$PALACE"/*/` skips hidden directories.** `.mempalace/origin.json` is
|
||||||
|
silently omitted, so the restored palace loses its provenance. Shell globs do
|
||||||
|
not match dotfiles without `dotglob`/`GLOBIGNORE` fiddling.
|
||||||
|
- **Per-directory rsync collides identically named files.** Every HNSW segment
|
||||||
|
contains a `data_level0.bin`. Copying segment dirs into one destination
|
||||||
|
merges them and the last write wins — a corrupt index that still loads.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The fix for both is to treat the palace as **one tree**: a single
|
||||||
|
`rsync -a --exclude` of the SQLite files, so a backup directory is a faithful
|
||||||
|
*image* of the palace. That makes restore a copy rather than a procedure.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 4. Verify the copy, not the original
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
A backup you have not read back is a hypothesis. After copying, and **before**
|
||||||
|
committing the backup or pruning old ones, the tool runs against the *copy*:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- `PRAGMA quick_check` on both databases
|
||||||
|
- row counts (`drawers`, `triples`, `entities`)
|
||||||
|
- a `MANIFEST.json` recording counts, sizes, mode, tool version, and the
|
||||||
|
index-consistency caveat for hot backups
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Sequencing matters as much as the checks:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
1. write into `<dest>.incomplete/`
|
||||||
|
2. verify
|
||||||
|
3. `mv` into place (atomic commit)
|
||||||
|
4. **only now** prune old backups to the retention limit
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Retention pruning that runs before verification can delete your last good
|
||||||
|
backup on the night the new one is broken. A leftover `.incomplete` directory is
|
||||||
|
a visible symptom, not silent data loss, so the tool reports stale ones.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 5. Restoring
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Because a backup is a palace image, restore is a copy:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```bash
|
||||||
|
systemctl --user stop mempalace-serve
|
||||||
|
mv ~/.mempalace/palace ~/.mempalace/palace.broken-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)
|
||||||
|
mkdir -p ~/.mempalace/palace
|
||||||
|
rsync -a --exclude MANIFEST.json <backup-dir>/ ~/.mempalace/palace/
|
||||||
|
systemctl --user start mempalace-serve
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Keep the old directory until the restore is proven. It costs disk and buys you a
|
||||||
|
second attempt.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
**If the restore came from a hot backup and search behaves oddly**, rebuild the
|
||||||
|
derived index from the authoritative SQLite:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```bash
|
||||||
|
mempalace repair --mode from-sqlite
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Note that a full `repair --mode from-sqlite --archive-existing` re-creates the
|
||||||
|
chromadb collections, which means new collections pick up **current** HNSW
|
||||||
|
tuning defaults. On palaces created by older versions this is also the only way
|
||||||
|
to escape legacy `hnsw:batch_size=2 / hnsw:sync_threshold=2` settings, which sync
|
||||||
|
the index every two records. Check yours with:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```sql
|
||||||
|
SELECT c.name, k.key, k.str_value FROM collections c
|
||||||
|
JOIN collection_metadata k ON k.collection_id = c.id
|
||||||
|
WHERE k.key LIKE 'hnsw%';
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 6. Prove the restore, don't assume it
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
"The files copied" is not a tested restore. Restore to a throwaway directory and
|
||||||
|
make the palace *answer questions*:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```bash
|
||||||
|
rsync -a --exclude MANIFEST.json <backup-dir>/ /tmp/restore-test/
|
||||||
|
export MEMPALACE_PALACE_PATH=/tmp/restore-test
|
||||||
|
mempalace status # drawer count — compare to the source
|
||||||
|
mempalace search "some phrase you know is in there"
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
`status` proves the schema and metadata survived. **`search` is the stronger
|
||||||
|
test**: it exercises the HNSW segments, so it is what tells you whether a
|
||||||
|
*hot* backup's index came across usable. On the reference run above it returned
|
||||||
|
correctly ranked results (`cosine_sim=0.398 bm25=2.992`) from a zero-downtime
|
||||||
|
backup — the theoretical index skew did not materialise.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Do this at least once when you set backups up, and again after any version
|
||||||
|
upgrade that touches storage.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 7. Scheduling that survives a reboot
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Use **systemd user timers** with lingering enabled, so backups run without
|
||||||
|
anyone logging in:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```bash
|
||||||
|
loginctl enable-linger <USER> # required, or user units die at logout
|
||||||
|
systemctl --user enable --now mempalace-backup.timer mempalace-backup-cold.timer
|
||||||
|
systemctl --user list-timers 'mempalace*'
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Units are in [`contrib/systemd/`](../contrib/systemd/). Two settings earn their
|
||||||
|
keep:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- **`Persistent=true`** — a timer whose window was missed (host powered off)
|
||||||
|
runs shortly after boot instead of skipping the day.
