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]>
This commit is contained in:
2026-07-27 21:30:03 +01:00
co-authored by Claude Sonnet 5
parent cd1ee3631d
commit 6173bf3ac2
+46 -1
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@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ Ansible playbooks for deploying MeshCore monitoring nodes (Raspberry Pi Zero W /
| dm-ashwell | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w | | dm-ashwell | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w |
| dm-edworth | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w | | dm-edworth | Pi Zero 2 W (armv7) | zero2_w |
There's also a fourth capture node, **dotminipc** (device name `dm-stotfold`) —
not managed by this repo (it's a Docker container on the shared dotnetwork
host, not a dedicated Pi), but documented below since it's the same upstream
software and shares config with the Pi fleet. See "dotminipc" below.
## Prerequisites ## Prerequisites
**Local machine:** **Local machine:**
@@ -72,7 +77,7 @@ You'll be prompted for a Tailscale auth key — leave blank if the node is alrea
1. **wifi** — configures NetworkManager connections for `dotnetwork` (home), `dotmobile` (phone hotspot, field troubleshooting fallback), and the host's deployed-location network 1. **wifi** — configures NetworkManager connections for `dotnetwork` (home), `dotmobile` (phone hotspot, field troubleshooting fallback), and the host's deployed-location network
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) 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)
3. **meshcore_cli** — installs `meshcore-cli` via pipx 3. **meshcore_cli** — installs `meshcore-cli` via pipx
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 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
5. **scripts** — deploys `voltage.sh` and `bandwidth.sh` 5. **scripts** — deploys `voltage.sh` and `bandwidth.sh`
## Config ## Config
@@ -91,3 +96,43 @@ ansible-vault edit --vault-password-file ../.vault_pass host_vars/dm-edworth/vau
`*/vault.yml.example` shows the expected keys. `*/vault.yml.example` shows the expected keys.
`group_vars/meshcore.yml` (MQTT credentials) is still plaintext — consider moving it into the vault too if this repo is shared further. `group_vars/meshcore.yml` (MQTT credentials) is still plaintext — consider moving it into the vault too if this repo is shared further.
## dotminipc (Docker node, not managed by this repo)
A fourth capture point, device name `dm-stotfold`, runs as a Docker container
(`ghcr.io/agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture:latest`) on **dotminipc**
(172.16.31.92), the shared Docker/HA host documented in the sibling
`dotnetwork` repo. It isn't part of this repo's inventory — no Ansible role
here touches it — but it's the same upstream software as the Pi fleet, so
config drift between the two is worth knowing about.
- Compose file: `dotnetwork/docker/dotminipc/meshcore-packet-capture/docker-compose.yml`
- Config: `dotnetwork/docker/dotminipc/meshcore-packet-capture/config.d/99-user.toml`
— host-only, gitignored (contains MQTT credentials), same TOML shape as
this repo's `meshcore_capture` role template
(`ansible/roles/meshcore_capture/templates/99-user.toml.j2`); keep the
broker list in sync between the two if either changes. The committed
`config.d/99-user.toml.example` in the dotnetwork repo is the sanitized
reference copy.
- Deploy/restart: `ssh [email protected]`, then from `/opt/docker`:
`docker compose up -d meshcore-capture --force-recreate`. Logs:
`docker logs -f meshcore-packet-capture`.
**2026-07-27 outage, for reference**: the `:latest` image was rebuilt
2026-07-25 and switched its config format from `.env.local` to TOML
(`/etc/meshcore-packet-capture/config.toml` + `config.d/*.toml`
the same "system" layout `meshcore_capture_layout` already models for the Pi
fleet). It silently stopped reading `.env.local` at all — despite upstream's
own README still describing that as a supported "legacy" path, in practice it
was just ignored — so the container fell back to the image's baked-in
defaults (`connection_type = "ble"`, `serial.ports = ["/dev/ttyUSB0"]`, no
owner key, only 2 of 5 brokers) and crash-looped on
`could not open port /dev/ttyUSB0`. Fix was to mount a full TOML override at
`config.d/99-user.toml` instead (see above) — same pattern as the Pi
`meshcore_capture` role already uses for `system`-layout nodes. Also found in
the process: the old `.env.local` had `PACKETCAPTURE_MQTT5_SERVER` set to
`mqtt.meshmapper.cc`, which fails TLS handshake — the correct domain is
`mqtt.meshmapper.net` (confirmed via `openssl s_client`; `.net` presents a
valid Let's Encrypt cert, `.cc` returns a TLS alert). If the Pi fleet's
`99-user.toml.j2` broker list is ever regenerated from a stale copy of this
node's old config, watch out for that typo resurfacing.