rootnode-academy/docs/ENGINEERING_SOP.md

# RootNode Academy — Engineering SOP

Living doc. Covers the "how" of building this platform — the "why" and business/curriculum
process live in the Business Pack (`~/Documents/CDAA Technologies/07 RootNode academy/RootNode_Academy_Business_Pack/`),
this doc doesn't duplicate that. Update this file in the same commit as the change it describes.

## 1. Where this actually lives

- **Repo:** `~/Dev/Gitea/ced4568/rootnode-academy` — remote is **Gitea**
  (`git.synthossystems.com/ced4568/rootnode-academy`), not GitHub.
- **Gotcha:** `~/Dev/GitHub/ced4568/kubekosh` is a *different* clone of the same original
  upstream fork, still pointed at GitHub, and it's behind (missing the RootNode logo commit
  and the Real Ops enforce-limits scenario as of this writing). It's not deployed anywhere.
  Don't edit it by mistake — always confirm `git remote -v` shows `gitea:` before making changes.
- Known-good baseline as of this doc: commit `6ddfb1c` ("add probe-port-mismatch and
  enforce-limits to rootnode-real-ops bundle"). Everything below builds on top of that,
  clean working tree.

## 2. Architecture at a glance

```
backend/server.js      Express API + SQLite (better-sqlite3) + WebSocket PTY terminal — the
                        "Lab image," single-tenant, unmodified by the Platform work below
frontend/               Vite + React SPA, built to frontend/dist and served by nginx
scenarios/data/         One JSON file per scenario (task or MCQ)
scenarios/bundles/      Flat scenario_id lists grouped by cert track (basics/appdev/admin/security/real-ops)
scenarios/rootnode-path.json   The RootNode guided learning path (staged, see §4)
scripts/entrypoint.sh   Container boot: starts k3s, nginx, node backend, sets the shell banner/PS1
Dockerfile              ubuntu:22.04 + k3s + node20 + nginx, single image, one port (80)

platform/provisioner/   Phase 1 Platform Provisioner — disposable per-student Lab lifecycle,
                        PostgreSQL registry, egress firewall. See §8 and
                        platform/provisioner/README.md.
platform/egress-proxy/  Shared allowlisting egress proxy every Lab environment's traffic must
                        pass through.
```

Single Express process, single SQLite file at `/data/progress.db` (or `$PROGRESS_DB`),
single embedded k3s cluster **per Lab environment**. The Lab image itself is still
single-tenant by design — see §5 for identity, and §8 for how Phase 1 multiplies it into a
real multi-student platform without modifying it.

## 3. Local dev / safe smoke-testing

Never test schema changes against the real `/data/progress.db` first. Point at a scratch file:

```bash
cd backend && npm install   # first time only
node --check server.js      # syntax check, catches typos fast
PROGRESS_DB=/tmp/scratch/progress.db node server.js &
curl -s http://localhost:4000/api/health
# ...exercise the endpoints you changed...
fuser -k 4000/tcp            # stop it
```

To test a migration against **real prior data** without touching prod: copy the actual
`/data/progress.db` out of the running container/volume, point `PROGRESS_DB` at the copy,
boot, and verify the data you expect is still there before ever pointing at the real file.

kubectl/k3s-backed endpoints (`/setup`, `/validate`, `/context`, the WS terminal) won't work
outside the container — that's expected. API-and-DB-only endpoints (roster, login, progress,
curriculum, bundles, scenarios list) all smoke-test fine on a bare host.

## 4. Curriculum content

Two separate structures, don't confuse them:

- **Bundles** (`scenarios/bundles/*.json`) — flat scenario_id lists, one per cert track.
  Loaded by `loadBundles()`/`GET /api/bundles`. Adding a bundle file here = adding a new
  cert-track library. Every scenario referenced must have a matching file in `scenarios/data/`.
- **RootNode path** (`scenarios/rootnode-path.json`) — the guided onboarding sequence,
  separate from bundles on purpose (it's *staged*, bundles are *flat*, and the bundle loader
  would choke on a staged file if it were dropped in `scenarios/bundles/`). Loaded by
  `loadCurriculumPath()`/`GET /api/curriculum/path`. Stages are Foundation → Workloads →
  Networking → Configuration → Troubleshooting → Real Ops → Capstone, currently built by
  reusing existing `1-k8s-basics` and `rootnode-real-ops` scenarios grouped by their existing
  `category` field — no new scenario content was written for this. **Capstone stage is a
  locked placeholder** (`"locked": true`, empty `scenario_ids`) — the capstone engine itself
  is a separate, not-yet-built roadmap item (see §7, item 6). Do not put real scenarios in it
  until that engine exists, or you'll reproduce the "duplicate beginner scenarios as capstone"
  anti-pattern this path was built to avoid.

To add/reorder a stage: edit `rootnode-path.json` directly, referencing existing
`scenarios/data/*.json` ids. No backend code change needed — it's read fresh via
`POST /api/cache/reload` or on server restart.

## 5. Student identity — what's built, what isn't

**Built (backend only, as of this doc):**
- `students` table: `student_id` (`student-NNN`, sequential), `display_name`, `cohort`,
  `created_at`, `last_active_at`.
- Login model: **instructor roster, pick-your-name, no password.** `POST /api/roster` adds
  a student (instructor-only action, currently unauthenticated at the API level — see
  "not built" below). `GET /api/roster?cohort=X` lists names for a dropdown.
  `POST /api/login` just validates the id exists and returns it; the frontend is expected to
  hold onto `student_id` and send it back as an `X-Student-Id` header on every request.
- `progress` table now keyed on `(student_id, scenario_id)` instead of `scenario_id` alone —
  each student's completion/attempts/hints are isolated. Verified by smoke test: two students
  answering the same scenario don't affect each other's state, and pre-migration data was
  preserved under `student_id = 'unassigned'`.
- Exam `sessions` now carry `student_id` (set at session start), so exam history and the
  timer-reset-on-submit logic are correctly scoped per student instead of leaking across
  whoever's browser hits the API next.

