Combined icons of k3s and Uyuni

Building on the lessons learned in the previous HackWeek, attack the Server specifically to create a set of containers deployable on k3s via Helm.

Goal for this Hackweek

  • create a Helm chart to run a self-sufficient Uyuni Server, starting with one fat containers with mounted volumes
  • slice off PostgreSQL in its own container
  • slice off some other component in their own container
  • bonus points: run the end-to-end testsuite!

Project coordination is on the Wiki project page

Looking for hackers with the skills:

containers k3s k8s kubernetes uyuni manager susemanager docker podman helm

This project is part of:

Hack Week 21

Activity

  • over 3 years ago: j_renner liked this project.
  • over 3 years ago: paulgonin liked this project.
  • over 3 years ago: RDiasMateus joined this project.
  • over 3 years ago: mbussolotto liked this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "helm" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "manager" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "susemanager" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "docker" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "podman" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "containers" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "k3s" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "k8s" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "kubernetes" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio added keyword "uyuni" to this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio started this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio liked this project.
  • over 3 years ago: moio originated this project.

  • Comments

    Be the first to comment!

    Similar Projects

    Technical talks at universities by agamez

    Description

    This project aims to empower the next generation of tech professionals by offering hands-on workshops on containerization and Kubernetes, with a strong focus on open-source technologies. By providing practical experience with these cutting-edge tools and fostering a deep understanding of open-source principles, we aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

    For now, the scope is limited to Spanish universities, since we already have the contacts and have started some conversations.

    Goals

    • Technical Skill Development: equip students with the fundamental knowledge and skills to build, deploy, and manage containerized applications using open-source tools like Kubernetes.
    • Open-Source Mindset: foster a passion for open-source software, encouraging students to contribute to open-source projects and collaborate with the global developer community.
    • Career Readiness: prepare students for industry-relevant roles by exposing them to real-world use cases, best practices, and open-source in companies.

    Resources

    • Instructors: experienced open-source professionals with deep knowledge of containerization and Kubernetes.
    • SUSE Expertise: leverage SUSE's expertise in open-source technologies to provide insights into industry trends and best practices.


    Rewrite Distrobox in go (POC) by fabriziosestito

    Description

    Rewriting Distrobox in Go.

    Main benefits:

    • Easier to maintain and to test
    • Adapter pattern for different container backends (LXC, systemd-nspawn, etc.)

    Goals

    • Build a minimal starting point with core commands
    • Keep the CLI interface compatible: existing users shouldn't notice any difference
    • Use a clean Go architecture with adapters for different container backends
    • Keep dependencies minimal and binary size small
    • Benchmark against the original shell script

    Resources

    • Upstream project: https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox/
    • Distrobox site: https://distrobox.it/
    • ArchWiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Distrobox


    Help Create A Chat Control Resistant Turnkey Chatmail/Deltachat Relay Stack - Rootless Podman Compose, OpenSUSE BCI, Hardened, & SELinux by 3nd5h1771fy

    Description

    The Mission: Decentralized & Sovereign Messaging

    FYI: If you have never heard of "Chatmail", you can visit their site here, but simply put it can be thought of as the underlying protocol/platform decentralized messengers like DeltaChat use for their communications. Do not confuse it with the honeypot looking non-opensource paid for prodect with better seo that directs you to chatmailsecure(dot)com

    In an era of increasing centralized surveillance by unaccountable bad actors (aka BigTech), "Chat Control," and the erosion of digital privacy, the need for sovereign communication infrastructure is critical. Chatmail is a pioneering initiative that bridges the gap between classic email and modern instant messaging, offering metadata-minimized, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) communication that is interoperable and open.

    However, unless you are a seasoned sysadmin, the current recommended deployment method of a Chatmail relay is rigid, fragile, difficult to properly secure, and effectively takes over the entire host the "relay" is deployed on.

    Why This Matters

    A simple, host agnostic, reproducible deployment lowers the entry cost for anyone wanting to run a privacy‑preserving, decentralized messaging relay. In an era of perpetually resurrected chat‑control legislation threats, EU digital‑sovereignty drives, and many dangers of using big‑tech messaging platforms (Apple iMessage, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Instagram, SMS, Google Messages, etc...) for any type of communication, providing an easy‑to‑use alternative empowers:

    • Censorship resistance - No single entity controls the relay; operators can spin up new nodes quickly.
    • Surveillance mitigation - End‑to‑end OpenPGP encryption ensures relay operators never see plaintext.
    • Digital sovereignty - Communities can host their own infrastructure under local jurisdiction, aligning with national data‑policy goals.

