The gateway was HTTP-only by design, but a plain-HTTP origin is not a browser
"secure context", so apps that need WebCrypto (device identity, E2E crypto)
can't run when proxied — only localhost or HTTPS qualifies.
Add an opt-in `gateway.tls: internal`. When set, each host route
(proxy.caddy.host) is emitted as its own `<host> { tls internal; reverse_proxy }`
site, served over HTTPS by Caddy's local CA (Caddy binds :443 and redirects :80).
Path-prefix/static routes stay on the HTTP :<port> site — give a service a host
route to put it on HTTPS. Default (unset/off) keeps the existing HTTP-only
Caddyfile (single :<port> block, auto_https off, host matchers inline).
Plumbing mirrors gateway_port: GatewayConfig.tls (castle.yaml load/save) →
NodeConfig.gateway_tls (registry load/save, set in deploy) → the Caddyfile
generator. Tests cover both modes; docs/registry.md documents the option plus
the two operational requirements (binding 443/80 via the unprivileged-port
sysctl, and trusting Caddy's root CA on clients) and the host-route-vs-prefix
guidance that motivates it.
Editing a service's routing (port, path_prefix, host) and then hitting
"apply" or "gateway reload" — rather than a full deploy — left the running
Caddyfile reflecting the old routing. The Caddyfile was generated from the
derived registry.yaml snapshot, which only `deploy()` rebuilds from
castle.yaml; apply/reload regenerated from that stale snapshot.
Make castle.yaml the single source of truth for local routes:
- caddyfile.py: new shared `service_proxy_targets()` derives a service's
(proxy_path, proxy_host, port, base_url) from its spec. `compute_routes`
now builds local routes from `config.services` when castle.yaml is
loadable, falling back to `registry.deployed` only when it isn't. Since
deploy/apply/reload all funnel through `compute_routes`, every regeneration
path now tracks the spec. Mesh/remote and static-frontend routes unchanged.
- deploy.py: `_build_deployed_service` uses the same shared deriver, so the
written registry and the computed routes can't diverge.
- config_editor.py: `/config/apply` now runs a full `deploy()` (rebuilding
units + Caddyfile and reloading the gateway) before restarting services, so
changed unit ExecStarts actually take effect. Scheduled jobs are no longer
restarted on apply. Drops the now-unused direct caddy-reload path.
- Regression tests: a stale registry's old port/path loses to castle.yaml;
registry fallback still works when config is unavailable.
- Introduced `_write_castle_config` function to scatter nested config into separate YAML files for programs, services, and jobs.
- Updated `castle_root` fixture to utilize the new config writing method.
- Added tests for configuration aggregation and scattering in `test_health.py`.
- Removed legacy unit handling from `manifest.py` and refactored related code in `config.py`.
- Updated documentation to reflect new configuration directory structure.
- Removed obsolete unit tests related to unit expansion.
A python-runner service ran from a tool venv (uv tool install --editable),
separate from the project venv that uv sync manages. The editable link kept
source live, but dependencies were resolved independently in each venv, so a
new dependency landed in the project venv and never reached the running
service — leaving no clean rollout for it.
Deploy now emits ExecStart=uv run --project <source> --no-dev <program>,
running the service in place from its own project venv. uv run syncs the env
to the lockfile before launching, so a single restart picks up both code and
dependency changes; the ExecStart is deterministic from source and never goes
stale. The tool-venv install is gated to the command runner only; uv tool
install is reserved for tool-behavior programs, where PATH is the point. A
python service with no resolvable source falls back to a PATH lookup.
Driven by adopting lakehouse (an existing daemon that bundles its own SPA) —
see docs/findings-lakehouse.md.
#3 deploy reloads the gateway. castle deploy regenerated the Caddyfile but
left the running Caddy on the old config, so new proxy routes were silently
dead. Deploy now reloads the gateway when it's running.
