docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
# 2. Local setup
Every command in this document was run against this checkout and produced the
output shown. If one fails for you, the difference is your machine, not the doc.
## Toolchain
| Tool | Why | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Python 3.12** | backend runtime and test suite | Must have the `_sqlite3` extension. A pyenv 3.10 without it will fail at `conftest` import. `scripts/test.sh` looks for `python3.12` (or uses `uv` ) rather than whatever `python3` is on `PATH` — deliberately. |
| **Go 1.26** | frontend service and the backend daemon | Both are static `CGO_ENABLED=0` builds. |
| **Docker** | images, the compose/Swarm stacks, smoke tests | Docker CLI ≥ 27 is fine. |
| **uv** *(recommended)* | fast venv creation | `scripts/test.sh` uses it when present. |
| **shellcheck v0.11.0** | matches CI's pin exactly | Install to `~/.local/bin/shellcheck` . A *different* version can invent new findings and fail CI on an unrelated push. |
| **sops + age** | reading/editing the secrets vault | Only needed if you touch `infra/deploy/secrets/` . |
| **jq** | the repo's `.claude` hooks use it | Without it the prod-guard hook fails toward *asking* , which is safe but noisy. |
Check what you have:
```bash
which go python3.12 uv docker sops age jq shellcheck
go version & & python3.12 --version & & docker --version
```
## Backend
### Test suite (hermetic, no network, no Docker)
```bash
cd backend
make test # or: ./scripts/test.sh
make test ARGS='tests/data -q' # pass pytest args through
```
Verified: **429 passed, 8 skipped in 11.57s** on a cold venv build.
The first run builds `.venv-test/` on Python 3.12 and installs
`requirements-dev.txt` . `tests/conftest.py` is what makes the suite hermetic:
- no real Open-Meteo, Nominatim or GeoNames calls (the places index is marked
as already-loaded so no background download starts);
- a throwaway SQLite accounts DB and derived store in `/tmp` , never the repo's
`data/` ;
- audit/error/access/activity/heartbeat log dirs redirected to `/tmp` ;
- notifier and heartbeat threads disabled;
- `THERMOGRAPH_FRONTEND_BASE_INTERNAL` pointed at an unreachable placeholder
(the app fails loud at import without it).
### Boot it locally, no Docker, no Postgres
The backend falls back to SQLite when `THERMOGRAPH_DATABASE_URL` isn't a
Postgres URL, so this is enough:
```bash
cd backend
THERMOGRAPH_FRONTEND_BASE_INTERNAL=http://127.0.0.1:8080 \
THERMOGRAPH_BASE=/thermograph \
THERMOGRAPH_ENABLE_NOTIFIER=0 \
THERMOGRAPH_ENABLE_HEARTBEAT=0 \
.venv-test/bin/python -m uvicorn app:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8137
```
Verified responses:
```
GET /healthz → {"status":"ok","role":"all"}
GET /thermograph/api/version → {"backend_version":"2","min_frontend":"1","payload_ver":"p2"}
```
`app:app` is a one-line re-export shim for `web/app.py` . Keep it — systemd, CI
and the container entrypoint all target that name.
Note the port: **8137** is the backend everywhere in this project (compose,
Caddy, the smoke harness at 18137, the frontend's default internal base).
### Image smoke test
```bash
cd backend
make smoke # builds the image, boots it + a throwaway TimescaleDB (tmpfs),
# asserts /healthz and /api/version
```
Uses `docker-compose.test.yml` on host port 18137 so it can't collide with a
dev server on 8137.
## Frontend
**The live frontend is Go.** `frontend/server/` is what builds, tests, ships
and runs. The Python files one level up (`app.py`, `content.py` ,
`api_client.py` , `format.py` ) are the superseded original — see
[traps ](11-traps.md ).
### Test
```bash
cd frontend/server
go build ./... & & go vet ./... & & go test ./...
```
Verified: all seven packages `ok` (`config`, `content` , `contentapi` ,
`contentdata` , `format` , `handlers` , `render` ).
These same commands run inside `frontend/Dockerfile` 's builder stage — plus a
`gofmt -l` check that must come back empty — so **a failing Go test fails the
image build**, which is how CI catches it. There is no separate frontend test
step in the workflows.
### Run it
The process resolves `static/` and `content/` **relative to its working
directory**, so build in `server/` and run from `frontend/` :
```bash
cd frontend/server & & go build -o thermograph-frontend .
cd ..
THERMOGRAPH_API_BASE_INTERNAL=http://127.0.0.1:8137 \
THERMOGRAPH_BASE=/thermograph \
PORT=8080 \
./server/thermograph-frontend
```
Verified: `GET /healthz` → `{"status":"ok"}` , with a structured JSON log line
per request.
