Document dotminipc Docker capture node and its 2026-07-27 config-format outage
The upstream image switched from .env.local to TOML config, which silently broke the dotminipc container; record what happened and where its config lives now, since it shares the same upstream software as the Pi fleet. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <[email protected]>
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@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ Ansible playbooks for deploying MeshCore monitoring nodes (Raspberry Pi Zero W /
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| dm-ashwell | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w |
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| dm-edworth | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w |
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There's also a fourth capture node, **dotminipc** (device name `dm-stotfold`) —
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not managed by this repo (it's a Docker container on the shared dotnetwork
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host, not a dedicated Pi), but documented below since it's the same upstream
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software and shares config with the Pi fleet. See "dotminipc" below.
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## Prerequisites
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**Local machine:**
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@@ -72,7 +77,7 @@ You'll be prompted for a Tailscale auth key — leave blank if the node is alrea
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1. **wifi** — configures NetworkManager connections for `dotnetwork` (home), `dotmobile` (phone hotspot, field troubleshooting fallback), and the host's deployed-location network
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2. **base** — apt upgrade, installs screen/pipx/vnstat/git, sets MOTD, authorizes SSH keys for both laptop partitions, installs Tailscale (always) and authenticates it (only if `tailscale_auth_key` is set — otherwise run `sudo tailscale up` manually once, see checklist above)
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3. **meshcore_cli** — installs `meshcore-cli` via pipx
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4. **meshcore_capture** — runs the agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture install script (skipped once already installed — see "meshcore-packet-capture install is interactive" above, this needs a manual first run), writes `.env.local` config, enables `meshcore-capture.service`, deploys update/log helper scripts
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4. **meshcore_capture** — runs the agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture install script (skipped once already installed — see "meshcore-packet-capture install is interactive" above, this needs a manual first run), writes config (TOML `config.d/99-user.toml` on current "system"-layout nodes, legacy `.env.local` on the two nodes still on the old layout — see `meshcore_capture_layout` in `group_vars/all/vars.yml`), enables the capture service, deploys update/log helper scripts
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5. **scripts** — deploys `voltage.sh` and `bandwidth.sh`
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## Config
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@@ -91,3 +96,43 @@ ansible-vault edit --vault-password-file ../.vault_pass host_vars/dm-edworth/vau
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`*/vault.yml.example` shows the expected keys.
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`group_vars/meshcore.yml` (MQTT credentials) is still plaintext — consider moving it into the vault too if this repo is shared further.
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## dotminipc (Docker node, not managed by this repo)
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A fourth capture point, device name `dm-stotfold`, runs as a Docker container
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(`ghcr.io/agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture:latest`) on **dotminipc**
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(172.16.31.92), the shared Docker/HA host documented in the sibling
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`dotnetwork` repo. It isn't part of this repo's inventory — no Ansible role
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here touches it — but it's the same upstream software as the Pi fleet, so
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config drift between the two is worth knowing about.
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- Compose file: `dotnetwork/docker/dotminipc/meshcore-packet-capture/docker-compose.yml`
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- Config: `dotnetwork/docker/dotminipc/meshcore-packet-capture/config.d/99-user.toml`
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— host-only, gitignored (contains MQTT credentials), same TOML shape as
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this repo's `meshcore_capture` role template
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(`ansible/roles/meshcore_capture/templates/99-user.toml.j2`); keep the
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broker list in sync between the two if either changes. The committed
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`config.d/99-user.toml.example` in the dotnetwork repo is the sanitized
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reference copy.
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- Deploy/restart: `ssh [email protected]`, then from `/opt/docker`:
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`docker compose up -d meshcore-capture --force-recreate`. Logs:
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`docker logs -f meshcore-packet-capture`.
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**2026-07-27 outage, for reference**: the `:latest` image was rebuilt
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2026-07-25 and switched its config format from `.env.local` to TOML
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(`/etc/meshcore-packet-capture/config.toml` + `config.d/*.toml` —
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the same "system" layout `meshcore_capture_layout` already models for the Pi
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fleet). It silently stopped reading `.env.local` at all — despite upstream's
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own README still describing that as a supported "legacy" path, in practice it
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was just ignored — so the container fell back to the image's baked-in
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defaults (`connection_type = "ble"`, `serial.ports = ["/dev/ttyUSB0"]`, no
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owner key, only 2 of 5 brokers) and crash-looped on
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`could not open port /dev/ttyUSB0`. Fix was to mount a full TOML override at
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`config.d/99-user.toml` instead (see above) — same pattern as the Pi
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`meshcore_capture` role already uses for `system`-layout nodes. Also found in
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the process: the old `.env.local` had `PACKETCAPTURE_MQTT5_SERVER` set to
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`mqtt.meshmapper.cc`, which fails TLS handshake — the correct domain is
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`mqtt.meshmapper.net` (confirmed via `openssl s_client`; `.net` presents a
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valid Let's Encrypt cert, `.cc` returns a TLS alert). If the Pi fleet's
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`99-user.toml.j2` broker list is ever regenerated from a stale copy of this
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node's old config, watch out for that typo resurfacing.
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