|
||||||
|
- **`RandomizedDelaySec`** — avoids a thundering herd if other maintenance
|
||||||
|
shares the hour.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
`mempalace-serve` is itself a **user** unit in the reference deployment. That is
|
||||||
|
worth stating explicitly because `systemctl status mempalace-serve` as root
|
||||||
|
reports "not found" and invites the conclusion that the server is not installed.
|
||||||
|
Always `systemctl --user`.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
### The interpreter is part of your durability story
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
If the tool is installed against the **system** Python (`/usr/bin/python3`), then
|
||||||
|
a distribution release upgrade — which can remove or replace that interpreter —
|
||||||
|
breaks the server and its backups together, at the moment you least want it.
|
||||||
|
Install against a **managed** interpreter instead:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```bash
|
||||||
|
uv python install 3.12
|
||||||
|
uv tool install --force --python "$HOME/.local/bin/python3.12" 'mempalace==<version>'
|
||||||
|
systemctl --user restart mempalace-serve
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Now an OS upgrade cannot take the interpreter away. Two gotchas:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- `uv` is typically in `~/.local/bin`, which is **not** on a non-interactive
|
||||||
|
ssh PATH. Scripted upgrades must `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"`.
|
||||||
|
- `uv python list` prints `$HOME`-relative paths, so a regex anchored on a
|
||||||
|
leading `/` matches inside `.local/share` and yields a bogus absolute path.
|
||||||
|
Resolve the shim and assert on it:
|
||||||
|
`readlink -f ~/.local/bin/python3.12 | grep share/uv/python`.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
**Restart the server after any upgrade.** Recent versions refuse mutating tools
|
||||||
|
when the served library drifts from what is installed on disk, and
|
||||||
|
`mempalace_reconnect` cannot clear that — it reopens the database but cannot
|
||||||
|
reload Python modules.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 8. Sizing and offsite
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
At ~225 MB per copy, 7 hot + 7 cold is ~3 GB — trivial against any modern disk,
|
||||||
|
so prefer generous retention over clever incremental schemes. If space is
|
||||||
|
genuinely tight, `zstd -T0` on the SQLite files compresses well, at the cost of
|
||||||
|
making a backup no longer a directly-mountable palace image.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
**Local backups protect against corruption and mistakes, not against losing the
|
||||||
|
host.** Until a copy leaves the machine, a single disk or a single `rm` ends the
|
||||||
|
palace. Whatever offsite target you choose (object store, NAS, another host),
|
||||||
|
two rules matter more than the choice:
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
- **Put a copy of the restore procedure with the backups.** Documentation that
|
||||||
|
lives only inside the thing you are restoring is not available at the moment
|
||||||
|
you need it.
|
||||||
|
- **Verify the offsite copy by restoring from it**, not by checking that the
|
||||||
|
upload exited 0.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
## 9. Usage
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
mempalace-backup [--cold] [--dest DIR] [--keep N] [--palace DIR] [--dry-run]
|
||||||
|
mempalace-backup --verify <backup-dir>
|
||||||
|
```
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
| Flag | Meaning |
|
||||||
|
|---|---|
|
||||||
|
| `--cold` | Quiesce the server for a byte-consistent copy (default: hot) |
|
||||||
|
| `--dest DIR` | Backup root (default `~/backups/mempalace`) |
|
||||||
|
| `--keep N` | Retention count, pruned only after a verified commit (default 7) |
|
||||||
|
| `--palace DIR` | Palace to back up (default `~/.mempalace/palace`) |
|
||||||
|
| `--verify DIR` | Re-verify an existing backup and print its manifest |
|
||||||
|
| `--dry-run` | Report what would happen, write nothing |
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Backups are named `mp-<UTC timestamp>-<hot|cold>`, so they sort
|
||||||
|
chronologically and their mode is visible without opening the manifest.
