74 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
74 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Bonjour/mDNS discovery + debugging (Gateway beacons, clients, and common failure modes)"
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read_when:
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- Debugging Bonjour discovery issues on macOS/iOS
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- Changing mDNS service types, TXT records, or discovery UX
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---
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# Bonjour / mDNS discovery
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Clawdis uses Bonjour (mDNS / DNS-SD) as a **LAN-only convenience** to discover a running Gateway and (optionally) its bridge transport. It is best-effort and does **not** replace SSH or Tailnet-based connectivity.
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## What advertises
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Only the **Node Gateway** (`clawd` / `clawdis gateway`) advertises Bonjour beacons.
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- Implementation: `src/infra/bonjour.ts`
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- Gateway wiring: `src/gateway/server.ts`
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## Service types
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- `_clawdis-master._tcp` — “master gateway” discovery beacon (primarily for macOS remote-control UX).
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- `_clawdis-bridge._tcp` — bridge transport beacon (used by Iris/iOS nodes).
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## TXT keys (non-secret hints)
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The Gateway advertises small non-secret hints to make UI flows convenient:
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- `role=master`
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- `lanHost=<hostname>.local`
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- `sshPort=<port>` (defaults to 22 when not overridden)
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- `gatewayPort=<port>` (informational; the Gateway WS is typically loopback-only)
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- `bridgePort=<port>` (only when bridge is enabled)
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- `tailnetDns=<magicdns>` (optional hint; may be absent)
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## Debugging on macOS
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Useful built-in tools:
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- Browse instances:
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- `dns-sd -B _clawdis-master._tcp local.`
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- `dns-sd -B _clawdis-bridge._tcp local.`
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- Resolve one instance (replace `<instance>`):
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- `dns-sd -L "<instance>" _clawdis-master._tcp local.`
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- `dns-sd -L "<instance>" _clawdis-bridge._tcp local.`
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If browsing shows instances but resolving fails, you’re usually hitting a LAN policy / multicast issue.
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## Common failure modes
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- **Bonjour doesn’t cross networks**: London/Vienna style setups require Tailnet (MagicDNS/IP) or SSH.
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- **Multicast blocked**: some Wi‑Fi networks (enterprise/hotels) disable mDNS; expect “no results”.
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- **Sleep / interface churn**: macOS may temporarily drop mDNS results when switching networks; retry.
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- **Browse works but resolve fails (iOS “NoSuchRecord”)**: make sure the advertiser publishes a valid SRV target hostname.
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- Implementation detail: `@homebridge/ciao` defaults `hostname` to the *service instance name* when `hostname` is omitted. If your instance name contains spaces/parentheses, some resolvers can fail to resolve the implied A/AAAA record.
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- Fix: set an explicit DNS-safe `hostname` (single label; no `.local`) in `src/infra/bonjour.ts`.
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## Escaped instance names (`\\032`)
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Bonjour/DNS-SD often escapes bytes in service instance names as decimal `\\DDD` sequences (e.g. spaces become `\\032`).
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- This is normal at the protocol level.
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- UIs should decode for display (iOS uses `BonjourEscapes.decode` in `apps/shared/ClawdisKit`).
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## Disabling / configuration
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- `CLAWDIS_DISABLE_BONJOUR=1` disables advertising.
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- `CLAWDIS_BRIDGE_ENABLED=0` disables the bridge listener (and therefore the bridge beacon).
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- `CLAWDIS_BRIDGE_HOST` / `CLAWDIS_BRIDGE_PORT` control bridge bind/port.
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- `CLAWDIS_SSH_PORT` overrides the SSH port advertised in `_clawdis-master._tcp`.
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- `CLAWDIS_TAILNET_DNS` publishes a `tailnetDns` hint (MagicDNS) in `_clawdis-master._tcp`.
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## Related docs
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- Discovery policy and transport selection: `docs/discovery.md`
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- Node pairing + approvals: `docs/gateway/pairing.md`
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