**Not built yet — do not assume these exist:**
- **No frontend UI.** No login screen, no name picker, no roster-add form. The API works;
  nothing calls it yet. This is the next slice.
- **No auth on `/api/roster` POST.** Anyone who can reach the API can add a "student."
  Fine for a dev instance, not fine once this is reachable by actual students — needs an
  instructor-only gate before that happens (ties into the instructor dashboard, roadmap
  item 3).
- **No concurrency / isolation.** Exam sessions are still global-single-active
  (`WHERE status='active' LIMIT 1` — see `server.js`), and there is one shared k3s cluster
  for the whole instance. Per-student identity ≠ per-student environment. **Multiple students
  cannot yet use this platform at the same time without stepping on each other.** That's
  roadmap item 4 (isolation) and it gates real classroom/minors use, same as the plan called
  out — this SOP is not claiming that gate is cleared.

## 6. Schema migration pattern

SQLite can't `ALTER` a primary key. The codebase's existing convention (see `progress` table
history) is:

1. `PRAGMA table_info(<table>)` → check if the new column/shape is already there (idempotent,
   safe to run on every boot).
2. Simple new nullable column → `ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN`.
3. Primary-key or structural change → build `<table>_new` with the new shape, `INSERT ...
   SELECT` the old data across with sane defaults for new required columns, `DROP TABLE`,
   `RENAME TO`. Never drop data — give it a legacy/default value (`'unassigned'`, etc.)
   instead of discarding rows.
4. Test the migration against a **copy of real data** (§3) before it ever runs against
   `/data/progress.db` in the container.

## 7. Roadmap status

Order agreed 2026-08-17/18. Status as of this doc:

1. RootNode identity/branding pass — **partial.** Shell banner fixed
   (`⎈ RootNode Academy Lab — node: k8s-lab`). Upstream KubeKosh attribution left untouched in
   footer/README/LICENSE. Broader "make Real Ops first-class" UI work not started.
2. RootNode curriculum mode — **backend done** (§4), frontend not started.
3. Student accounts / persistent progress — **backend done** (§5), frontend not started,
   no instructor auth yet.
4. Instructor dashboard — not started.
5. Per-student isolation — **Phase 1 (platform foundation) done**, see §8. Ephemeral
   per-student Lab environments with Postgres-backed lifecycle, per-environment Docker
   networking, and firewall-enforced egress restriction are implemented and tested on a single
   dev machine. **Still not cleared for minors** — no Gateway/frontend wiring yet (environments
   are only reachable via the internal Provisioner API), no instructor auth on top of it, and
   the production two-VM Proxmox split this depends on doesn't exist yet. See
   `docs/PHASE1_PLATFORM_FOUNDATION.md` final report for exactly what's verified vs. not.
6. Scenarios → teaching modules (incident context/investigation/prevention) — not started.
7. Capstone/exam engine — not started (placeholder stage only, see §4).
8. Progressive hint levels — not started.
9. Production observability — not started.
10. CI scenario testing — not started.
11. Container/build optimization — explicitly deprioritized by design (platform works, not urgent).

Next slice: either the deferred frontend login (name picker → `X-Student-Id` header, curriculum
view), or the Phase 2 platform work (Gateway, frontend wiring to the Provisioner, instructor
auth) — see the Phase 1 final report for the concrete Phase 2 list. Not decided here.

## 8. Platform Provisioner (Phase 1)

Full design: `docs/LAB_ARCHITECTURE.md` + `docs/PHASE1_PLATFORM_FOUNDATION.md`. Operational
reference (config, local dev, known limitations): `platform/provisioner/README.md`. This
section is just the map.

- **What it is:** an internal-only service that provisions a disposable, fully isolated Lab
  environment per student — its own Docker network, its own container running the existing,
  unmodified Lab image, its own firewall-enforced egress. Postgres-backed registry
  (`environments`, `environment_events`, `lab_hosts`), idle reaper, startup reconciliation.
- **What it is not (yet):** reachable by a student. There's no Gateway and no frontend wiring
  — it's exercised directly via its internal API (shared-secret auth) or
  `platform/provisioner/test/run.js`. Nothing here is a live feature.
- **Where identity lives:** unchanged from §5 — `students`/`progress` are still on the Lab
  image's own SQLite. `environments.student_id` is deliberately opaque (no FK) until a later,
  separate migration puts roster/progress on the same Postgres instance as the environment
  registry.
- **Local dev:** `platform/provisioner/docker-compose.dev.yml` runs Postgres + the egress
  proxy + the Provisioner on one machine — the documented Phase 1 dev exception. Production
  is a two-VM Proxmox split (Platform VM / Lab Host VM); the dev compose file is explicitly
  not that.
- **Test procedure:** `platform/provisioner/test/run.js` — 12 automated integration tests
  against a live dev stack (isolation, firewall ordering, reset/destroy cleanup, audit
  events). Some properties (idle reaper timing, remote TLS lab-host, reconciliation-on-crash,
  real-image k3s behavior) were validated manually during implementation rather than
  automated — see the Phase 1 final report for what and why.