|
||||||
+16
-310
@@ -1,315 +1,21 @@
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# synlig primary — Phase 0 runbook and handoff
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# (moved) primary-host runbook
|
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||||||
Companion to [`rfc-001-global-palace.md`](./rfc-001-global-palace.md). Records what was actually done
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This file used to contain the deployment runbook for one specific primary host —
|
||||||
on the primary, with verified evidence, so the next session (or the next machine) does not re-derive it.
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its hostname, addresses, user, service wiring and rollback steps.
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||||||
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|
||||||
> **Status 2026-08-14 17:00 — SUPERSEDED IN PART. The primary is live, exposed, and seeded.**
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**That content now lives in a private repository**, because a host inventory is
|
||||||
> Serving since 2026-08-12 at `https://mempalace.jordbo.se/mcp`. Seeded 2026-08-14 15:07 from
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operator data for one deployment, not part of the toolkit. This repository is
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||||||
> EMB-7KJ4VR4G's palace (itself a carry-over from the previous work computer EMB-X1JY06WJ — rfc-001 §4.4)
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public and keeps only host-agnostic *mechanism*.
|
||||||
> — 14,777 drawers / 9 wings / 16,337 embeddings / KG 46 entities, 34 triples,
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||||||
> now 14,803 drawers. One client (EMB-7KJ4VR4G's pi-devbox container) is flipped and verified
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||||||
> end-to-end. Both Phase 0 blockers below are cleared.
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||||||
>
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> **Update 2026-08-16 00:20 — the transcript feed is live too, and it is the primary's third moving
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> part** (alongside the HTTPS tunnel and the palace itself). See §2.6: transcripts arrive over SSH into
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||||||
> `~/mempalace-feed/<device>/` and are mined *by this host's own server process*. 15,478 drawers as of
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||||||
> that check — but treat every count in this document as a timestamp, not a fact: `status` counts chunk
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> rows, and §4 item 7 explains why counts adjudicate nothing.
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||||||
>
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||||||
> **Read §3 "Deliberately NOT done" as a record of the 2026-08-10 state, not of today's** — every
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|
||||||
> item in it has since been done. And before running anything in §5 Rollback, read the warning at the
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> top of it: `~/.mempalace` on synlig is no longer disposable.
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||||||
Original status, kept for the record:
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What lives where:
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**Status 2026-08-10 00:30 — Phase 0 prep complete. Not serving. Nothing exposed.**
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| Content | Home |
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||||||
Blocked on two things, both deliberately left to Joakim: the Pangolin update on nyvaken, and one `sudo`.
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|---|---|
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| How to expose a palace over HTTP, and the Host/Origin pin | `docs/phase-1-exposure-runbook.md` (here) |
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| Why a palace needs a special backup, and how to restore one | `docs/backup-and-recovery.md` (here) |
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| Unit/timer/plist templates | `contrib/` (here) |
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| Which machine is primary, its addresses, users, tunnels, offsite target | private fleet repository |
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| Per-host feeder device names and schedules | private fleet repository |
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---
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If you are looking for the mechanism, the two runbooks above are the same
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procedures with `<PRIMARY_HOST>` and `<USER>` in place of one site's specifics.
