169 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
# Docker Service Reconstruction After Config Loss — 2026-07-05
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## Scenario
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CT 111 (Proxmox LXC container, 10.0.30.99) had its root filesystem partially cleared — all Docker compose files, `.env` files, and container state were deleted. However, **data on bind-mount volumes survived** because they were on separate RBD-backed mount points. This reference covers rebuilding Docker services from surviving data without losing anything.
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## Key Principles
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1. **NEVER delete or overwrite existing data directories** — only create new compose/config files
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2. **Inspect surviving data before writing anything** — read existing config files (seahub_settings.py, postgresql.conf, etc.) to extract credentials and settings
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3. **Bind mounts survive root FS clearing** — data on separate partitions/RBDs is safe
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4. **Docker images often survive** — check `docker images` before pulling
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5. **Postgres data is self-contained** — `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` env var is only used for initialization; existing DBs keep their own auth. Reset password with `ALTER USER` after starting.
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## File Transfer to Proxmox CTs
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### Problem: `scp` to PVE nodes can hang or get blocked by security scanners
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### Solution: base64-over-SSH (reliable, no scp needed)
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```bash
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# Write file locally, then transfer via base64 encoding
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B64=$(base64 -w0 /tmp/compose-file.yml)
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ssh root@<pve-node> "pct exec <CT_ID> -- bash -c 'echo $B64 | base64 -d > /path/to/file'"
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```
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### Solution: `pct push` (writes file into CT from PVE host)
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```bash
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# Copy file to PVE host first (via base64 if scp fails)
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B64=$(base64 -w0 /tmp/file)
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ssh root@<pve-node> "echo $B64 | base64 -d > /tmp/file"
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# Then push into CT
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ssh root@<pve-node> "pct push <CT_ID> /tmp/file /path/inside/ct/file"
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```
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### Pitfall: Shell variable expansion eats `${VAR}` in heredocs
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When writing Docker compose files via `bash -c 'cat > file << EOF'`, shell expands `${VARIABLE}` references. The resulting file has empty values where compose variables should be.
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**Fix**: Write files locally with `write_file`, then transfer via base64 or `pct push`. Never use heredocs for compose files with `${VAR}` interpolation.
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## Multi-line RSA Keys in Docker .env Files
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### Problem
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Docker Compose `.env` files parse each line as `KEY=value`. Multi-line RSA private keys (PEM format with `-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----` headers) break the parser because:
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- Newlines split the value across multiple lines
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- `+` characters in base64 trigger "unexpected character in variable name" errors
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- Quoting doesn't help — the parser still chokes on `+`
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### Solution: Escape newlines as literal `\n` (two chars: backslash + n)
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```python
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import pathlib
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pem = pathlib.Path('/tmp/jwt_private_key.pem').read_text()
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single_line = pem.strip().replace('\n', '\\n')
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# Write to .env with the escaped key
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env_content = f"""JWT_PRIVATE_KEY={single_line}
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OTHER_VAR=value
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"""
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pathlib.Path('/opt/app/.env').write_text(env_content)
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```
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Docker Compose will interpolate `\n` back to actual newlines when passing the env var to the container. The container receives a proper multi-line PEM key.
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### Pitfall: `sed` fails on keys containing `/`
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Using `sed "s|^JWT_PRIVATE_KEY=.*|$KEY|"` fails because RSA keys contain `/` characters which conflict with sed's delimiter. Use Python for safe string manipulation.
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## Postgres Recovery with Existing Data
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### Starting Postgres with existing data directory
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When the Postgres data directory survives (on a bind mount), the `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` env var is **ignored** — it's only used for initial database creation on empty directories. Postgres will start with whatever passwords are already in the cluster.
