Rename maglev-frontend → maglevd-frontend; v0.9.1; API RX/TX pulse

Rename the web dashboard binary to maglevd-frontend and move it to
/usr/sbin (it's a daemon and belongs with maglevd). The systemd unit
name stays vpp-maglev-frontend.service since that prefix is the
package name. Manpage, README, user-guide, and debian packaging all
updated in lockstep; bump to 0.9.1 for the first real release.

All frontend env vars are now prefixed MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ so a single
/etc/default/vpp-maglev can be shared with maglevd without collisions.
Every flag has an env equivalent for Docker use. MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER
and MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD still gate the /admin surface.

VPPInfoPanel now pulses "API: ↑↓" indicators in the zippy title
whenever a vpp-api-send / vpp-api-recv log event arrives on the SSE
stream for the scoped maglevd — 250ms blue flash, re-triggerable,
with the two arrows tightly kerned via negative letter-spacing.

Makefile

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-BINARIES     := maglevd maglevc maglev-frontend
+BINARIES     := maglevd maglevc maglevd-frontend
 MODULE       := git.ipng.ch/ipng/vpp-maglev
 PROTO_DIR    := proto
 PROTO_FILE   := $(PROTO_DIR)/maglev.proto
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ FRONTEND_WEB_SRC := $(shell find cmd/frontend/web/src -type f 2>/dev/null) \
 FRONTEND_WEB_DIST := cmd/frontend/web/dist/index.html
 
 NATIVE_ARCH  := $(shell go env GOARCH)
-VERSION      := 0.1.1
+VERSION      := 0.9.1
 COMMIT_HASH  := $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
 DATE         := $(shell date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
 LDFLAGS      := -X '$(MODULE)/cmd.version=$(VERSION)' \
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ TEST ?= tests/
 
 VPP_API_DIR ?= $(HOME)/src/vpp/build-root/install-vpp_debug-native/vpp/share/vpp/api
 
-.PHONY: all build build-amd64 build-arm64 test proto vpp-binapi lint fixstyle fixstyle-web pkg-deb robot-test clean maglev-frontend-web
+.PHONY: all build build-amd64 build-arm64 test proto vpp-binapi lint fixstyle fixstyle-web pkg-deb robot-test clean maglevd-frontend-web
 
 all: build
 
@@ -34,24 +34,24 @@ build: $(GEN_FILES) $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST)
 	mkdir -p build/$(NATIVE_ARCH)
 	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/$(NATIVE_ARCH)/maglevd ./cmd/maglevd/
 	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/$(NATIVE_ARCH)/maglevc ./cmd/maglevc/
-	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/$(NATIVE_ARCH)/maglev-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
+	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/$(NATIVE_ARCH)/maglevd-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
 
 build-amd64: $(GEN_FILES) $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST)
 	mkdir -p build/amd64
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/amd64/maglevd ./cmd/maglevd/
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/amd64/maglevc ./cmd/maglevc/
-	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/amd64/maglev-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
+	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/amd64/maglevd-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
 
 build-arm64: $(GEN_FILES) $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST)
 	mkdir -p build/arm64
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/arm64/maglevd ./cmd/maglevd/
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/arm64/maglevc ./cmd/maglevc/
-	GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/arm64/maglev-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
+	GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o build/arm64/maglevd-frontend ./cmd/frontend/
 
-# maglev-frontend-web rebuilds the SolidJS bundle. The Go binary embeds the
+# maglevd-frontend-web rebuilds the SolidJS bundle. The Go binary embeds the
 # resulting cmd/frontend/web/dist/ via //go:embed, so a `go build` after
 # this target picks up any asset changes automatically.
-maglev-frontend-web: $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST)
+maglevd-frontend-web: $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST)
 
 $(FRONTEND_WEB_DIST): $(FRONTEND_WEB_SRC)
 	cd cmd/frontend/web && npm install && npm run build

README.md

@@ -1,34 +1,57 @@
-# maglevd
+# vpp-maglev
 
-Health checker and gRPC control plane for VPP Maglev load balancing.
+Health checker, gRPC control plane, CLI, and web dashboard for the VPP
+`lb` (load-balancer) plugin. Runs as a set of three binaries under one
+Debian package:
 
