Files
fips/docs/reference
redshiftandJohnathan Corgan cdb03c76b0 Follow the macOS install layout for config, ACL, and identity paths
The macOS packaging installs config under /usr/local/etc/fips, wired through
the launchd plist and build-pkg.sh, but the default-path constants and the
config search path were hardcoded to /etc/fips for all Unix. On macOS the
daemon and fipsctl therefore looked in a directory that does not exist: the
ACL and host-map loaders hit their NotFound no-op arm and returned empty
state, so a populated peers.deny reported effective_mode "default_open" with
enforcement inactive, and host-file aliases went unloaded, with no error.

The peers.allow, peers.deny and hosts defaults now follow the platform's
packaging, and fipsctl keygen writes its identity there too. The config
search path keeps probing /etc/fips first and adds /usr/local/etc/fips after
it, so an existing install keeps working across the upgrade and the packaged
file still wins over a stale leftover. Both the macOS search-path entry and
the keygen output directory read one SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIR constant, so they
cannot drift apart. At startup the daemon warns once about hosts, peers.allow
or peers.deny stranded at the old location; the config file is deliberately
excluded, since both directories stay on the search path and a config left
behind is still read.

The control-socket snapshot tests repoint the ACL reloader at non-existent
paths under the temp dir, so the snapshot no longer reflects whatever ACL
files happen to exist on the machine running the tests.

Platform-gated unit tests pin both layouts, so a future refactor cannot
silently drift either one. Linux and Windows behavior is unchanged.

Adding a second system config directory moves the directory the daemon
derives the identity key path from, since that comes from whichever config
file loaded last. A host carrying fips.yaml at both locations would have
resolved fips.key to the new directory, found none, and under persistent
generated a fresh identity, silently changing its npub, routing address and
mesh IPv6 with no migration path. The daemon now adopts a key stranded at the
legacy path and warns to move it rather than generating one. The fallback is
confined to keys resolved from the system config directory, so a run using
./fips.yaml or a user config is never redirected to a system key.

Co-authored-by: Johnathan Corgan <johnathan@corganlabs.com>
2026-08-09 13:40:56 +00:00
..

Reference

Information-oriented technical descriptions for lookup on demand. Reference content describes what is: wire formats, configuration keys, command-line flags, control-socket commands, default values, file paths, exit codes. It is consulted, not read end-to-end.

Reference is austere by design: minimal narrative, no opinions, no guidance on when to use a feature. The "why" lives in design/; the "how do I accomplish X" lives in how-to/.

Available Reference

Document Scope
wire-formats.md All FMP and FSP message byte layouts, encapsulation walkthrough
configuration.md Full YAML configuration reference for the daemon and gateway
security.md nftables baseline, peer ACL, cryptographic primitives, rekey defaults, threat-resistance matrix
nostr-events.md Kind 37195 advert, Kind 21059 traversal signaling, Kind 10050 inbox relays
transports.md Per-transport statistics counter inventory
control-socket.md Line-delimited JSON control protocol for the daemon and gateway
cli-fips.md fips daemon CLI: options, exit codes, environment, files
cli-fipsctl.md fipsctl control-client: subcommands, options, exit codes
cli-fipstop.md fipstop live-status TUI: tabs, keybindings
cli-fips-gateway.md fips-gateway service CLI: options, exit codes, files