mirror of
https://github.com/vladtrc/iw4L
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d48a9f6502
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
104 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
104 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
# Your own master
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`iw4l-master` is a relay and server browser, not a game server: the host's client
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simulates the match. It pulls in no engine dependency, so a VPS needs no assets and no GPU. Publishing our own releases: [`DEPLOY.md`](DEPLOY.md).
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## Install — from the machine with the clone; the VPS needs only ssh
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```bash
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cargo xtask master install root@1.2.3.4
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cargo xtask master logs root@1.2.3.4 --since 10min
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```
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`install` mints a CA and server certificate under `~/.iw4l/ca` (or `--ca DIR`),
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builds a static binary, writes the systemd unit and starts the selected service.
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Prod uses `/usr/local/lib/iw4l` and `/etc/iw4l`; dev uses
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`/usr/local/lib/iw4l-dev` and `/etc/iw4l-dev`. Update files go under the selected
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library directory's `updates/<channel>`. Populate that directory before handing
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out the descriptor. The CA key never leaves the local machine. `master update`,
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`status` and `uninstall` take the same channel; uninstall retains certificates.
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Use an independent CA directory for dev:
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```bash
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cargo xtask master install user@vps --channel dev --ca ~/.iw4l/dev-vpn-ca
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```
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## TLS identity
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The descriptor supplies `master.address`, `master.server_name` and an embedded
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CA. The client trusts that CA and verifies the server name independently of the
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connection address. Prod uses the fixed label `iw4l-prod`, so its certificate
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can follow the installation to a new VPS.
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Dev certificates also cover the VPS host; generated dev descriptors use that
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host as their TLS identity. For IP targets this retains CA and IP verification
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without sending a synthetic DNS label as SNI. This preserves the intended
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address through proxies that inspect QUIC names and replace destinations
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([Xray sniffing configuration](https://xtls.github.io/config/inbound.html)).
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## What it records — nothing on disk
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Rooms, the advertised match name, peers and room membership live in `ServiceState`
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in memory, gone when the room closes or the process restarts. No account, history,
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analytics or telemetry. What survives is the systemd journal —
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startup and failures, not matches or players — under the VPS's own `journald`
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retention. Peer IPs are visible to the kernel and to any packet capture on that
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host while a connection is open, as with any server. Run it for others and that is
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the honest description: it forwards packets and vouches for nobody.
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## Hand out to players
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Give players a trusted `community.iw4l-server` and the self-updating `iw4l.exe`:
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```toml
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schema = 1
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name = "IW4L Community"
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[master]
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address = "1.2.3.4:4433"
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server_name = "iw4l-prod"
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[updates]
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url = "https://1.2.3.4:4433/updates/manifest.toml"
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ca_pem = """
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-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
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... public iw4l-ca.pem contents ...
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-----END CERTIFICATE-----
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"""
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```
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Both TCP and UDP allocations must be open. `serve --updates PATH` selects the
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static update directory; its default is `./updates`. Upload the release blob
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before atomically replacing `manifest.toml`; see [`DEPLOY.md`](DEPLOY.md).
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A community descriptor is required for master networking. Address, TLS name
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and CA come only from that file.
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On Linux, selecting a descriptor retains the locally built executable and
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skips the Windows update flow. `IW4L_COMMUNITY` selects a descriptor next to the
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executable (an absolute path is also accepted).
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| Setting | What it changes and when to set it |
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| --- | --- |
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| `IW4L_MASTER_HOST_NAME` | The room name other players see. To host via `map`, set a name that is not empty or only whitespace, and leave `IW4L_MASTER_JOIN` unset. Names can occupy at most 48 UTF-8 bytes. Hosting through the menu uses `iw4l host` if the name is unset. Joining through the menu needs no host name. |
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| `IW4L_MASTER_MAX_PLAYERS` | The room capacity, **including the host**. Optional; defaults to `18`. Set an integer from `2` through `18` to limit the room size. It is read only when creating a room, via `map` or the menu; invalid values prevent room creation rather than being clamped. |
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| `IW4L_MASTER_PASSWORD` | The room password for command-line hosting and joining. Lobby settings can set, change or remove it; joining a protected room through the menu prompts for it. |
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The host can start a match with:
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```bash
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make map mp_boneyard IW4L_MASTER_HOST_NAME='Friday match' IW4L_MASTER_MAX_PLAYERS=8
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```
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Other players open `make menu` and select the room. Master networking needs
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MW2 multiplayer data; it is disabled during demo replay.
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When a setting appears in more than one place:
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* **Direct game launch:** existing environment values win. The game loads one
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`.env`: next to its binary first, otherwise the first found from the working
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directory upwards. It fills only unset variables; files are not merged.
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* **GNU make recipes (without `-e`):** command-line assignments as above win
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over the repository `.env`, which wins over inherited environment values
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for keys it defines. The Makefile exports these values to the game.
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See GNU make's [environment rules](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/html_node/Environment.html).
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* **Community launch:** the selected descriptor supplies master address, TLS
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name and CA. See [`WINDOWS.md`](WINDOWS.md) for selection and updating.
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