-## Build and Install
+- **`maglevd`** — the long-running health-checker daemon. Probes backends
+  (HTTP, TCP, ICMP), tracks their aggregate state, programs the VPP
+  dataplane via the `lb` plugin binary API, and exposes everything
+  over a gRPC API + Prometheus `/metrics` endpoint.
+- **`maglevc`** — the interactive CLI client. Tab-completing shell with
+  inline help; also runs one-shot commands for scripting.
+- **`maglevd-frontend`** — optional web dashboard. One binary with the
+  SolidJS SPA embedded via `//go:embed`; connects to one or more
+  maglevds over gRPC and serves a live HTTP view (read-only `/view/`
+  and optional basic-auth `/admin/`).
+
+## Build and install
 
 ```sh
-make          # builds build/<arch>/maglevd and build/<arch>/maglevc
+make          # builds build/<arch>/{maglevd,maglevc,maglevd-frontend}
 make test     # runs all tests
-make pkg-deb  # Creates a debian package for arm64 and amd64
+make pkg-deb  # creates a Debian package for amd64 and arm64
 ```
 
-Requires Go 1.25+ and (for `make proto`) `protoc` with `protoc-gen-go` and
-`protoc-gen-go-grpc`.
+Requires Go 1.25+ and (for `make proto`) `protoc` with `protoc-gen-go`
+and `protoc-gen-go-grpc`. The SolidJS bundle under
+`cmd/frontend/web/` is built automatically via `make` through the
+`maglevd-frontend-web` target, which needs `npm`.
 
-Produces `vpp-maglev_<version>_amd64.deb` and `vpp-maglev_<version>_arm64.deb`
-in the `build/` directory by cross-compiling with `GOOS=linux GOARCH=<arch>`.
-Requires `dpkg-deb` (available on any Debian/Ubuntu host). The installed
-binaries report the exact git commit via `maglevd --version` (and
-similarly for `maglevc` / `maglev-frontend`).
+Produces `vpp-maglev_<version>_amd64.deb` and
+`vpp-maglev_<version>_arm64.deb` in the `build/` directory by
+cross-compiling with `GOOS=linux GOARCH=<arch>`. Requires `dpkg-deb`
+(available on any Debian/Ubuntu host). The installed binaries report
+the exact git commit via `maglevd --version` (and similarly for
+`maglevc` / `maglevd-frontend`).
 
 ## Running
 
-After installing, the unit is enabled but not started automatically:
+After installing, `maglevd` is enabled automatically but
+`maglevd-frontend` is **not** — it's opt-in, so the web dashboard
+doesn't surprise anyone who just wanted the daemon:
 
 ```sh
 # edit /etc/vpp-maglev/maglev.yaml, then:
 systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev
+
+# optional: web dashboard. Edit /etc/default/vpp-maglev to set
+# MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS and (optionally) MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER /
+# MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD for /admin/ access, then:
+systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev-frontend
 ```
 
-Or run the server and client by hand:
+Or run the components by hand:
 
 ```sh
 maglevd --config /etc/vpp-maglev/maglev.yaml --grpc-addr :9090
@@ -38,15 +61,29 @@ maglevc --server localhost:9090          # interactive shell
 maglevc show frontends                    # one-shot
 maglevc -color=false show backends        # one-shot, no ANSI color
 maglevc set backend nginx0-ams pause
+
+maglevd-frontend -server localhost:9090 -listen :8080
 ```
 
 Send `SIGHUP` to `maglevd` to reload config without restarting.
 `maglevd` requires `CAP_NET_RAW` for ICMP health checks.
 
-Check out a minimal configuration file in [[debian/maglev.yaml](debian/maglev.yaml)].
-See [docs/user-guide.md](docs/user-guide.md) for flags, signals, and `maglevc` usage.
-See [docs/config-guide.md](docs/config-guide.md) for the full configuration reference.
-See [docs/healthchecks.md](docs/healthchecks.md) for health state machine details.
+Every flag on every binary also has an environment-variable
+equivalent (e.g. `MAGLEV_CONFIG`, `MAGLEV_GRPC_ADDR`,
+`MAGLEV_SERVERS`, `MAGLEV_LISTEN`, `MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL`) so all three
+programs can be driven entirely via env in containerized
+deployments.
+
+## Documentation
+
+- A minimal configuration file in
+  [debian/maglev.yaml](debian/maglev.yaml) shows every knob.
+- [docs/user-guide.md](docs/user-guide.md) — flags, signals, and
+  `maglevc` command reference.
+- [docs/config-guide.md](docs/config-guide.md) — full YAML reference.
+- [docs/healthchecks.md](docs/healthchecks.md) — health state
+  machine, probe scheduling, rise/fall semantics.
+- Manpages: `maglevd(8)`, `maglevc(1)`, `maglevd-frontend(8)`.
 