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## 1. What synlig is (discovered, not assumed)
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||||||
| Fact | Value |
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||||||
| --- | --- |
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| SSH | `synlig` → `synlig.erdc.ericsson.net`, user `ecsjper` (from `~/.ssh/config`) |
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| OS | Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS, 7.8 GiB RAM, 78 G disk (**29 G free**), uptime 12 d |
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| Python / uv | system `python3` 3.12.3; `uv` at `~/.local/bin/uv` (**not** on the non-login `PATH`) |
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| Interfaces | `lo` 127.0.0.1, `ens3` 10.0.0.4/16, `docker0` 172.17.0.1/16, `br-…` 172.19.0.1/16 |
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||||||
| Already listening | 22, 80, 443, 3000 (node), 3389 + 3350 + 4822 (xrdp/guacamole), 631 |
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||||||
| Docker | present; running `act_runner-runner-1` (**Gitea Actions runner**) and `digikam` |
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||||||
| Pre-existing MemPalace | **none** — no `mempalace` binary, no `~/.mempalace`. Greenfield. |
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The Gitea Actions runner living here is worth remembering: synlig is not a dedicated appliance, and CI
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load competes with the palace for the same 7.8 GiB.
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## 2. Done tonight
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||||||
### 2.1 MemPalace installed, pinned to the fleet version
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||||||
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||||||
```sh
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~/.local/bin/uv tool install "mempalace==3.6.0" # → mempalace, mempalace-mcp
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```
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Pinned deliberately: the clients run 3.6.0, and the id recipes / idempotency probes this RFC leans on are
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version-specific. Reversible with `uv tool uninstall mempalace`.
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### 2.2 Embedder model pre-warmed — the corporate-network risk that wasn't
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||||||
The first embed pulls `all-MiniLM-L6-v2` ONNX (79.3 MB) from the chroma CDN into
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||||||
`~/.cache/chroma/onnx_models/` (167 M on disk once unpacked). **This was the main unknown** — an
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egress-filtered work VM would have failed here, at the worst possible moment (first client write).
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It downloaded at ~20 MB/s with no proxy interference. Done in a throwaway palace, since deleted, so the
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real palace never saw it. Same model as the clients use, so the semantic space matches.
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### 2.3 Palace created with the §7.1 landmine structurally removed
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`~/.mempalace/palace` — the **stock default**, so no `MEMPALACE_PALACE_PATH` and no `config.json` is
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needed anywhere on synlig. One less thing to drift.
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RFC §7.1 says to `mv` three HOME-anchored stores into the palace dir before first `serve`. **On a
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greenfield primary there is nothing to move — but the hazard is not actually a migration hazard, and the
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RFC understated it:** with *stock defaults* `palace_path` is `~/.mempalace/palace` while `DEFAULT_KG_PATH`
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is `~/.mempalace/knowledge_graph.sqlite3`. Those differ, so the split is the **out-of-the-box** behaviour,
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not a consequence of a custom path. It is permanent, not one-time: `serve` always passes `--palace` (KG
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inside the palace), while any CLI command run *without* `--palace` uses the HOME path. Two KGs on one box,
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forever, silently.
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Fixed by making both resolution rules land on one inode:
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```sh
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ln -sfn palace/knowledge_graph.sqlite3 ~/.mempalace/knowledge_graph.sqlite3
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ln -sfn palace/known_entities.json ~/.mempalace/known_entities.json
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```
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Relative targets, so a home-directory move survives. `hallways.json` was originally left **un**symlinked:
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it is already palace-derived, and its HOME path is a warning-only legacy probe (`hallways.py:73-95`) that
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never auto-migrates.
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||||||
> **Update 2026-08-14 — `hallways.json` is now symlinked too**, during the seeding session:
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> ```sh
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||||||
> ln -sfn palace/hallways.json ~/.mempalace/hallways.json
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> ```
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||||||
> Rationale changed: the point is no longer "only symlink what the code demands" but *all real state
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||||||
> lives under `palace/` as a single backup unit*, so one `palace/` copy is a complete copy. All three
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||||||
> parent-level paths now resolve, which matters because mempalace 3.6.0 resolves these three paths
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> inconsistently (MCP server: palace-relative; KG CLI default: `~/.mempalace`; `hallways.json`:
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||||||
> `dirname(palace_path)`; `known_entities.json`: hardcoded `~`). Revert by deleting the symlink if it
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> ever causes trouble.