    By turning the Chatmail relay into a plug‑and‑play container stack, we enable broader adoption, foster a resilient messaging fabric, and give developers, activists, and hobbyists a concrete tool to defend privacy online.

    Goals

    As I indicated earlier, this project aims to drastically simplify the deployment of Chatmail relay. By converting this architecture into a portable, containerized stack using Podman and OpenSUSE base container images, we can allow anyone to deploy their own censorship-resistant, privacy-preserving communications node in minutes.

    Our goal for Hack Week: package every component into containers built on openSUSE/MicroOS base images, initially orchestrated with a single container-compose.yml (podman-compose compatible). The stack will:

    • Run on any host that supports Podman (including optimizations and enhancements for SELinux‑enabled systems).
    • Allow network decoupling by refactoring configurations to move from file-system constrained Unix sockets to internal TCP networking, allowing containers achieve stricter isolation.
    • Utilize Enhanced Security with SELinux by using purpose built utilities such as udica we can quickly generate custom SELinux policies for the container stack, ensuring strict confinement superior to standard/typical Docker deployments.
    • Allow the use of bind or remote mounted volumes for shared data (/var/vmail, DKIM keys, TLS certs, etc.).
    • Replace the local DNS server requirement with a remote DNS‑provider API for DKIM/TXT record publishing.

    By delivering a turnkey, host agnostic, reproducible deployment, we lower the barrier for individuals and small communities to launch their own chatmail relays, fostering a decentralized, censorship‑resistant messaging ecosystem that can serve DeltaChat users and/or future services adopting this protocol

    Resources


    Bugzilla goes AI - Phase 1 by nwalter

    Description

    This project, Bugzilla goes AI, aims to boost developer productivity by creating an autonomous AI bug agent during Hackweek. The primary goal is to reduce the time employees spend triaging bugs by integrating Ollama to summarize issues, recommend next steps, and push focused daily reports to a Web Interface.

    Goals

    To reduce employee time spent on Bugzilla by implementing an AI tool that triages and summarizes bug reports, providing actionable recommendations to the team via Web Interface.

    Project Charter

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HbAvgrg8T3pd1FIx74nEfCObCljpO77zz5In_Jpw4as/edit?usp=sharing## Description

    Project Achievements during Hackweek

    In this file you can read about what we achieved during Hackweek.

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/14gtG9-ZvVpBgkh33Z4AM6iLFWqZcicQPD41MM-Pg0/edit?usp=sharing


    Preparing KubeVirtBMC for project transfer to the KubeVirt organization by zchang

    Description

    KubeVirtBMC is preparing to transfer the project to the KubeVirt organization. One requirement is to enhance the modeling design's security. The current v1alpha1 API (the VirtualMachineBMC CRD) was designed during the proof-of-concept stage. It's immature and inherently insecure due to its cross-namespace object references, exposing security concerns from an RBAC perspective.

    The other long-awaited feature is the ability to mount virtual media so that virtual machines can boot from remote ISO images.

    Goals

    1. Deliver the v1beta1 API and its corresponding controller implementation
    2. Enable the Redfish virtual media mount function for KubeVirt virtual machines

    Resources


    The Agentic Rancher Experiment: Do Androids Dream of Electric Cattle? by moio

    Rancher is a beast of a codebase. Let's investigate if the new 2025 generation of GitHub Autonomous Coding Agents and Copilot Workspaces can actually tame it. A GitHub robot mascot trying to lasso a blue bull with a Kubernetes logo tatooed on it


    The Plan

    Create a sandbox GitHub Organization, clone in key Rancher repositories, and let the AI loose to see if it can handle real-world enterprise OSS maintenance - or if it just hallucinates new breeds of Kubernetes resources!

    Specifically, throw "Agentic Coders" some typical tasks in a complex, long-lived open-source project, such as:


    The Grunt Work: generate missing GoDocs, unit tests, and refactorings. Rebase PRs.

    The Complex Stuff: fix actual (historical) bugs and feature requests to see if they can traverse the complexity without (too much) human hand-holding.