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```bash
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# Remove stale postmaster.pid (leftover from unclean shutdown)
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rm -f /mnt/data/postgres/postmaster.pid
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# Start postgres container — it will detect existing data and skip init
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docker compose up -d database
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# Logs show: "PostgreSQL Database directory appears to contain a database; Skipping initialization"
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# Then: "database system was not properly shut down; automatic recovery in progress"
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# Then: "database system is ready to accept connections"
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```
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### Resetting the postgres password after start
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Since we don't know the original password, reset it to match the `.env`:
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```bash
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# Use psql inside the container — quoting hell through nested SSH
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# This pattern works:
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ssh root@<node> 'pct exec <CT> -- bash -c "docker exec <pg_container> psql -U postgres -c \"ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD '"'"'NewPassword!'"'"';\""'
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# Output: ALTER ROLE
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```
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## Immich Recovery Pattern
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### Surviving Data
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- `/mnt/data/immich-library/` — photo library (261 GB, years 2004-2026)
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- `/mnt/data/immich-postgres/` — Postgres 14 data directory
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- `immich_model-cache` Docker volume — ML model cache
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### Steps
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1. Download official Immich docker-compose.yml from GitHub releases
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2. Create `.env` with: `UPLOAD_LOCATION=/mnt/data/immich-library`, `DB_DATA_LOCATION=/mnt/data/immich-postgres`, `DB_PASSWORD=<new_password>`
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3. Set `model-cache` volume as `external: true` (existing volume)
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4. Start database first: `docker compose up -d database`
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5. Remove stale `postmaster.pid` if present
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6. Reset postgres password: `ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD '<new_password>'`
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7. Start full stack: `docker compose up -d`
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8. Verify: `curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://localhost:2283` → 200
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### Immich Compose Template (v2.6.3, OpenVINO ML)
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Key compose elements for recovery:
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- Server image: `ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:release`
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- ML image: `ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:release-openvino` (Intel Arc/OpenVINO)
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- Postgres image: `ghcr.io/immich-app/postgres:14-vectorchord0.4.3-pgvectors0.2.0` (pinned by digest)
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- Redis: `docker.io/valkey/valkey:9` (pinned by digest)
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- Model cache volume: `external: true, name: immich_model-cache`
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## Seafile Recovery Pattern
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### Surviving Data
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- `/opt/seafile-data/` — file storage (blocks, commits, fs directories) — 249 GB
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- `/opt/seafile-data/seafile/conf/` — seahub_settings.py, seafile.conf, gunicorn.conf.py
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- Docker images: `seafileltd/seafile-mc:12.0-latest`, `mariadb:10.11`, `memcached:1.6.29`
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### Lost Data
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- `/opt/seafile-mysql/db` — MariaDB database (was on root FS)
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- `/opt/seadoc-data/` — SeaDoc data
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- All compose files and `.env`
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### Steps
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1. Download official Seafile CE 12.0 compose templates (seafile-server.yml, caddy.yml, seadoc.yml)
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2. Extract credentials from surviving config: `cat /opt/seafile-data/seafile/conf/seafile.conf` → DB password
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3. Extract domain from `seahub_settings.py` → `SERVICE_URL = "https://seafile.familie-schoen.com"`
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4. Generate new JWT_PRIVATE_KEY (RSA 2048): `openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out jwt.pem -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048`
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5. Convert to single-line `\n`-escaped format for .env (see above)
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6. Create missing directories: `mkdir -p /opt/seafile-mysql/db /opt/seafile-caddy /opt/seadoc-data`
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7. Start services: `docker compose up -d`
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8. MariaDB initializes fresh — Seafile will re-init DB but file storage is preserved
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### Post-Recovery Issue
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The MariaDB database is freshly initialized. File storage (blocks/commits/fs) survives but the DB doesn't know about the libraries. SeaDoc data is lost. Libraries need to be reconstructed using `seaf-fsck` or manually re-created and linked to existing storage.
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## Root FS Space Management
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When pulling many Docker images on a CT with limited root FS:
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```bash
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# Check space BEFORE pulling
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df -h /
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# If root FS is >90% full, prune before pulling
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docker image prune -f
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docker builder prune -f
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# Monitor during pulls
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watch -n 10 'df -h / | tail -1'
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```
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CT 111 had 49 GB root FS at 93% after pulling all images for Immich + Seafile. Consider `docker image prune` after services are running.
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