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||||||
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||||||
Verified the symlink assumption rather than trusting it (`python3 sqlite3` on synlig, temp dir):
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||||||
| Check | Result |
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||||||
| --- | --- |
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||||||
| Dangling symlink + `sqlite3.connect` | creates the target |
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||||||
| `-wal` / `-shm` placement | next to the **target**, inside the palace dir — *not* beside the symlink |
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| Write via symlink → read via palace path | same data, **same inode** |
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The WAL placement is the part that mattered: it keeps the palace directory a single self-contained
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backup/bind-mount unit.
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||||||
### 2.4 §6.2's Host/Origin policy verified by experiment, not by reading
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||||||
Ran on synlig, loopback and docker0 binds, then stopped. **11/11 as predicted:**
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| # | Bind | Request | Expected | Got |
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| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| A1 | 127.0.0.1 | `/healthz`, correct Host | 200 | ✅ 200 |
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| A2 | 127.0.0.1 | `/healthz`, `Host: palace.example.com` | **403** | ✅ 403 |
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| A3 | 127.0.0.1 | `/healthz`, `Origin: https://evil.example` | 403 | ✅ 403 |
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| A4 | 127.0.0.1 | `POST /mcp`, no token | 401 | ✅ 401 |
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| A5 | 127.0.0.1 | `POST /mcp`, wrong token | 401 | ✅ 401 |
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| A6 | 127.0.0.1 | `POST /mcp`, correct token | 200 | ✅ 200 (`tools/list` → **36 tools**) |
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| B1 | 172.17.0.1 | `/healthz`, bound-host Host | 200 | ✅ 200 |
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| B2 | 172.17.0.1 | `/healthz`, `Host: palace.example.com` | **200** | ✅ 200 |
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| B3 | 172.17.0.1 | `/healthz`, `Origin: https://evil.example` | 403 | ✅ 403 |
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| B4 | 172.17.0.1 | `/healthz`, loopback Origin | 200 | ✅ 200 |
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| B5 | 172.17.0.1 | `POST /mcp`, foreign Host + token | 200 | ✅ 200 |
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**Operational conclusions:**
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1. **Do not bind loopback behind the tunnel.** A2 vs B2 is the whole story: the reflex "bind 127.0.0.1,
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it's safer" produces a 403 that looks like a Pangolin misconfiguration and is not one.
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2. **Bind `172.17.0.1` (docker0).** Non-loopback, so the Host pin relaxes — but reachable only from
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synlig and its containers, so a newt container on this box can reach it while the LAN cannot. This is
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strictly better than `0.0.0.0` here. It is what `contrib/systemd/mempalace-serve.service` uses.
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3. **`Origin` is never relaxed** (B3). No browser-based MCP client, and no proxy that injects `Origin`.
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4. `/healthz` is Host/Origin-gated but token-free — a usable liveness probe for the tunnel.
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Test script kept at `/tmp/synlig-phase0-test.sh` on this container (ephemeral — re-create from the table
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above if needed; it starts, probes and stops the server, and asserts nothing is left listening).
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### 2.5 A start unit — written, staged, and (since 2026-08-12) installed and running
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||||||
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|
||||||
> **This subsection describes 2026-08-10. The unit is now live.** Verified 2026-08-16 00:15:
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||||||
> `systemctl --user list-units` shows `mempalace-serve.service … loaded active running`, and the
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> process is
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> `~/.local/share/uv/tools/mempalace/bin/python -m mempalace.mcp_server --transport http
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||||||
> --host 172.17.0.1 --port 8765 --palace /home/ecsjper/.mempalace/palace`.
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||||||
> Note what that means and §2.6 depends on: **the server is a NATIVE process, not a container** — it
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> sees synlig's real filesystem paths, and `docker ps` on synlig lists no mempalace container.
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|
||||||
`contrib/systemd/mempalace-serve.service` — user unit, follows the existing `contrib/systemd/` style,
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|
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carries the bind rationale inline so nobody "fixes" it back to loopback. A copy is already staged on synlig
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at `~/.config/systemd/user/mempalace-serve.service.staged` — **the `.staged` suffix is deliberate**:
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systemd only reads `*.service`, so the file cannot be activated by accident, not even by a stray
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|
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`daemon-reload`. **Not** installed, **not** enabled: it needs one `sudo loginctl enable-linger`, and
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standing up a network-reachable service while you were asleep was not mine to decide.
