9985ecc56c
Drop MountFlags=shared (the assumption that it propagated fuse mounts
to host was incorrect on systemd 257 with ProtectSystem+ReadWritePaths).
Restore PrivateTmp=true (was dropped in 593611e for fuse propagation
that did not work). Rewrite the comment block to describe the new
model: mounts go through the left4me-overlay helper which nsenters
into PID 1's mount namespace, so the unit's mount-ns layout is no
longer load-bearing.
Update the three user-facing READMEs (root, l4d2host, deploy) to drop
fuse-overlayfs / fusermount3 prereqs and call out the kernel overlayfs
mount path through the privileged helper.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
77 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
77 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
# left4me Deployment
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This directory contains the production-like test deployment for a Linux server. It installs the repository into a fixed host layout, configures a dedicated runtime user, installs systemd units, and wires the web app to host operations through privileged helper commands.
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## Target Layout
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The deployment uses these paths:
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- `/etc/left4me/host.env`: host library environment configuration.
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- `/etc/left4me/web.env`: web app environment configuration.
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- `/opt/left4me/.venv`: Python virtual environment for deployed commands.
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- `/opt/left4me`: deployed repository contents.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/left4me.db`: SQLite database used by the web app.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/installation`: shared L4D2 installation.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/overlays`: overlay directories. Each overlay lives at `${overlay_id}` under here.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/workshop_cache`: deduplicated cache of `.vpk` files downloaded for workshop overlays. One file per Steam item, named `{steam_id}.vpk`. Workshop overlays symlink into this tree.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/global_overlay_cache`: cache of non-Steam map archives and extracted `.vpk` files used by managed global map overlays.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/instances`: rendered instance specifications and per-instance state.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/runtime`: per-instance runtime mount directories.
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- `/var/lib/left4me/tmp`: temporary files used by deployment/runtime operations.
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- `/usr/local/lib/systemd/system`: global systemd unit files, including `left4me-server@.service`.
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- `/usr/local/libexec/left4me`: privileged helper commands, including `left4me-systemctl`, `left4me-journalctl`, and `left4me-overlay` (the latter mounts the per-instance kernel overlay in PID 1's mount namespace via `nsenter`).
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- `/etc/sudoers.d/left4me`: sudoers rules allowing the web/runtime commands to call the helpers non-interactively.
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Static units are generated for `/var/lib/left4me`. If `LEFT4ME_ROOT` changes, regenerate and reinstall the unit files instead of reusing the existing static units.
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## Runtime User
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The deployment creates and runs host operations as the dedicated runtime user:
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- Username: `left4me`
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- Home: `/var/lib/left4me`
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- Shell: `/usr/sbin/nologin`
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## Running A Test Deployment
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Run the deployment from the repository root:
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```bash
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deploy/deploy-test-server.sh deploy-user@example-host
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```
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The SSH user must be able to run `sudo` on the target host. The deployment configures system packages, directories, environment files, helper scripts, sudoers rules, Python dependencies, and systemd units.
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## Scheduled Jobs
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`left4me-refresh-global-overlays.timer` runs daily with `Persistent=true`. It invokes `flask refresh-global-overlays`, which only enqueues a `refresh_global_overlays` job; downloads and rebuilds run in the web worker and are visible in the normal job log UI.
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## Admin Bootstrap
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Set the bootstrap credentials in the environment when creating the first admin user:
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```bash
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LEFT4ME_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin \
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LEFT4ME_ADMIN_PASSWORD='change-me' \
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flask create-user "$LEFT4ME_ADMIN_USERNAME" --admin
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```
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Use a strong one-time password and rotate it after first login if needed.
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## Overlay References
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Overlay references are relative paths below `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays`. With the default deployment root, they resolve under `/var/lib/left4me/overlays`. New overlays use `${overlay_id}` as their path; the digit-only form is the only one created by the web app.
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Invalid references are rejected:
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- Absolute paths such as `/srv/overlay`.
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- Parent traversal such as `../other` or `competitive/../../base`.
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- Empty path components such as `competitive//base`.
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- Symlink escapes that resolve outside `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays`.
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The web app currently supports two overlay surfaces:
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- `workshop` overlays (user-owned) — populated by downloading `.vpk` files from the public Steam Web API into `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/workshop_cache/{steam_id}.vpk` and creating absolute symlinks under `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays/{overlay_id}/left4dead2/addons/{steam_id}.vpk`.
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- Managed global overlays (`l4d2center_maps`, `cedapug_maps`, system-wide) — populated by the daily `left4me-refresh-global-overlays` job, which downloads archives into `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/global_overlay_cache/` and symlinks them into the overlay directory.
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Both the caches and the overlay directories are owned by the `left4me` runtime user; if the web service ever runs as a different uid, ensure it shares a group with the host process and that both trees are group-readable.
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