 ## Docker
 

cmd/frontend/handlers.go

@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ func registerHandlers(mux *http.ServeMux, clients []*maglevClient, broker *Broke
 		adminAPI := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			handleAdminAPI(w, r, byName)
 		})
-		realm := "maglev-frontend admin"
+		realm := "maglevd-frontend admin"
 		// Register /admin/api/ before /admin/ so the more specific
 		// pattern wins in net/http's ServeMux.
 		mux.Handle("/admin/api/", basicAuth(realm, admin.User, admin.Password, adminAPI))

cmd/frontend/main.go

@@ -26,14 +26,18 @@ func main() {
 }
 
 func run() error {
+	// All env vars are prefixed with MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ so a single
+	// /etc/default/vpp-maglev (or a Docker env file) can be shared
+	// with maglevd without its MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL / MAGLEV_GRPC_ADDR /
+	// etc. leaking into this process's config.
 	printVersion := flag.Bool("version", false, "print version and exit")
-	servers := stringFlag("server", "", "MAGLEV_SERVERS", "comma-separated maglevd gRPC addresses (required)")
-	listen := stringFlag("listen", ":8080", "MAGLEV_LISTEN", "HTTP listen address")
-	logLevel := stringFlag("log-level", "info", "MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL", "log verbosity (debug|info|warn|error)")
+	servers := stringFlag("server", "", "MAGLEV_FRONTEND_SERVERS", "comma-separated maglevd gRPC addresses (required)")
+	listen := stringFlag("listen", ":8080", "MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LISTEN", "HTTP listen address")
+	logLevel := stringFlag("log-level", "info", "MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LOG_LEVEL", "log verbosity (debug|info|warn|error)")
 	flag.Parse()
 
 	if *printVersion {
-		fmt.Printf("maglev-frontend %s (commit %s, built %s)\n",
+		fmt.Printf("maglevd-frontend %s (commit %s, built %s)\n",
 			buildinfo.Version(), buildinfo.Commit(), buildinfo.Date())
 		return nil
 	}

cmd/frontend/types.go

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ type MaglevdInfo struct {
 	LastError string `json:"last_error,omitempty"`
 }
 
-// VersionInfo is the build metadata of this maglev-frontend binary
+// VersionInfo is the build metadata of this maglevd-frontend binary
 // plus runtime capability flags the SPA needs to know at mount time.
 type VersionInfo struct {
 	Version      string `json:"version"`

cmd/frontend/web/dist/index.html

@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
     <meta charset="UTF-8" />
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
     <title>maglev</title>
-    <script type="module" crossorigin src="/view/assets/index-C-XMkBf5.js"></script>
-    <link rel="stylesheet" crossorigin href="/view/assets/index-CxDuAfMR.css">
+    <script type="module" crossorigin src="/view/assets/index-DjixLt11.js"></script>
+    <link rel="stylesheet" crossorigin href="/view/assets/index-CExoCDXh.css">
   </head>
   <body>
     <div id="root"></div>

cmd/frontend/web/src/styles/theme.css

@@ -676,6 +676,45 @@
   background: var(--state-down);
 }
 
+.vpp-io {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0;
+  margin-left: 4px;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  line-height: 1;
+  letter-spacing: -0.15em;
+  padding-right: 0.15em;
+}
+.vpp-io-label {
+  color: var(--fg-muted);
+  font-weight: 500;
+  letter-spacing: normal;
+  margin-right: 4px;
+}
+.vpp-tx,
+.vpp-rx {
+  display: inline-block;
+  color: var(--fg-muted);
+  opacity: 0.25;
+  transition:
+    color 120ms ease-out,
+    opacity 120ms ease-out,
+    transform 120ms ease-out;
+  transform: translateY(0);
+}
+.vpp-tx.lit {
+  color: var(--accent);
+  opacity: 1;
+  transform: translateY(-1px);
+}
+.vpp-rx.lit {
+  color: var(--accent);
+  opacity: 1;
+  transform: translateY(1px);
+}
+
 .kv {
   display: grid;
   grid-template-columns: max-content 1fr;

