Johnathan Corgan
b33d6531ce
The fips-dns.service unit had three issues: 1. Wants=systemd-resolved.service caused systemd to start systemd-resolved on systems that weren't using it, breaking existing DNS by rewriting /etc/resolv.conf to the stub resolver at 127.0.0.53. 2. The ExecStart busy-wait loop for fips0 had no timeout, hanging forever if fips.service failed to create the TUN device. 3. Installers unconditionally enabled fips-dns.service regardless of whether systemd-resolved was present. Fix by replacing Wants= with ConditionPathExists=/run/systemd/resolve (skips cleanly if resolved isn't running), adding Requires=fips.service (won't start without the daemon), bounding the fips0 wait loop to 30 seconds, and making the installers conditional on systemd-resolved being active.
3.4 KiB
FIPS Installation Guide
Quick Start
tar xzf fips-*-linux-*.tar.gz
cd fips-*-linux-*/
sudo ./install.sh
What Gets Installed
| File | Location |
|---|---|
| fips (daemon) | /usr/local/bin/fips |
| fipsctl (CLI) | /usr/local/bin/fipsctl |
| fipstop (TUI) | /usr/local/bin/fipstop |
| Configuration | /etc/fips/fips.yaml |
| Identity key | /etc/fips/fips.key (auto-generated) |
| Public key | /etc/fips/fips.pub (auto-generated) |
| systemd unit | /etc/systemd/system/fips.service |
A system group fips is created for control socket access.
Post-Install Configuration
Edit /etc/fips/fips.yaml before starting the service.
1. Identity
By default, the node generates a new ephemeral identity on each start
for privacy. If the node's npub will be published for others to use as a
static peer, enable a stable identity by uncommenting persistent: true
in the identity section:
node:
identity:
persistent: true
On first start with persistence enabled, a keypair is auto-generated and saved:
/etc/fips/fips.key(mode 0600) — secret key/etc/fips/fips.pub(mode 0644) — public key (npub)
The same identity is reused on subsequent starts. Alternatively, set
node.identity.nsec to use a specific key.
2. Ethernet Transport
If using Ethernet for local mesh discovery, uncomment the ethernet section and set the interface name:
transports:
ethernet:
interface: "eth0"
discovery: true
announce: true
auto_connect: true
accept_connections: true
3. Static Peers
For bootstrapping over UDP or TCP, add known peers:
peers:
- npub: "npub1..."
alias: "gateway"
addresses:
- transport: udp
addr: "217.77.8.91:2121" # public FIPS testing node
connect_policy: auto_connect
4. DNS Resolver (optional, requires systemd-resolved)
FIPS includes a DNS responder for .fips domain names (port 5354).
On systems running systemd-resolved, the installer automatically enables
fips-dns.service to route .fips queries to the FIPS resolver.
If systemd-resolved is not running at install time, DNS integration is
skipped. To enable it later (after starting systemd-resolved):
sudo systemctl enable --now fips-dns.service
For manual configuration without fips-dns.service:
sudo resolvectl dns fips0 127.0.0.1:5354
sudo resolvectl domain fips0 ~fips
Firewall Ports
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 2121 | UDP | Peer-to-peer mesh traffic |
| 8443 | TCP | Inbound peer connections |
Service Management
# Start / stop / restart
sudo systemctl start fips
sudo systemctl stop fips
sudo systemctl restart fips
# View logs
sudo journalctl -u fips -f
# Switch to debug logging
sudo systemctl set-environment RUST_LOG=debug
sudo systemctl restart fips
Monitoring
# Quick status
fipsctl show status
# Interactive dashboard
fipstop
# Other queries
fipsctl show peers
fipsctl show links
fipsctl show sessions
fipsctl show routing
fipsctl show transports
Non-Root Access to fipsctl/fipstop
Add your user to the fips group:
sudo usermod -aG fips $USER
Log out and back in for the group change to take effect.
Uninstall
# Remove binaries and service, keep configuration
sudo ./uninstall.sh
# Remove everything including /etc/fips/ and the fips group
sudo ./uninstall.sh --purge