    Hunting Down Gaps: find areas lacking in docs, areas of improvement in code, dependency bumps, and so on.


    If time allows, also experiment with Model Context Protocol (MCP) to give agents context on our specific build pipelines and CI/CD logs.

    Why?

    We know AI can write "Hello World." and also moderately complex programs from a green field. But can it rebase a 3-month-old PR with conflicts in rancher/rancher? I want to find the breaking point of current AI agents to determine if and how they can help us to reduce our technical debt, work faster and better. At the same time, find out about pitfalls and shortcomings.

    The Outputs

    ❥ A "State of the Agentic Union" for SUSE engineers, detailing what works, what explodes, and how much coffee we can drink while the robots do the rebasing.

    ❥ Honest, Daily Updates With All the Gory Details


    Exploring Modern AI Trends and Kubernetes-Based AI Infrastructure by jluo

    Description

    Build a solid understanding of the current landscape of Artificial Intelligence and how modern cloud-native technologies—especially Kubernetes—support AI workloads.

    Goals

    Use Gemini Learning Mode to guide the exploration, surface relevant concepts, and structure the learning journey:

    • Gain insight into the latest AI trends, tools, and architectural concepts.
    • Understand how Kubernetes and related cloud-native technologies are used in the AI ecosystem (model training, deployment, orchestration, MLOps).

    Resources

    • Red Hat AI Topic Articles

      • https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/ai
    • Kubeflow Documentation

      • https://www.kubeflow.org/docs/
    • Q4 2025 CNCF Technology Landscape Radar report:

      • https://www.cncf.io/announcements/2025/11/11/cncf-and-slashdata-report-finds-leading-ai-tools-gaining-adoption-in-cloud-native-ecosystems/
      • https://www.cncf.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cncfreporttechradar_111025a.pdf
    • Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Protocol

      • https://developers.googleblog.com/en/a2a-a-new-era-of-agent-interoperability/


    Rancher/k8s Trouble-Maker by tonyhansen

    Project Description

    When studying for my RHCSA, I found trouble-maker, which is a program that breaks a Linux OS and requires you to fix it. I want to create something similar for Rancher/k8s that can allow for troubleshooting an unknown environment.

    Goals for Hackweek 25

    • Update to modern Rancher and verify that existing tests still work
    • Change testing logic to populate secrets instead of requiring a secondary script
    • Add new tests

    Goals for Hackweek 24 (Complete)

    • Create a basic framework for creating Rancher/k8s cluster lab environments as needed for the Break/Fix
    • Create at least 5 modules that can be applied to the cluster and require troubleshooting

    Resources

    • https://github.com/celidon/rancher-troublemaker
    • https://github.com/rancher/terraform-provider-rancher2
    • https://github.com/rancher/tf-rancher-up
    • https://github.com/rancher/quickstart


    Kubernetes-Based ML Lifecycle Automation by lmiranda

    Description

    This project aims to build a complete end-to-end Machine Learning pipeline running entirely on Kubernetes, using Go, and containerized ML components.

    The pipeline will automate the lifecycle of a machine learning model, including:

    • Data ingestion/collection
    • Model training as a Kubernetes Job
    • Model artifact storage in an S3-compatible registry (e.g. Minio)
    • A Go-based deployment controller that automatically deploys new model versions to Kubernetes using Rancher
    • A lightweight inference service that loads and serves the latest model
    • Monitoring of model performance and service health through Prometheus/Grafana

    The outcome is a working prototype of an MLOps workflow that demonstrates how AI workloads can be trained, versioned, deployed, and monitored using the Kubernetes ecosystem.

    Goals

    By the end of Hack Week, the project should:

    1. Produce a fully functional ML pipeline running on Kubernetes with:

      • Data collection job
      • Training job container
      • Storage and versioning of trained models
      • Automated deployment of new model versions
      • Model inference API service
      • Basic monitoring dashboards
    2. Showcase a Go-based deployment automation component, which scans the model registry and automatically generates & applies Kubernetes manifests for new model versions.

    3. Enable continuous improvement by making the system modular and extensible (e.g., additional models, metrics, autoscaling, or drift detection can be added later).