cmd/frontend/web/src/views/Overview.tsx

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ const Overview: Component = () => {
             <div class="frontend-list">
               <For each={s().frontends}>{(fe) => <FrontendCard snap={s()} frontend={fe} />}</For>
             </div>
-            <VPPInfoPanel info={s().vpp_info} state={s().vpp_state} />
+            <VPPInfoPanel name={s().maglevd.name} info={s().vpp_info} state={s().vpp_state} />
           </>
         )}
       </Show>

cmd/frontend/web/src/views/VPPInfoPanel.tsx

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
-import { Show, type Component } from "solid-js";
+import { Show, createEffect, createSignal, onCleanup, type Component } from "solid-js";
 import Zippy from "../components/Zippy";
 import Flash from "../components/Flash";
-import type { VPPInfoSnapshot } from "../types";
+import { events } from "../stores/events";
+import type { LogEventPayload, VPPInfoSnapshot } from "../types";
 
 type Props = {
+  name: string;
   info?: VPPInfoSnapshot;
   state?: string; // "connected" | "disconnected" | ""
 };
@@ -15,6 +17,45 @@ const VPPInfoPanel: Component<Props> = (props) => {
     props.info?.connecttime_ns ? new Date(props.info.connecttime_ns / 1e6).toISOString() : "";
   const label = () => (props.state === "connected" ? "connected" : "disconnected");
 
+  // RX/TX indicators: pulse for 100ms whenever a vpp-api-send / vpp-api-recv
+  // debug log arrives for this maglevd. The upstream events() signal is
+  // updated one push at a time, so looking at the newest entry in an effect
+  // sees every event.
+  const [tx, setTx] = createSignal(false);
+  const [rx, setRx] = createSignal(false);
+  let txTimer: number | undefined;
+  let rxTimer: number | undefined;
+  const flashTx = () => {
+    setTx(true);
+    if (txTimer) clearTimeout(txTimer);
+    txTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
+      setTx(false);
+      txTimer = undefined;
+    }, 250);
+  };
+  const flashRx = () => {
+    setRx(true);
+    if (rxTimer) clearTimeout(rxTimer);
+    rxTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
+      setRx(false);
+      rxTimer = undefined;
+    }, 250);
+  };
+  createEffect(() => {
+    const evs = events();
+    if (!evs.length) return;
+    const ev = evs[evs.length - 1];
+    if (ev.maglevd !== props.name || ev.type !== "log") return;
+    const msg = (ev.payload as LogEventPayload | undefined)?.msg;
+    if (!msg) return;
+    if (msg.startsWith("vpp-api-send")) flashTx();
+    else if (msg.startsWith("vpp-api-recv")) flashRx();
+  });
+  onCleanup(() => {
+    if (txTimer) clearTimeout(txTimer);
+    if (rxTimer) clearTimeout(rxTimer);
+  });
+
   const title = (
     <span class="zippy-title">
       VPP
@@ -23,6 +64,15 @@ const VPPInfoPanel: Component<Props> = (props) => {
           {label()}
         </span>
       </Flash>
+      <span class="vpp-io" aria-hidden="true">
+        <span class="vpp-io-label">API:</span>
+        <span class="vpp-tx" classList={{ lit: tx() }}>
+          ↑
+        </span>
+        <span class="vpp-rx" classList={{ lit: rx() }}>
+          ↓
+        </span>
+      </span>
     </span>
   );
 

debian/build-deb.sh

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #
 # The commit hash is baked into the binaries at link time via -ldflags
 # in the Makefile, so `maglevd --version` / `maglevc --version` /
-# `maglev-frontend --version` are the source of truth for "which
+# `maglevd-frontend --version` are the source of truth for "which
 # build". The .deb itself carries only the release version.
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -28,15 +28,17 @@ install -d "$STAGING/etc/default"
 install -d "$STAGING/etc/vpp-maglev"
 install -d "$STAGING/DEBIAN"
 
