stupid-simple-network-inventory/README.md

# Stupid Simple Network Inventory

Self-hosted web application for manual network inventory and logical network topology visualisation.

## Stack

| Layer | Technology |
|-------|-----------|
| Backend | FastAPI + SQLAlchemy + SQLite (Python 3.11) |
| Frontend | Vue 3 + Vite, served by Nginx |
| Auth | JWT HS256, 24-hour expiry |
| Runtime | Docker Compose |

---

## Quick start

```bash
# 1. Clone and enter the project
git clone <repo> && cd topologie

# 2. Create the data directory owned by the current user
mkdir -p db_data

# 3. Configure environment (required for correct bind-mount ownership)
cp .env.example .env
# Set DOCKER_UID / DOCKER_GID to match your host user:
#   id -u && id -g
# Set INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD to avoid the admin/admin bootstrap.

# 4. Build and start
docker compose --env-file .env up --build -d

# 5. Open the app
open http://localhost:8080
```

### First login

| Case | Credentials | Behaviour |
|------|------------|-----------|
| `INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD` set | `admin` / `<your password>` | Normal login |
| `INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD` unset | `admin` / `admin` | Forced password change before accessing the app |

---

## Configuration

All configuration is via environment variables. See `.env.example` for the full list with descriptions.

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `SECRET_KEY` | auto-generated | JWT signing key. Set explicitly in production. |
| `INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD` | _(empty)_ | Bootstrap admin password. If unset, `admin/admin` is used with forced change. |
| `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` | `*` | CORS allowed origins (comma-separated). Set to your domain in production. |
| `DOCKER_UID` / `DOCKER_GID` | `1000` | UID/GID for the backend process. Must match the host user owning `./db_data/`. |

### Using .env with Docker Compose

```bash
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env — at minimum set DOCKER_UID, DOCKER_GID, INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD
docker compose --env-file .env up --build -d
```

---

## Security

### Secret management

Two options depending on your security requirements.

#### Option A — Auto-generated secret (recommended for single-node)

Leave `SECRET_KEY` unset (or empty) in `.env`. On first start the backend generates a random 64-character hex key, writes it to `db_data/secret_key.txt` with permissions **0600**, and reuses it on every subsequent restart. The secret never appears in an environment variable, a compose file, or a log.

```bash
# .env — leave the line empty or remove it
SECRET_KEY=
```

The only requirement is that `db_data/` is backed up (it already contains the database).

#### Option B — Docker Compose file secret

Stores the secret in a file on the host, outside version control, and mounts it into the container. The value never appears in an environment variable.

```bash
# Generate and store the secret outside the project directory
mkdir -p ~/.secrets
python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))" > ~/.secrets/topologie_secret_key
chmod 600 ~/.secrets/topologie_secret_key
```

Then uncomment the `secrets:` blocks in `docker-compose.yml` (see comments in that file) and remove `SECRET_KEY` from `.env`. Docker Compose merges the override automatically:

```bash
docker compose up -d
```

---

### Key rotation

To rotate the JWT secret (invalidates all active sessions):

```bash
# Option A — environment variable (recommended)
# Set a new SECRET_KEY in your deployment config and restart

# Option B — file rotation
docker compose stop backend
rm db_data/secret_key.txt
docker compose start backend
# All users will need to log in again
```

### HTTPS

This application does not terminate TLS. For production use, place it behind a reverse proxy that handles HTTPS:

```nginx
# Example nginx reverse-proxy (external, on the host or a dedicated container)
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name inventory.example.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/letsencrypt/live/inventory.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/inventory.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
```

For local-only use, bind to loopback to prevent accidental LAN exposure:

```yaml
# docker-compose.override.yml
services:
  frontend:
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
```

### Container hardening

The containers run with reduced privileges:

| Measure | Backend | Frontend |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Non-root user | `DOCKER_UID:DOCKER_GID` (host user) | `nginx` (UID 101) |
| `cap_drop: ALL` | ✓ | ✓ |
| `cap_add: NET_RAW` | ✓ (ping) | — |
| `no-new-privileges` | — ¹ | ✓ |
| Healthcheck | ✓ | ✓ |

¹ Omitted on the backend: ping uses file capabilities (`cap_net_raw=ep`); `no-new-privileges` suppresses the file effective bit and would prevent the subprocess from acquiring `CAP_NET_RAW` in its effective set even though the parent holds it in its permitted set.

---

## Data persistence

All data is stored in `./db_data/`:

| File | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `topology.db` | SQLite database |
| `secret_key.txt` | Auto-generated JWT secret (0600 permissions) |

**Backup**: `cp -r db_data/ db_data.bak/`

**Restore**: stop the stack, replace `db_data/`, restart.

---

## Development

### Backend tests

```bash
cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-test.txt
pytest tests/ -v
```

### Local dev (without Docker)

```bash
# Backend
cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload

# Frontend (separate terminal)
cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev   # Vite dev server on :5173, proxies /api/ to :8000
```

---

## Architecture

See [`docs/architecture.md`](docs/architecture.md) for the detailed request flow, Docker setup, and authentication model.