#1 castle expose <program>. Turns an adopted program into a service
(run/port/health/proxy/systemd) in one command — the missing
daemon-to-service step. Flags: --port --health --path --run --port-env
--host --no-proxy.
#2 port_env mapping. A service can declare expose.http.internal.port_env so
castle sets the env var the program actually reads (e.g. lakehoused reads
LAKEHOUSED_DAEMON_PORT, not castle's convention LAKEHOUSE_PORT). Castle now
genuinely drives an adopted daemon's bind port.
#4a auto-base for react-vite. The build passes VITE_BASE = the gateway serve
prefix (/<name>/, or / for castle-app); vite.config reads it. A castle-built
frontend now works at its subpath with no hand-tuned base. castle-app's
vite.config updated as the reference.
#4b host-based routing. proxy.caddy.host routes a whole hostname to the backend
root via a host matcher inside the :9000 site, so a root-based SPA (base="/")
serves unchanged — the fix for proxying an app castle can't rebuild. Caddyfile
now emits 'auto_https off' (HTTP-only gateway on a non-standard port).
Nit: activate skips the editable reinstall when the tool is already on PATH.
Tests: core 94, cli 24, api 52; ruff + app build clean. Verified live: lakehouse
runs under systemd, API at /lakehouse, full UI (SPA boots) via host routing.
The Caddyfile generator now emits static-frontend routes that root directly at
<source>/<build.outputs[0]> (e.g. /data/repos/castle/app/dist) instead of a copy
under ~/.castle/artifacts/content. Removes _copy_app_static and the central
content-dir staging entirely; rebuilds are live without a copy step.
- caddyfile.py: manifest-driven static routes (castle-app at /, others at /<name>)
- ReactViteHandler.install just builds in place (no copy); uninstall is a no-op
- is_active(static frontend) = repo dist exists
- test isolation updated for the generator's config use
Dashboard + power-graph-app verified serving from repo dist; 168 tests pass.
Convergent deploy (prefix-based prune): castle deploy now removes orphaned
castle-* systemd units/timers no longer in the registry. Full deploy only;
partial (--name) deploys preserve siblings. Fixes the orphaned-timer / stale-
path drift class.
Container runner: derive --name from the service name (castle-<name>) instead
of the image name; skip the <PREFIX>_DATA_DIR env injection for containers
(avoids colliding with image env namespaces like NEO4J_*).
Unified active lifecycle (core/lifecycle.py): install/uninstall keep their
names but become activate/deactivate, dispatching by behavior — tool→PATH,
daemon/self-serving-frontend/job→systemd, static frontend→served. is_active
reports a uniform state (PATH-independent for tools). The CLI install/uninstall
and service enable/disable route through the extracted core.
API + dashboard: surface a uniform `active` state on programs alongside
`installed`; ProgramDetail shows active/inactive.
Tests: test_deploy_prune (6), test_lifecycle (5). 168 tests pass; lint clean.
Move all instance state into ~/.castle/ with clear separation:
- code/ — user project source (was components/)
- artifacts/ — generated specs, built content (was generated/, static/)
- data/ — service runtime data (was /data/castle/)
- secrets/ — credentials
castle.yaml moves to ~/.castle/castle.yaml as the canonical location.
Source paths use repo: prefix for git repo programs (castle-api, app)
and relative paths for user projects (code/central-context).
Add idempotent install.sh for bootstrapping infrastructure (Docker,
Caddy, MQTT, Postgres, Neo4j) with interactive service detection.
Remove components/ from repo (now in ~/.castle/code/), deinit
submodules, remove .gitmodules.
- Updated the terminology from "components" to "programs" across the codebase, including in config loading, saving, and manifest specifications.
- Introduced a new `stacks.py` file to handle lifecycle actions for development stacks, implementing handlers for Python and React Vite stacks.
- Adjusted tests to reflect the new program structure and ensure proper functionality.
- Revised documentation to align with the new terminology and structure, ensuring clarity on the purpose and configuration of programs, services, and jobs.