-# Binaries
+# Binaries. maglevd and maglevd-frontend are daemons and live under
+# /usr/sbin; maglevc is the interactive CLI client and lives under
+# /usr/bin so it's on every login shell's PATH.
 install -m 755 "$REPO_ROOT/build/${ARCH}/maglevd"          "$STAGING/usr/sbin/maglevd"
 install -m 755 "$REPO_ROOT/build/${ARCH}/maglevc"          "$STAGING/usr/bin/maglevc"
-install -m 755 "$REPO_ROOT/build/${ARCH}/maglev-frontend" "$STAGING/usr/bin/maglev-frontend"
+install -m 755 "$REPO_ROOT/build/${ARCH}/maglevd-frontend" "$STAGING/usr/sbin/maglevd-frontend"
 
 # Man pages
 gzip -9 -c "$REPO_ROOT/docs/maglevd.8"          > "$STAGING/usr/share/man/man8/maglevd.8.gz"
 gzip -9 -c "$REPO_ROOT/docs/maglevc.1"          > "$STAGING/usr/share/man/man1/maglevc.1.gz"
-gzip -9 -c "$REPO_ROOT/docs/maglev-frontend.8" > "$STAGING/usr/share/man/man8/maglev-frontend.8.gz"
+gzip -9 -c "$REPO_ROOT/docs/maglevd-frontend.8" > "$STAGING/usr/share/man/man8/maglevd-frontend.8.gz"
 
 # Systemd units
 install -m 644 "$REPO_ROOT/debian/vpp-maglev.service"          "$STAGING/lib/systemd/system/vpp-maglev.service"

debian/control.in

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Description: Maglev health-checker daemon, CLI client, and web frontend
  maglevc is an interactive CLI client for maglevd with tab completion,
  inline help, and one-shot mode for scripting.
  .
- maglev-frontend is an optional web dashboard that fans one or more
+ maglevd-frontend is an optional web dashboard that fans one or more
  maglevd gRPC streams out to browsers over Server-Sent Events. It is
  installed but not enabled by default; enable with:
    systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev-frontend

debian/default.vpp-maglev

@@ -17,12 +17,21 @@ MAGLEV_CONFIG=/etc/vpp-maglev/maglev.yaml
 # Log level: debug, info, warn, error (default: info)
 #MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL=info
 
-# ---- maglev-frontend -------------------------------------------------------
+# ---- maglevd-frontend ------------------------------------------------------
 # The web dashboard is installed but not enabled by default. Enable with
 #   systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev-frontend
 # after reviewing the arguments below.
 
-# Command-line arguments passed to /usr/bin/maglev-frontend. At minimum
+# Command-line arguments passed to /usr/sbin/maglevd-frontend. At minimum
 # -server is required (comma-separated list of maglevd gRPC addresses).
-# -listen controls the HTTP bind address. See maglev-frontend(8).
+# -listen controls the HTTP bind address. See maglevd-frontend(8).
 MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS="-server localhost:9090 -listen=:8080"
+
+# Basic-auth credentials for the /admin/ surface. When both are set to
+# non-empty values, /admin/ is reachable and the SPA exposes backend
+# lifecycle mutations (pause/resume/enable/disable/set-weight). When
+# either is missing or empty, /admin/ returns 404 and the SPA hides
+# the admin toggle entirely. Leave commented out for a read-only
+# deployment.
+#MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER=admin
+#MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD=changeme

debian/vpp-maglev-frontend.service

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [Unit]
 Description=Maglev web frontend dashboard
-Documentation=man:maglev-frontend(8)
+Documentation=man:maglevd-frontend(8)
 After=network-online.target
 Wants=network-online.target
 
@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 User=maglevd
 Group=maglevd
 EnvironmentFile=/etc/default/vpp-maglev
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/maglev-frontend $MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS
+ExecStart=/usr/sbin/maglevd-frontend $MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS
 Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=5s
 Type=simple
 