    4. Prepare a short demo explaining the end-to-end process and how new models flow through the system.

    Resources

    Project Repository


    mgr-ansible-ssh - Intelligent, Lightweight CLI for Distributed Remote Execution by deve5h

    Description

    By the end of Hack Week, the target will be to deliver a minimal functional version 1 (MVP) of a custom command-line tool named mgr-ansible-ssh (a unified wrapper for BOTH ad-hoc shell & playbooks) that allows operators to:

    1. Execute arbitrary shell commands on thousand of remote machines simultaneously using Ansible Runner with artifacts saved locally.
    2. Pass runtime options such as inventory file, remote command string/ playbook execution, parallel forks, limits, dry-run mode, or no-std-ansible-output.
    3. Leverage existing SSH trust relationships without additional setup.
    4. Provide a clean, intuitive CLI interface with --help for ease of use. It should provide consistent UX & CI-friendly interface.
    5. Establish a foundation that can later be extended with advanced features such as logging, grouping, interactive shell mode, safe-command checks, and parallel execution tuning.

    The MVP should enable day-to-day operations to efficiently target thousands of machines with a single, consistent interface.

    Goals

    Primary Goals (MVP):

    Build a functional CLI tool (mgr-ansible-ssh) capable of executing shell commands on multiple remote hosts using Ansible Runner. Test the tool across a large distributed environment (1000+ machines) to validate its performance and reliability.

    Looking forward to significantly reducing the zypper deployment time across all 351 RMT VM servers in our MLM cluster by eliminating the dependency on the taskomatic service, bringing execution down to a fraction of the current duration. The tool should also support multiple runtime flags, such as:

    mgr-ansible-ssh: Remote command execution wrapper using Ansible Runner
    
    Usage: mgr-ansible-ssh [--help] [--version] [--inventory INVENTORY]
                       [--run RUN] [--playbook PLAYBOOK] [--limit LIMIT]
                       [--forks FORKS] [--dry-run] [--no-ansible-output]
    
    Required Arguments
    --inventory, -i      Path to Ansible inventory file to use
    
    Any One of the Arguments Is Required
    --run, -r            Execute the specified shell command on target hosts
    --playbook, -p       Execute the specified Ansible playbook on target hosts
    
    Optional Arguments
    --help, -h           Show the help message and exit
    --version, -v        Show the version and exit
    --limit, -l          Limit execution to specific hosts or groups
    --forks, -f          Number of parallel Ansible forks
    --dry-run            Run in Ansible check mode (requires -p or --playbook)
    --no-ansible-output  Suppress Ansible stdout output
    

    Secondary/Stretched Goals (if time permits):

    1. Add pretty output formatting (success/failure summary per host).
    2. Implement basic logging of executed commands and results.
    3. Introduce safety checks for risky commands (shutdown, rm -rf, etc.).
    4. Package the tool so it can be installed with pip or stored internally.

    Resources

    Collaboration is welcome from anyone interested in CLI tooling, automation, or distributed systems. Skills that would be particularly valuable include:

    1. Python especially around CLI dev (argparse, click, rich)


    Uyuni Saltboot rework by oholecek

    Description

    When Uyuni switched over to the containerized proxies we had to abandon salt based saltboot infrastructure we had before. Uyuni already had integration with a Cobbler provisioning server and saltboot infra was re-implemented on top of this Cobbler integration.

    What was not obvious from the start was that Cobbler, having all it's features, woefully slow when dealing with saltboot size environments. We did some improvements in performance, introduced transactions, and generally tried to make this setup usable. However the underlying slowness remained.

    Goals

    This project is not something trying to invent new things, it is just finally implementing saltboot infrastructure directly with the Uyuni server core.

    Instead of generating grub and pxelinux configurations by Cobbler for all thousands of systems and branches, we will provide a GET access point to retrieve grub or pxelinux file during the boot:

    /saltboot/group/grub/$fqdn and similar for systems /saltboot/system/grub/$mac

    Next we adapt our tftpd translator to query these points when asked for default or mac based config.

    Lastly similar thing needs to be done on our apache server when HTTP UEFI boot is used.

    Resources


    Uyuni Health-check Grafana AI Troubleshooter by ygutierrez

    Description

    This project explores the feasibility of using the open-source Grafana LLM plugin to enhance the Uyuni Health-check tool with LLM capabilities. The idea is to integrate a chat-based "AI Troubleshooter" directly into existing dashboards, allowing users to ask natural-language questions about errors, anomalies, or performance issues.