`THERMOGRAPH_API_BASE_INTERNAL` is **required** — boot fails loudly without it,
by design. Optional: `THERMOGRAPH_BASE` (default `/thermograph` ; the image sets
`/` ), `THERMOGRAPH_API_VERSION` (default `v2` — only ever change it per the
[API-version contract ](06-contracts.md )), `THERMOGRAPH_API_BASE_PUBLIC` ,
`THERMOGRAPH_SSR_CACHE_TTL` (seconds, default 600), `THERMOGRAPH_GOOGLE_VERIFY` ,
`THERMOGRAPH_BING_VERIFY` , `PORT` (default 8080).
### Frontend against a real backend container
```bash
cd frontend
make backend-up # pulls + runs the published backend image + throwaway db
# on 127.0.0.1:18137, waits for /healthz, prints the URL
make backend-down
```
2026-07-25 21:11:32 +00:00
The image tag is **derived from your checkout** — `sha-< 12hex of git log -1 --
backend/>`, the same domain-keyed rule `build-push.yml` and `deploy.yml` use —
so the harness follows the tree. If those backend commits are still local-only,
no image exists yet and the script says so; pin a published build with
`THERMOGRAPH_BACKEND_TEST_TAG=sha-<12hex>` .
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
`make test-integration` runs the Python integration tier against that. CI does
**not** run it — it needs a live backend container.
2026-07-25 21:11:32 +00:00
> Heads-up: against a freshly-booted throwaway backend, that tier currently
> fails 7 of 16 with `503` — the database is empty, so nothing is warm.
> Pre-existing, and unrelated to which image tag you use.
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
## The daemon
```bash
cd backend/daemon
go build ./... & & go vet ./... & & go test ./...
THERMOGRAPH_INTERNAL_TOKEN=dev-token \
THERMOGRAPH_API_BASE_INTERNAL=http://localhost:8137 \
go run .
```
It refuses to start without `THERMOGRAPH_INTERNAL_TOKEN` — and the backend
answers `404` on the whole `/internal/*` surface when that token is unset. Both
ends fail closed. With Discord unconfigured it logs once and runs cron-only.
## The full stack, locally
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
From the repo root:
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
```bash
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
make install # build both images as :local -- required once, see below
make up # docker-compose.yml + docker-compose.dev.yml overlay:
# uncapped CPU, backend on 127.0.0.1:8137
make down
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
```
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
`make install` is not optional on a fresh checkout. Neither compose file
carries a `build:` for backend or frontend — each ships as its own registry
image — so with no image present compose tries to **pull**
registry: move the registry host to dev.jinemi.com, MCP to mcp.jinemi.com
Completes the Forgejo domain migration. ROOT_URL moved to dev.jinemi.com
earlier; the registry half was deliberately deferred. Every image name,
REGISTRY_HOST default, runner label and --add-host pin now names
dev.jinemi.com, so the registry host and the bearer-token realm agree again.
Both names address the same Forgejo, so no image needs re-pushing and a
rollback to a tag pushed under the old prefix still resolves.
git.thermograph.org therefore stays served off the same Caddy site block --
one block, so the /v2/* mesh-only matcher keeps covering both names -- for
pre-migration tags and for runners holding it as their registered instance
URL.
Mesh clients now pin both names in /etc/hosts: the new one as registry host
and token realm, the old one for pre-migration tags. runner-vps2/config.yaml
carries both --add-host entries for the same reason.
Also renames Centralis' endpoint to mcp.jinemi.com in the two places this
repo names it; Centralis itself is provisioned outside this repo.
Host-side steps this cannot do (documented in deploy/forgejo/README.md,
"Host-side steps"): the Forgejo Actions variable REGISTRY_HOST, docker login
against the new host, and the /etc/hosts pins.
2026-08-01 23:06:22 +00:00
`dev.jinemi.com/emi/thermograph/backend:local` , a tag published nowhere,
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
and fails with `403 Forbidden` against a registry you have no login for.
`install` builds that tag locally from `backend/Dockerfile` and
`frontend/Dockerfile` . `make up` checks both images exist and points you here
if they don't.
`make -C infra dev-up` / `dev-down` remain equivalent to `up` / `down` — same
overlay, same project name, same stack.
Backend publishes on `${DEV_BIND_ADDR}` , **loopback by default** . Pass
`DEV_BIND_ADDR=0.0.0.0 make up` to reach it from phones on your own Wi-Fi —
fine on a laptop LAN, never on a fleet host.
2026-07-26 06:56:38 +00:00
This is a **laptop convenience** , not the hosted dev environment: the actual
`dev` environment now runs on vps1 with its own Postgres, deployed by CI, and
bound only to the WireGuard mesh (`10.10.0.2:8137`) — never `0.0.0.0` , since
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
vps1 is a public box. See [Infra and secrets ](08-infra-secrets.md ).
