# VNCmail+ — setup & deploy runbook

VNCmail+ is VNC's fork of [Bulwark](https://github.com/bulwarkmail/webmail), a
Next.js (App Router) JMAP webmail client for **Stalwart**. Stalwart is the source
of truth; VNCmail+ is the UI. It deploys as a **container on Kubernetes
(microk8s)** at `vncmail.sandbox.vnc.de` — see **[deploy/k8s/](deploy/k8s/README.md)**.

> **License:** AGPL-3.0. Serving a modified VNCmail+ to users over the network
> obligates VNC to offer those users the corresponding source. Keeping this fork
> public (with a "Source" link in the imprint/UI) satisfies that. Loop in legal
> before a public/customer-facing launch if a closed fork is ever desired.

## Architecture — why a container, not Vercel

- Bulwark is a **stateful, long-lived server**: it persists settings-sync, admin
  config/state, and telemetry to a **local data directory** (`/app/data/*`).
- **Vercel serverless was tried and dropped** — its filesystem is read-only
  except `/tmp`, so Bulwark's `mkdir ./data` crashes (`ENOENT /var/task/data`).
  You cannot point its data dirs at a remote host either (they're POSIX paths,
  not URLs). Bulwark's native model is a container + persistent volumes.
- So VNCmail+ runs as a Docker image with **4 persistent volumes**, exactly
  like the existing `bulwark.sandbox.vnc.de`.
- JMAP calls go through **server-side `/api/*` routes** (`proxy.ts`) → server-to-
  server to Stalwart, **no browser CORS**. Config is **runtime-read**.

## Branches (dev-first)

| Branch | Role |
|--------|------|
| `main` | **Production.** Only updated by `git merge --ff-only dev`, then an explicit manual promote in CI. No prod environment exists yet — see "CI/CD" below. |
| `dev`  | Integration + QA — default working branch. Every push auto-builds and auto-deploys to the sandbox (`vncmail.sandbox.vnc.de`). |
| `vnc/*`| Feature branches for UI work (branch off `dev`, MR into `dev` — required, gated by CI). |

All VNC customization lives under `vnc/` (see `vnc/VNC-CHANGES.md`).

## CI/CD — GitLab (canonical) + ArgoCD GitOps, Vercel-style dev→prod

Multiple developers work on this repo now. `.gitlab-ci.yml` on
[gitlab.vnc.biz](https://gitlab.vnc.biz/gitlab-instance-b9b5cf2f/vncmail-plus)
(the canonical remote — GitHub `origin` is a passive mirror, not where CI or
deploys happen) builds images and bumps a tag in git; **ArgoCD does the
actual deploying** — already installed and idle on the `dev-k8s-1/2/3`
cluster, discovered when standing this up. GitLab CI needs zero cluster
credentials as a result.

Two real clusters, confirmed by direct inspection:

| Cluster | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `dev-k8s-1/2/3` | dev/sandbox | ~hours old when set up here. Traefik, metallb, cert-manager (`letsencrypt-staging` issuer only), **ArgoCD already running**. |
| `node1/node2/node3` | prod (HA) | Older, rook-ceph+traefik+metallb+cert-manager, but **zero apps and zero ClusterIssuers** — genuinely a clean slate. |

Neither cluster had a `vncmail` namespace, `vnc-ca` namespace, or `bulwark`
ingress — the "live sandbox at vncmail.sandbox.vnc.de" referenced earlier in
this doc's history was aspirational (manifests + docs existed, nothing was
ever actually applied). The ingress manifests also assumed nginx (`class:
public`, an nginx body-size annotation) — fixed to Traefik's real
`ingressClassName: traefik` (Traefik has no default body-size cap, so no
replacement annotation is needed).

Flow:

1. **MR into `dev`** → `verify` stage (typecheck/lint/unit test/build).
   Required check — no push, no deploy.
2. **Merge to `dev`** → `build` pushes one image,
   `registry.gitlab.vnc.biz/.../vncmail-plus:sha-<sha>`, then `bump-dev`
   commits that tag into `deploy/k8s/overlays/dev/image-tag/kustomization.yaml`
   (`[skip ci]`). ArgoCD's `vncmail-dev` Application picks up the git change.
3. **Merge to `main`** (fast-forward only, see below) → `bump-prod` points
   `overlays/prod/image-tag/` at that same tag — **no rebuild**. The actual
   promotion gate is a **human clicking Sync** on the `vncmail-prod` ArgoCD
   Application, which is permanently manual-sync (never automated) — that's
   the Vercel-style "Promote to Production" button, just living in ArgoCD's
   UI instead of GitLab's.