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(Both were done on 2026-08-12 — §4 item 3 has the exact commands that were run.)
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### 2.6 The transcript inbox — `~/mempalace-feed/<device>/` (added 2026-08-16)
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Flipped clients write drawers over HTTPS, but their **session transcripts** cannot travel that way:
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`mempalace_mine` resolves its `source` path *in the server process*, so the server cannot see a
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|
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client's staged exports. `mempalace-pi-session --mode remote` therefore rsyncs each client's stage into
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a per-device inbox here and then asks the server to mine its own local path:
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```sh
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||||||
ls ~/mempalace-feed/ # one dir per device, e.g. emb-7kj4vr4g/
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|
||||||
ls ~/mempalace-feed/emb-7kj4vr4g/ # pi_<session-uuid>.jsonl, mtimes preserved
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|
||||||
```
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|
||||||
Client side, that needs three variables — and **the third one is the trap**:
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| Variable | Value for this fleet | Why |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| `MEMPALACE_PI_SSH_TARGET` | `ecsjper@synlig:/home/ecsjper/mempalace-feed` | where rsync puts the files |
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|
||||||
| `MEMPALACE_PI_DEVICE` | e.g. `emb-7kj4vr4g` | inbox subdirectory per machine |
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| `MEMPALACE_PI_REMOTE_PATH` | `/home/ecsjper/mempalace-feed` | the inbox **as the server process sees it** |
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|
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|
||||||
The feeder's default for the third is `/data/feed`, which assumes a *containerized* palace server with
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|
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the inbox bind-mounted there. **This primary is native (§2.5), so it only ever sees host paths and the
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|
||||||
value must equal the path half of the SSH target.** Get it wrong and the failure is quiet in the worst
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|
||||||
way: rsync succeeds, the files are all present here, and only the mine fails with
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|
||||||
`source directory not found: '/data/feed/<device>'`.
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
That is exactly what happened on 2026-08-15, and it went unnoticed for a session because the feeder
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|
||||||
decided success with `'"error"' in body` — MCP returns HTTP 200 with the tool's own JSON **escaped**
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|
||||||
inside `result.content[].text`, so those bytes are `\"error\"`, the substring never matched, and
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|
||||||
`~/.pi/agent/mempalace-catchup.log` printed `Done. Wing 'wing_conversations' updated.` directly under the
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|
||||||
error. Fixed in `6e1f4f3`: the envelope is parsed, `--self-test` pins that exact response body, and a
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|
||||||
preflight warning fires whenever the ship path and `MEMPALACE_PI_REMOTE_PATH` disagree.
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
**Operational notes for this inbox:**
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
- Dedup keys on the **absolute source path**, so the inbox path is load-bearing: it must stay stable, or
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|
||||||
every transcript re-files under its new name. Migrating it on 2026-08-15 (from the clients' old
|
|
||||||
container-local stage paths, which arrived with the seed) cost a full re-mine plus
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|
||||||
`mempalace_delete_by_source` on 6 old paths — 651 drawers purged, 1243 re-filed. `wing_conversations`
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|
||||||
is now keyed entirely on `/home/ecsjper/mempalace-feed/<device>/…`.
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|
||||||
- A **grown** session is purged and re-filed for the same path (mtime-based), so re-feeding a live
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|
||||||
session refreshes it instead of duplicating it. That is why the inbox keeps whole transcripts rather
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|
||||||
than deltas — do not "tidy" it by deleting files the palace still references.
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|
||||||
- `mempalace_mine` over MCP can **exceed a client's request timeout while the server keeps working and
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|
||||||
finishes normally**. A client-side timeout is not a failed mine: check
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|
||||||
`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM embedding_metadata WHERE key='source_file' AND string_value LIKE '<inbox>%'`
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|
||||||
(read-only, `file:…?mode=ro`) before retrying anything.