2026-07-26 06:56:38 +00:00
2026-08-01 20:14:32 +00:00
Both entry points set `COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=thermograph-dev` so this stack
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
keeps volumes separate from anything else. **Do not remove either half of the
project-name pinning** — `infra/docker-compose.yml` pins `name: thermograph` ,
and without it running compose from `infra/` derives the project name `infra` ,
silently creating a *new* stack beside the running one with fresh volumes.
Other `infra/Makefile` targets: `up` /`down` (pull + run the published images),
`db-up` /`db-down` (just Postgres, e.g. to run the app from a venv against it),
`om-up` /`om-down`/`om-backfill` (the self-hosted Open-Meteo overlay — the
backfill writes ~1– 1.5 TB and takes hours).
## Connectors (Centralis and friends)
The fleet is not reachable from a laptop off the WireGuard mesh, and Forgejo is
mesh-only. **Centralis** is the control plane that fronts all of it — the app
database, the ERA5 lake, fleet logs, Grafana, Forgejo, docs and notes, and
Discord.
```bash
registry: move the registry host to dev.jinemi.com, MCP to mcp.jinemi.com
Completes the Forgejo domain migration. ROOT_URL moved to dev.jinemi.com
earlier; the registry half was deliberately deferred. Every image name,
REGISTRY_HOST default, runner label and --add-host pin now names
dev.jinemi.com, so the registry host and the bearer-token realm agree again.
Both names address the same Forgejo, so no image needs re-pushing and a
rollback to a tag pushed under the old prefix still resolves.
git.thermograph.org therefore stays served off the same Caddy site block --
one block, so the /v2/* mesh-only matcher keeps covering both names -- for
pre-migration tags and for runners holding it as their registered instance
URL.
Mesh clients now pin both names in /etc/hosts: the new one as registry host
and token realm, the old one for pre-migration tags. runner-vps2/config.yaml
carries both --add-host entries for the same reason.
Also renames Centralis' endpoint to mcp.jinemi.com in the two places this
repo names it; Centralis itself is provisioned outside this repo.
Host-side steps this cannot do (documented in deploy/forgejo/README.md,
"Host-side steps"): the Forgejo Actions variable REGISTRY_HOST, docker login
against the new host, and the /etc/hosts pins.
2026-08-01 23:06:22 +00:00
claude mcp add --transport http centralis https://mcp.jinemi.com/mcp \
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
--header "Authorization: Bearer $CENTRALIS_TOKEN"
```
Ask the operator for a token; don't share it. Verify with *"what's running on
prod right now?"* — it should call `fleet_status` and list the Swarm services.
Also worth installing locally: **Chrome DevTools MCP** (design verification
needs a real browser on your machine) and **Figma** . Grafana's official MCP
server is optional and read-only — but remember dashboards are provisioned from
repo JSON, so a durable change is still a PR via `dashboard_write` .
Run `mcp__centralis__onboarding` for the current, authoritative connector list;
it will be fresher than this page.
## Repo-local guardrails
`.claude/settings.json` wires three hooks that travel with the checkout:
| Hook | When | What |
|---|---|---|
2026-07-26 06:56:38 +00:00
| `prod-guard.sh` | before Bash / live-host MCP calls | Classifies by **allowlist** : only positively-recognised read-only commands pass; everything else asks. vps1 is guarded as strictly as vps2 — it hosts Forgejo, Grafana *and* the mesh-only `dev` environment, so a destructive command there takes out git, CI and the registry at once, not just a dev sandbox. |
docs: add a developer onboarding guide for the monorepo
Twelve documents under docs/onboarding/ covering orientation, local setup,
the repo map, per-domain deep dives, the cross-service contracts, CI and the
release flow, infra and secrets, observability, task recipes, and a list of
which docs in this tree are currently stale.
Every command in the setup guide was run against this checkout: the backend
suite (429 passed, 8 skipped), the frontend Go suite, a venv boot of the
backend, and a build+boot of the Go frontend.
Two findings recorded along the way:
- static/units.js's F_REGIONS is guarded by no test, despite three source
comments claiming "a test asserts all three stay identical". The Go test
only cross-checks the Go copy against the backend's Python. All four copies
are currently identical.
- backend/ and frontend/docker-compose.test.yml still default to the retired
emi/thermograph-backend/app image path, and the frontend harness pins the
split-era v0.0.2-split-ci tag.
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AfXqHrxCJLs2D7hpQkiUiJ
2026-07-25 18:25:52 +00:00
| `secrets-guard.sh` | before Write/Edit | Denies any direct write to `infra/deploy/secrets/*.yaml` . Use `sops edit` . |
| `lint-after-edit.sh` | after Write/Edit | shellchecks an edited `*.sh` and feeds findings straight back. Exits quietly if shellcheck is missing. |
They enforce what `CLAUDE.md` can only ask for. If you change `prod-guard.sh` 's
classifier, re-read `.claude/hooks/README.md` first — it documents a real
silent-total-bypass failure mode in the parsing loop.
Next: [Repo map ](03-repo-map.md ).