-# Read-only presentation layer — needs no capabilities.
+# Presentation layer — needs no capabilities. /admin/ mutations go
+# through the gRPC client to maglevd, which does the privileged work.
 NoNewPrivileges=yes
 ProtectSystem=strict
 ProtectHome=yes

docs/maglevc.1

@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ command, with examples and operational notes — see the user guide at:
 https://git.ipng.ch/ipng/vpp-maglev/docs/user-guide.md
 .RE
 .SH SEE ALSO
-.BR maglevd (8)
+.BR maglevd (8),
+.BR maglevd\-frontend (8)
 .SH AUTHOR
 Pim van Pelt <pim@ipng.ch>

docs/maglevd-frontend.8

@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
-.TH MAGLEV\-FRONTEND 8 "April 2026" "vpp\-maglev" "System Administration"
+.TH MAGLEVD\-FRONTEND 8 "April 2026" "vpp\-maglev" "System Administration"
 .SH NAME
-maglev\-frontend \- web dashboard for one or more running maglevd instances
+maglevd\-frontend \- web dashboard for one or more running maglevd instances
 .SH SYNOPSIS
-.B maglev\-frontend
+.B maglevd\-frontend
 \fB\-server\fR \fIaddr\fR[,\fIaddr\fR...]
 [\fB\-listen\fR \fIaddr\fR]
 [\fB\-log\-level\fR \fIlevel\fR]
 [\fB\-version\fR]
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-.B maglev\-frontend
+.B maglevd\-frontend
 is a single\-binary web dashboard that connects to one or more running
 .BR maglevd (8)
 instances over gRPC and renders a live view of frontends, backends,
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ one or more maglevds with
 is enough to serve the dashboard.
 .PP
 For each configured maglevd,
-.B maglev\-frontend
+.B maglevd\-frontend
 maintains:
 .IP \(bu 2
 A long\-lived
@@ -45,16 +45,36 @@ A 5\-second health probe that surfaces maglevd connection drops
 quickly and flips the scope\-selector indicator dot red.
 .PP
 Browsers connect to
-.B maglev\-frontend
+.B maglevd\-frontend
 over HTTP. State is hydrated once via REST and then kept live via a
 Server\-Sent Events stream. Short SSE disconnects (nginx idle timeout,
 wifi flap, laptop wake) are handled silently via a 30\-second replay
 ring buffer; longer outages fall through to a full refetch. The SPA
 is stateless on reload so refreshing the page at any time returns a
 consistent view.
+.PP
+The frontend exposes two base paths:
+.B /view/
+is the read\-only dashboard and serves without authentication;
+.B /admin/
+is a basic\-auth\-protected variant of the same SPA that exposes
+lifecycle mutations (pause / resume / enable / disable a backend,
+set configured weight within a pool). The admin surface is only
+mounted when both
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER
+and
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD
+are set to non\-empty values at startup; otherwise
+.B /admin/
+returns 404 and the SPA hides the admin\-toggle button entirely.
 .SH OPTIONS
 Each flag may also be supplied via an environment variable (shown in
-parentheses); the flag takes precedence.
+parentheses); the flag takes precedence when both are set. All env
+vars are prefixed with
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_
+so a single env file can be shared with
+.BR maglevd (8)
+without variables leaking across processes.
 .TP
 .BI \-server " addr[,addr...]"
 Comma\-separated list of maglevd gRPC addresses. Required. Each
@@ -62,11 +82,11 @@ entry is in
 .I host:port
 form; a short display name is derived from the hostname label (for
 IP literals the full address is used).
-.RI "(env: " MAGLEV_SERVERS )
+.RI "(env: " MAGLEV_FRONTEND_SERVERS )
 .TP
 .BI \-listen " addr"
 HTTP bind address for the dashboard.
-.RI "(default: " :8080 "; env: " MAGLEV_LISTEN )
+.RI "(default: " :8080 "; env: " MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LISTEN )
 .TP
 .BI \-log\-level " level"
 Structured\-log verbosity:
@@ -76,19 +96,19 @@ Structured\-log verbosity:
 or
 .BR error .
 Affects
-.B maglev\-frontend 's
+.B maglevd\-frontend 's
 own logs, not the log level it subscribes to on the upstream maglevd
 (which is always
 .BR debug
 so the probe heartbeat can animate).
-.RI "(default: " info "; env: " MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL )
+.RI "(default: " info "; env: " MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LOG_LEVEL )
 .TP
 .B \-version
 Print version, commit hash, and build date, then exit.
 .SH HTTP ENDPOINTS
 .TP
 .I /view/
-Static SPA (HTML, JS, CSS, assets).
+Static SPA (HTML, JS, CSS, assets). Read\-only.
 .TP
 .I /view/api/maglevds
 JSON array describing the configured maglevds and their current
@@ -101,22 +121,39 @@ Full JSON state snapshot for every maglevd.
 Full JSON state snapshot for a single maglevd.