    Goals

    • Investigate if and how the grafana-llm-app plug-in can be used within the Uyuni Health-check tool.
    • Investigate if this plug-in can be used to query LLMs for troubleshooting scenarios.
    • Evaluate support for local LLMs and external APIs through the plugin.
    • Evaluate if and how the Uyuni MCP server could be integrated as another source of information.

    Resources

    Grafana LMM plug-in

    Uyuni Health-check


    Enable more features in mcp-server-uyuni by j_renner

    Description

    I would like to contribute to mcp-server-uyuni, the MCP server for Uyuni / Multi-Linux Manager) exposing additional features as tools. There is lots of relevant features to be found throughout the API, for example:

    • System operations and infos
    • System groups
    • Maintenance windows
    • Ansible
    • Reporting
    • ...

    At the end of the week I managed to enable basic system group operations:

    • List all system groups visible to the user
    • Create new system groups
    • List systems assigned to a group
    • Add and remove systems from groups

    Goals

    • Set up test environment locally with the MCP server and client + a recent MLM server [DONE]
    • Identify features and use cases offering a benefit with limited effort required for enablement [DONE]
    • Create a PR to the repo [DONE]

    Resources


    Enhance setup wizard for Uyuni by PSuarezHernandez

    Description

    This project wants to enhance the intial setup on Uyuni after its installation, so it's easier for a user to start using with it.

    Uyuni currently uses "uyuni-tools" (mgradm) as the installation entrypoint, to trigger the installation of Uyuni in the given host, but does not really perform an initial setup, for instance:

    • user creation
    • adding products / channels
    • generating bootstrap repos
    • create activation keys
    • ...

    Goals

    • Provide initial setup wizard as part of mgradm uyuni installation

    Resources


    Enhance setup wizard for Uyuni by PSuarezHernandez

    Description

    This project wants to enhance the intial setup on Uyuni after its installation, so it's easier for a user to start using with it.

    Uyuni currently uses "uyuni-tools" (mgradm) as the installation entrypoint, to trigger the installation of Uyuni in the given host, but does not really perform an initial setup, for instance:

    • user creation
    • adding products / channels
    • generating bootstrap repos
    • create activation keys
    • ...

    Goals

    • Provide initial setup wizard as part of mgradm uyuni installation

    Resources


    Set Uyuni to manage edge clusters at scale by RDiasMateus

    Description

    Prepare a Poc on how to use MLM to manage edge clusters. Those cluster are normally equal across each location, and we have a large number of them.

    The goal is to produce a set of sets/best practices/scripts to help users manage this kind of setup.

    Goals

    step 1: Manual set-up

    Goal: Have a running application in k3s and be able to update it using System Update Controler (SUC)

    • Deploy Micro 6.2 machine
    • Deploy k3s - single node

      • https://docs.k3s.io/quick-start
    • Build/find a simple web application (static page)

      • Build/find a helmchart to deploy the application
    • Deploy the application on the k3s cluster

    • Install App updates through helm update

    • Install OS updates using MLM

    step 2: Automate day 1

    Goal: Trigger the application deployment and update from MLM

    • Salt states For application (with static data)
      • Deploy the application helmchart, if not present
      • install app updates through helmchart parameters
    • Link it to GIT
      • Define how to link the state to the machines (based in some pillar data? Using configuration channels by importing the state? Naming convention?)
      • Use git update to trigger helmchart app update
    • Recurrent state applying configuration channel?

    step 3: Multi-node cluster

    Goal: Use SUC to update a multi-node cluster.

    • Create a multi-node cluster
    • Deploy application
      • call the helm update/install only on control plane?
    • Install App updates through helm update
    • Prepare a SUC for OS update (k3s also? How?)
      • https://github.com/rancher/system-upgrade-controller
      • https://documentation.suse.com/cloudnative/k3s/latest/en/upgrades/automated.html
      • Update/deploy the SUC?
      • Update/deploy the SUC CRD with the update procedure


    Testing and adding GNU/Linux distributions on Uyuni by juliogonzalezgil

    Join the Gitter channel! https://gitter.im/uyuni-project/hackweek

    Uyuni is a configuration and infrastructure management tool that saves you time and headaches when you have to manage and update tens, hundreds or even thousands of machines. It also manages configuration, can run audits, build image containers, monitor and much more!

