# 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), Vercel-style dev→prod

Multiple developers work on this repo now, so `.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) drives the whole flow:

1. **MR into `dev`** → `verify` stage runs (typecheck/lint/unit test/build).
   Required check — no push, no deploy. This is the multi-developer gate.
2. **Merge to `dev`** → `build` pushes one image,
   `registry.gitlab.vnc.biz/.../vncmail-plus:sha-<sha>`, then `deploy-dev`
   applies it to the sandbox automatically. No approval needed — dev always
   deploys first.
3. **Merge to `main`** (fast-forward only, see below) → a `promote` job
   appears, `when: manual`, gated behind a protected `production`
   GitLab environment. It **never rebuilds** — it retags the exact image
   already running on dev (registry-side copy, same digest) and would apply
   it to a `vncmail-prod` namespace pinned to that digest.

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.

**Production doesn't exist yet.** `deploy/k8s/overlays/prod/` is scaffolded
(placeholder hostname, placeholder `JMAP_SERVER_URL` — there's no prod
Stalwart instance to point it at either) but inert: the `promote` job's real
`kubectl apply` step is deliberately left as a TODO in `.gitlab-ci.yml` until
a real hostname is decided and prod Stalwart exists. Standing up the runner/
RBAC/registry this pipeline needs is an infra prerequisite, not something CI
itself does — see the pipeline design doc referenced in `deploy/k8s/README.md`.

## 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`.)