 .TP
 .I /view/api/version
-Build version, commit hash, and build date.
+Build version, commit hash, and build date, plus an
+.B admin_enabled
+flag the SPA uses to decide whether to show the admin toggle.
 .TP
 .I /view/api/events
 Server\-Sent Events stream. Long\-lived HTTP/1.1 chunked response
 fanning out log, backend, frontend, maglevd\-status, and vpp\-status
 events to every connected browser. Supports
 .B Last\-Event\-ID
-replay from a 30\-second / 2000\-event ring buffer.
+replay from a 30\-second / 2000\-event ring buffer, plus a
+.B resync
+control event emitted after every maglevd config reload so the SPA
+re\-hydrates from the now\-fresh server cache.
 .TP
 .I /healthz
 Liveness endpoint; returns 200 if the HTTP server is up.
 .TP
 .I /admin/
-Placeholder for a future basic\-auth mutation surface. Currently
-returns
-.B 501 Not Implemented .
+SPA shell served behind basic auth when
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER
+and
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD
+are configured. Returns 404 when they're not.
+.TP
+.I "/admin/api/{maglevd}/backend/{name}/{action}"
+Backend lifecycle POST. Action is
+.BR pause ", " resume ", " enable ", or " disable .
+Returns the fresh backend snapshot as JSON.
+.TP
+.I "/admin/api/{maglevd}/frontend/{fe}/pool/{pool}/backend/{name}/weight"
+Weight change POST. Body is
+.B {"weight": 0\-100, "flush": bool} .
+Returns the fresh frontend snapshot as JSON.
 .SH REVERSE PROXY NOTES
 The SSE stream has a handful of operational requirements that every
 reverse proxy must satisfy:
@@ -124,7 +161,7 @@ reverse proxy must satisfy:
 Disable buffering on the events endpoint. Nginx honours
 .B X\-Accel\-Buffering: no
 (sent by
-.BR maglev\-frontend )
+.BR maglevd\-frontend )
 but a global
 .B proxy_buffering off;
 in the server block is the more robust answer.
@@ -136,36 +173,72 @@ to at least
 so the stream isn't torn down between the 15\-second
 .B :\ ping
 heartbeats that
-.B maglev\-frontend
+.B maglevd\-frontend
 sends.
 .IP \(bu 2
 Do not wrap the events endpoint in a gzip/brotli middleware — response
 compression buffers until its window fills and destroys the live\-stream
 property.
 .SH ENVIRONMENT
+All environment variables are prefixed with
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_
+so this daemon can share
+.I /etc/default/vpp-maglev
+(or a container env file) with
+.BR maglevd (8)
+— whose env vars use only the shorter
+.B MAGLEV_
+prefix — without cross\-contamination.
 .TP
-.B MAGLEV_SERVERS
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_SERVERS
 Default value of
 .BR \-server .
 .TP
-.B MAGLEV_LISTEN
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LISTEN
 Default value of
 .BR \-listen .
 .TP
-.B MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LOG_LEVEL
 Default value of
 .BR \-log\-level .
+.TP
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER
+HTTP basic\-auth username for
+.BR /admin/ .
+When set together with
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD
+the admin surface is enabled; when either is missing or empty the
+admin surface is hidden entirely (the SPA doesn't render the admin
+toggle button and
+.B /admin/
+itself returns 404).
+.TP
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD
+HTTP basic\-auth password for
+.BR /admin/ .
+See
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER
+above.
+.TP
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS
+Extra command\-line arguments picked up by the systemd unit's
+.B ExecStart
+line. Not read directly by the process — the unit expands it before
+exec\-ing the binary.
 .SH FILES
 .TP
 .I /etc/default/vpp-maglev
 Environment file sourced by the systemd unit before starting
-.BR maglev\-frontend .
+.BR maglevd\-frontend .
 The same file is shared with
 .BR maglevd (8);
 the
 .B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS
 variable there is passed on the command line to
-.B maglev\-frontend .
+.BR maglevd\-frontend ,
+and
+.B MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER / MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD
+are read from the process environment.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR maglevd (8),
 .BR maglevc (1)

docs/maglevd.8

@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ https://git.ipng.ch/ipng/vpp-maglev/docs/user-guide.md
 .RE
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR maglevc (1),
+.BR maglevd\-frontend (8),
 .BR vpp (8)
 .SH AUTHOR
 Pim van Pelt <pim@ipng.ch>

docs/user-guide.md

@@ -241,3 +241,83 @@ keyword. The `?` character is not added to the input line.
 
