# NetBird

Self-hosted NetBird with the combined management, signal, relay, and STUN server. The dashboard and server run behind the repository's existing external Traefik instance on the Docker `proxy` network. Only STUN UDP `3478` is published directly.

The deployment uses SQLite for a single-instance homelab server. The persistent `netbird_data` volume and the datastore encryption key are both required to recover the installation.

## Files

- `compose.yaml`: dashboard and combined server; selected by the marker-driven deploy workflow through `active`.
- `config.template.yaml`: non-secret server configuration rendered at startup.
- `entrypoint.sh`: injects Docker secrets into an in-memory runtime configuration.
- `client.compose.yaml`: optional host-network peer using a dashboard-generated setup key.
- `.env`: ignored local hostnames, the detected Traefik Docker-network subnet, and optional client setup key.
- `secrets/`: ignored relay secret and datastore encryption key.

## First deployment

Run these commands on the Docker host before merging the activating branch. The deploy preflight resets tracked files but preserves ignored local state.

```bash
cd /srv/homelab/netbird
./setup.sh
$EDITOR .env
docker compose config --quiet
docker compose up -d
```

Review the values in `.env` before starting. The example public hostname is `netbird.forust.xyz`; change it if a different public domain was selected. `setup.sh` replaces `NETBIRD_PROXY_SUBNET=auto` with the first IPv4 subnet of the external Docker `proxy` network. Keep that value synchronized with the network; set an explicit CIDR instead if the network is managed elsewhere.

`setup.sh` is idempotent and never replaces existing secrets. Do not delete or regenerate `secrets/datastore-encryption-key` after the first successful start unless all encrypted setup keys and API tokens are intentionally being invalidated.

## Network prerequisites

- Point the public hostname directly to the Docker host. Do not proxy UDP `3478` through Cloudflare or another CDN.
- Allow inbound TCP `80`, TCP `443`, and UDP `3478` through the host firewall and upstream router.
- Ensure the external `proxy` Docker network exists and Traefik uses its `websecure` entrypoint and `letsencrypt` resolver. `NETBIRD_PROXY_SUBNET` must describe that network; it is used to trust only forwarded client addresses from Traefik.
- Ensure the internal names in `.env` resolve where the local and development aliases are needed.
- Keep Traefik's `websecure` read timeout disabled for long-lived gRPC and WebSocket sessions. This repository configures `--entrypoints.websecure.transport.respondingTimeouts.readTimeout=0` in `traefik/compose.yaml`.

After startup, verify OIDC discovery through the public TLS endpoint:

```bash
curl -fsS "https://${NETBIRD_DOMAIN}/oauth2/.well-known/openid-configuration"
```

Open `https://${NETBIRD_DOMAIN}` immediately and complete the initial owner setup. Treat the initial setup flow as public until the owner exists.

## Optional host client

The client intentionally lives in a separate Compose project. Normal server deploys use `--remove-orphans`, so keeping the client in the server project would cause it to be removed.

1. Create a reusable or ephemeral setup key in the NetBird dashboard.
2. Put `NB_SETUP_KEY=<key>` in the ignored `netbird/.env` file.
3. Set `NETBIRD_CLIENT_HOSTNAME` to this machine's desired peer name.
4. Start and inspect the client:

```bash
cd /srv/homelab/netbird
docker compose -f client.compose.yaml config --quiet
docker compose -f client.compose.yaml up -d
docker compose -f client.compose.yaml exec netbird-client netbird status
```

The client uses host networking and requires `NET_ADMIN`, `SYS_ADMIN`, `SYS_RESOURCE`, and `/dev/net/tun`. Remove it without affecting the server stack:

```bash
docker compose -f client.compose.yaml down
```

## Operations

Inspect status and logs:

```bash
docker compose ps
docker compose logs --tail=200 netbird-server dashboard
```

Stop or remove containers without deleting data:

```bash
docker compose down
```

Do not add `-v` to `docker compose down`; it would delete the NetBird datastore.

## Backup and restore

Back up both the persistent volume and the ignored secret files. For a consistent SQLite backup, briefly stop the server first and store the resulting archive and `datastore-encryption-key` in an encrypted backup:

```bash
cd /srv/homelab/netbird
mkdir -p backups
docker compose stop netbird-server
docker run --rm \
  -v netbird_data:/data:ro \
  -v "$PWD/backups:/backup" \
  busybox:1.37.0 \
  tar -C /data -czf "/backup/netbird-data-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ).tar.gz" .
docker compose start netbird-server
```

Also securely back up:

- `secrets/datastore-encryption-key` — required to decrypt stored secrets.
- `secrets/relay-auth-secret` — keeps issued relay credentials valid across restoration.
- `netbird/.env` — optional, but it records the public and internal hostnames.

Test a restore in an isolated Docker host before relying on a backup.

## Upgrade

1. Take and verify a backup.
2. Review NetBird release notes for server, client, and dashboard compatibility.
3. Update the pinned tags in `compose.yaml`; update `client.compose.yaml` separately when deploying the client.
4. Pull and recreate the selected services:

```bash
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
```

The image tags are intentionally pinned instead of using `latest`, matching this repository's pull-on-deploy policy.