### What's left to wire up (one-time, human steps)

1. **Add the ArgoCD deploy key to GitLab** — Project → Settings → Repository
   → Deploy keys → add (read-only is enough):
   ```
   ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIOURjX/Y9zfB785DyLEF1GUq4HhWujrqeXag8oxdMciq argocd@dev-k8s (vncmail-plus read-only)
   ```
   Until this is added, `vncmail-dev`'s ArgoCD Application (already created,
   `kubectl -n argocd get application vncmail-dev`) shows a benign
   `ComparisonError` (SSH handshake failing) — expected, not a bug.
2. **Let CI push tag-bumps back to this repo** — either enable "this project
   can be accessed by CI/CD job tokens from other projects" → actually
   simpler: Settings → CI/CD → Job token permissions → allow this project's
   own job token to push to itself, OR create a Project Access Token
   (`write_repository` scope) and add it as a masked CI/CD variable
   `GITLAB_PUSH_TOKEN` (the pipeline tries that first, falls back to
   `CI_JOB_TOKEN`).
3. **One-time namespace bootstrap** (CI/ArgoCD deliberately never manage
   secret contents — see `deploy/k8s/README.md` §3):
   ```bash
   # against dev-k8s (ArgoCD's CreateNamespace=true will make `vncmail` on
   # first sync, or create it yourself first — either order works)
   kubectl create secret docker-registry ghcr-pull -n vncmail ...   # or make the GHCR package public
   cp deploy/k8s/overlays/dev/secret.example.yaml secret.yaml   # edit SESSION_SECRET
   kubectl apply -f secret.yaml
   ```
4. **First sync** — ArgoCD UI at `https://argo.devcluster.vnc.de`
   (username `admin`, password: `kubectl -n argocd get secret
   argocd-initial-admin-secret -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d`
   — rotate it after logging in once) → `vncmail-dev` → Sync. Once that's
   clean, flip `deploy/argocd/vncmail-dev-app.yaml`'s commented-out
   `automated:` block on and re-apply, so dev auto-syncs on every push from
   then on.
5. **Production** (later, deliberately not wired yet): decide a real
   hostname, stand up prod Stalwart, register `node1-3` as an ArgoCD-managed
   cluster, apply `deploy/argocd/vncmail-prod-app.yaml`, fill in real
   `overlays/prod` values, create a real ClusterIssuer on `node1-3` (there
   isn't one today), then click Sync once — deliberately not before.

Historical note: the old `-dev`/`-beta` GHCR image-name split
(`.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml`) is retired by this — one image name
now, environment lives only in the tag.

## Deploy (Kubernetes / microk8s)

Full runbook: **[deploy/k8s/README.md](deploy/k8s/README.md)**. In short:

1. CI (above) builds and pushes the image, one name/many tags, to GitLab's
   registry.
2. `kubectl apply -k deploy/k8s/overlays/dev` (or `overlays/prod`, once real)
   — base manifests (namespace, 4 PVCs, deployment, service, ingress) live in
   `deploy/k8s/base/`, environment differences (namespace, hostname, replica
   count) are overlay patches.
3. DNS + a `secret.yaml` (from the overlay's `secret.example.yaml`, gitignored,
   created once by hand — CI never manages secret contents) + an image-pull
   secret are the remaining manual, human, one-time steps per environment.

Runs alongside the existing `bulwark.sandbox.vnc.de`. Match your cluster's
StorageClass / IngressClass / cert issuer to bulwark's (see the runbook).

## Deploy workflow (dev-first — ALWAYS)

Same flow as every other VNC/SRC repo, now enforced structurally by CI rather
than by convention:

1. Work on `dev` (or `vnc/*` → MR into `dev`, CI-gated). Merge → auto-builds
   and auto-deploys to `vncmail.sandbox.vnc.de`. QA there.
2. **Promote to production only on explicit go-live** — merge `dev` → `main`:
   ```bash
   git log dev..main            # MUST be empty — main must have nothing dev lacks (else prod would revert)
   git checkout main && git merge --ff-only dev
   git push gitlab main         # never GitHub — opens the manual `promote` job, does not run it
   git checkout dev
   ```
   Then click `promote` in the GitLab pipeline UI (protected `production`
   environment — requires the right role) once prod actually exists (see
   "CI/CD" above). Never push straight to `main`. Never let a dev→main merge
   silently revert prod.

## Syncing upstream (Bulwark releases)

Bring upstream into `dev` (NOT main), integrate + QA on the dev image, then promote as above:

```bash
git fetch upstream
git checkout dev && git merge upstream/main    # resolve conflicts via vnc/VNC-CHANGES.md; QA on preview
```

## Auth

Basic auth via Stalwart is the default — users sign in with their
`@sandbox.vnc.de` address + password; VNCmail+ authenticates them over JMAP. No
extra config. (SSO via vncdirectory/OIDC is a later option — see
`vnc/vercel.env.template`.)