 Commands and keywords support **prefix matching**: typing `sh ba` is equivalent
 to `show backends`, and `sh ba nginx0` is equivalent to `show backends nginx0`.
+
+---
+
+## maglevd-frontend
+
+`maglevd-frontend` is an optional web dashboard that connects to one or
+more running `maglevd` instances over gRPC and renders a live view of
+frontends, backends, health checks, and VPP load-balancer state. It is
+a single Go binary with the SolidJS SPA embedded via `//go:embed`; no
+runtime file dependencies.
+
+Installed by the Debian package to `/usr/sbin/maglevd-frontend` but
+**not** enabled by default — the operator opts in via:
+
+```sh
+systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev-frontend
+```
+
+The systemd unit (`vpp-maglev-frontend.service`) reads its arguments
+from `/etc/default/vpp-maglev` via `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS`. The same
+env file is shared with `maglevd`; all `maglevd-frontend`-specific
+variables are prefixed with `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_` so there's no overlap.
+
+### Flags
+
+| Flag | Environment variable | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `--server` | `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_SERVERS` | *(required)* | Comma-separated list of `host:port` maglevd addresses. |
+| `--listen` | `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LISTEN` | `:8080` | HTTP bind address. |
+| `--log-level` | `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Structured-log verbosity for `maglevd-frontend`'s own logs. |
+| `--version` | — | — | Print version, commit hash, and build date, then exit. |
+
+In addition to flags, two env-only variables control the admin surface:
+
+| Environment variable | Purpose |
+|---|---|
+| `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER` | HTTP basic-auth username for `/admin/`. |
+| `MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD` | HTTP basic-auth password for `/admin/`. |
+
+When **both** are set and non-empty the admin surface is mounted and
+the SPA's "admin…" toggle becomes visible. When either is missing or
+empty the `/admin/` route returns 404 and the SPA hides the toggle —
+`/view/` is always reachable read-only.
+
+### HTTP surface
+
+- **`/view/`** — static SPA (dashboard). No authentication.
+- **`/view/api/state`**, **`/view/api/state/{name}`** — full JSON
+  snapshot for every maglevd, or one maglevd.
+- **`/view/api/maglevds`** — configured maglevds and connection status.
+- **`/view/api/version`** — build info + `admin_enabled` flag.
+- **`/view/api/events`** — Server-Sent Events stream; log, backend,
+  frontend, maglevd-status, vpp-status events with
+  `Last-Event-ID` replay from a 30-second / 2000-event ring buffer.
+- **`/healthz`** — liveness; returns 200 if the HTTP server is up.
+- **`/admin/`** — SPA shell behind basic auth (when configured).
+- **`POST /admin/api/{maglevd}/backend/{name}/{action}`** — backend
+  lifecycle action. `action` is `pause`, `resume`, `enable`, or
+  `disable`. Returns the fresh backend snapshot as JSON.
+- **`POST /admin/api/{maglevd}/frontend/{fe}/pool/{pool}/backend/{name}/weight`**
+  — weight change. Body: `{"weight": 0-100, "flush": bool}`. When
+  `flush=true`, VPP's flow table for the backend is cleared;
+  otherwise only the new-buckets map is updated and existing
+  sessions keep reaching the backend until they finish.
+
+### Reverse-proxy requirements (SSE)
+
+Nginx, HAProxy, or any proxy in front of `maglevd-frontend` must:
+
+- Disable buffering on the events endpoint. `X-Accel-Buffering: no`
+  is sent by the server; a global `proxy_buffering off;` in the
+  nginx server block is the more robust answer.
+- Raise `proxy_read_timeout` to at least 300s so the stream isn't
+  torn down between the 15-second `: ping` heartbeats the server
+  sends.
+- Not wrap the events endpoint in any gzip/brotli middleware —
+  response compression buffers until its window fills and destroys
+  the live-stream property.
+
+See `maglevd-frontend(8)` for the full reference.