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|
||||||
- Health check after any client recreate, from the client: the tail of
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|
||||||
`~/.pi/agent/mempalace-catchup.log` should end in `Done. Wing … updated.` with no `error:` line above
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|
||||||
it. With the fixed feeder a broken run exits 5 and names the reason.
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
## 3. Deliberately NOT done
|
|
||||||
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|
||||||
> **⚠️ Historical — this section describes 2026-08-10 and is no longer true.** All five items were
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|
||||||
> done between 2026-08-12 and 2026-08-14. Kept because the *reasoning* for deferring them is still
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|
||||||
> the record of why the order was chosen. Current state per item is inlined below.
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
- **Nothing is serving.** No listener on 8765; no mempalace process. Re-verified at the end of the run.
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|
||||||
→ **Now serving** since 2026-08-12 (`mempalace-serve.service`, `systemctl --user`), reachable at
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|
||||||
`https://mempalace.jordbo.se/mcp` via newt/Pangolin.
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|
||||||
- **No client `.env` was touched.** Your working setup is exactly as you left it (R6: reversible).
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|
||||||
→ **One client flipped 2026-08-14**: four variables on EMB-7KJ4VR4G, `docker-compose.yaml` unchanged.
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|
||||||
Still reversible in ~30s (§3.8 of [`phase-1-exposure-runbook.md`](./phase-1-exposure-runbook.md)).
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|
||||||
- **No data joined.** The palace is empty. The §4.4 join needs the diary-dedup decision (§7.6) first —
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|
||||||
replaying diaries today duplicates them, and the primary is the one place that must stay clean.
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|
||||||
→ **Seeded 2026-08-14** from *one* palace by file-level copy. This sidestepped §7.6 rather than
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|
||||||
solving it: a file-level copy replays no diaries, so it cannot duplicate them. **§7.6 is still a
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|
||||||
hard blocker for the second machine to join.**
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|
||||||
- **nyvaken untouched.** Read nothing, changed nothing.
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|
||||||
- **No sudo.** `sudo -n` on synlig requires a password.
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
## 4. Tomorrow, in order
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|
||||||
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|
||||||
> **2026-08-12: items 1–2 and 5 now have their own runbook —**
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|
||||||
> [`phase-1-exposure-runbook.md`](./phase-1-exposure-runbook.md). Pangolin on nyvaken is updated (done),
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|
||||||
> and **newt is now installed on synlig and connected to Pangolin (done 2026-08-12)** — so the blocker is
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|
||||||
> 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
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|
||||||
> (§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.
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|
||||||
2. ~~**⚠️ synlig has no tunnel client.**~~ ✅ **done 2026-08-12** — newt installed and connected to Pangolin.
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|
||||||
(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.
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|
||||||
3. **One sudo, then start** (the unit is already staged; just drop the suffix). ✅ **done 2026-08-12** —
|
|
||||||
linger enabled, unit enabled, `172.17.0.1:8765/healthz` → `ok`.
|
|
||||||
```sh
|
|
||||||
sudo loginctl enable-linger ecsjper
|
|
||||||
cd ~/.config/systemd/user && mv mempalace-serve.service.staged mempalace-serve.service
|
|
||||||
systemctl --user daemon-reload && systemctl --user enable --now mempalace-serve
|
|
||||||
curl -s 172.17.0.1:8765/healthz # ok
|
|
||||||
curl -s 127.0.0.1:8765/healthz # NOTHING — refused, exit 7 (not 403; see below)
|
|
||||||
ss -ltnp | grep 8765 # 172.17.0.1:8765 only
|
|
||||||
```
|
|
||||||
⚠ **Corrected 2026-08-12:** this line predicted `403`. The real run returned empty, which is *more*
|
|
||||||
reassuring. With the docker0-only bind nothing listens on loopback, so the connection is refused before
|
|
||||||
any header is sent (`%{http_code}` → `000`, `$?` → `7`). The 403 in §2.4 is the **loopback-bind** case:
|
|
||||||
a server on `127.0.0.1` answering a proxy-forwarded foreign `Host:`. Two different failures that were
|
|
||||||
collapsed into one expectation here.
|
|
||||||
4. **Collect the shared token** (auto-minted on first non-loopback start, stable across restarts):
|
|
||||||
```sh
|
|
||||||
cat ~/.mempalace/server/f5d849287f6d73f0141b29d7/token
|
|
||||||
```
|
|
||||||
That directory name is `sha256(realpath(palace))[:24]` — it changes if the palace path ever changes.
|
|
||||||
5. **Route it through Pangolin**, then verify `/healthz` end-to-end through the public hostname *before*
|
|
||||||
pointing any client at it.
|
|
||||||
6. **Then, and only then**, Phase 1 client flip — one machine first, and remember opencode containers
|
|
||||||
need the §4.1 sidecar merge (or Phase 1.5) before the `.env` takes effect.
|
|
||||||
7. **Before the first join:** settle §7.6 diary dedup, then dry-run §4.4 from **one** palace.
|
|
||||||
> **Correction 2026-08-14 — do NOT verify a join "by checking counts", which is what this item
|
|
||||||
> originally said.** Counts are not evidence, in either direction. `mempalace status` counts
|
|
||||||
> **chunk rows**, not logical drawers (3 drawers plus one 2-chunk diary presented as +9), and chunk
|
|
||||||
> counts legitimately differ between two palaces whenever a drawer was updated on either side,
|
|
||||||
> because an update re-chunks to the new length and deletes the surplus rows. Diffing chunk-id sets
|
|
||||||
> is a useful first pass but **over**-reports: a chunk id present on one side only is the ordinary
|
|
||||||
> signature of an edit, not of loss. This cost real time on 2026-08-14 — a missing
|
|
||||||
> `chunk_000007` was read as a truncated seed, when in fact the two palaces held two revisions of
|
|
||||||
> one drawer and nothing was lost. **Adjudicate by fetching the parent drawer on both sides and
|
|
||||||
> comparing the reassembled `content`.**
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
## 5. Rollback
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
> **⚠️ STOP — 2026-08-14. Do not run this block as it was originally written.** `~/.mempalace` on
|
|
||||||
> synlig is now the fleet primary. That tree holds the only central palace (14,803 drawers, seeded
|
|
||||||
> from EMB-7KJ4VR4G) **and the server's bearer token** at `~/.mempalace/server/<hash>/token` — the
|
|
||||||
> single credential every flipped client authenticates with, of which there is no second copy.
|
|
||||||
> `rm -rf ~/.mempalace` destroys both. The original comment ("empty today — check before running once
|
|
||||||
> it isn't") is far too soft for a destructive command someone runs under pressure, which is exactly
|
|
||||||
> why it is being replaced rather than amended.
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
Stopping the service is safe and reversible on its own, and is the whole of what "rollback" should
|
|
||||||
normally mean now:
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
```sh
|
|
||||||
systemctl --user disable --now mempalace-serve # clients fail CLOSED — they lose the palace
|
|
||||||
# tools; they do NOT fall back to a local palace
|
|
||||||
```
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
To genuinely decommission the primary, in this order:
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
1. Flip every client back first (§3.8 of [`phase-1-exposure-runbook.md`](./phase-1-exposure-runbook.md),
|
|
||||||
in reverse) so nothing is pointed at a host that is about to lose its palace.
|
|
||||||
2. Copy `~/.mempalace/palace/` **and** the token file off the host, and verify the copy by comparing
|
|
||||||
reassembled drawer `content`, not counts (see §4 item 7).
|
|
||||||
3. Only then remove anything. Never `rsync --delete` into `~/.mempalace` — the token lives inside it.
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
The two destructive steps below were written on 2026-08-10, when `~/.mempalace` was genuinely empty.
|
|
||||||
Kept for the record; **must not be run while the primary is live**:
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
```sh
|
|
||||||
~/.local/bin/uv tool uninstall mempalace
|
|
||||||
rm -rf ~/.mempalace # ⚠️ DESTROYS THE FLEET PALACE AND THE ONLY TOKEN
|
|
||||||
```
|
|
||||||
|
|||||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user