    Currently there are a few distributions that are completely untested on Uyuni or SUSE Manager (AFAIK) or just not tested since a long time, and could be interesting knowing how hard would be working with them and, if possible, fix whatever is broken.

    For newcomers, the easiest distributions are those based on DEB or RPM packages. Distributions with other package formats are doable, but will require adapting the Python and Java code to be able to sync and analyze such packages (and if salt does not support those packages, it will need changes as well). So if you want a distribution with other packages, make sure you are comfortable handling such changes.

    No developer experience? No worries! We had non-developers contributors in the past, and we are ready to help as long as you are willing to learn. If you don't want to code at all, you can also help us preparing the documentation after someone else has the initial code ready, or you could also help with testing :-)

    The idea is testing Salt (including bootstrapping with bootstrap script) and Salt-ssh clients

    To consider that a distribution has basic support, we should cover at least (points 3-6 are to be tested for both salt minions and salt ssh minions):

    1. Reposync (this will require using spacewalk-common-channels and adding channels to the .ini file)
    2. Onboarding (salt minion from UI, salt minion from bootstrap scritp, and salt-ssh minion) (this will probably require adding OS to the bootstrap repository creator)
    3. Package management (install, remove, update...)
    4. Patching
    5. Applying any basic salt state (including a formula)
    6. Salt remote commands
    7. Bonus point: Java part for product identification, and monitoring enablement
    8. Bonus point: sumaform enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/sumaform)
    9. Bonus point: Documentation (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni-docs)
    10. Bonus point: testsuite enablement (https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni/tree/master/testsuite)

    If something is breaking: we can try to fix it, but the main idea is research how supported it is right now. Beyond that it's up to each project member how much to hack :-)

    • If you don't have knowledge about some of the steps: ask the team
    • If you still don't know what to do: switch to another distribution and keep testing.

    This card is for EVERYONE, not just developers. Seriously! We had people from other teams helping that were not developers, and added support for Debian and new SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE Leap versions :-)

    In progress/done for Hack Week 25

    Guide

    We started writin a Guide: Adding a new client GNU Linux distribution to Uyuni at https://github.com/uyuni-project/uyuni/wiki/Guide:-Adding-a-new-client-GNU-Linux-distribution-to-Uyuni, to make things easier for everyone, specially those not too familiar wht Uyuni or not technical.

    openSUSE Leap 16.0

    The distribution will all love!

    https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Roadmap#DRAFTScheduleforLeap16.0

    Curent Status We started last year, it's complete now for Hack Week 25! :-D

    • [W] Reposync (this will require using spacewalk-common-channels and adding channels to the .ini file) NOTE: Done, client tools for SLMicro6 are using as those for SLE16.0/openSUSE Leap 16.0 are not available yet
    • [W] Onboarding (salt minion from UI, salt minion from bootstrap scritp, and salt-ssh minion) (this will probably require adding OS to the bootstrap repository creator)
    • [W] Package management (install, remove, update...). Works, even reboot requirement detection


    Help Create A Chat Control Resistant Turnkey Chatmail/Deltachat Relay Stack - Rootless Podman Compose, OpenSUSE BCI, Hardened, & SELinux by 3nd5h1771fy

    Description

    The Mission: Decentralized & Sovereign Messaging

    FYI: If you have never heard of "Chatmail", you can visit their site here, but simply put it can be thought of as the underlying protocol/platform decentralized messengers like DeltaChat use for their communications. Do not confuse it with the honeypot looking non-opensource paid for prodect with better seo that directs you to chatmailsecure(dot)com

    In an era of increasing centralized surveillance by unaccountable bad actors (aka BigTech), "Chat Control," and the erosion of digital privacy, the need for sovereign communication infrastructure is critical. Chatmail is a pioneering initiative that bridges the gap between classic email and modern instant messaging, offering metadata-minimized, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) communication that is interoperable and open.

    However, unless you are a seasoned sysadmin, the current recommended deployment method of a Chatmail relay is rigid, fragile, difficult to properly secure, and effectively takes over the entire host the "relay" is deployed on.

    Why This Matters

    A simple, host agnostic, reproducible deployment lowers the entry cost for anyone wanting to run a privacy‑preserving, decentralized messaging relay. In an era of perpetually resurrected chat‑control legislation threats, EU digital‑sovereignty drives, and many dangers of using big‑tech messaging platforms (Apple iMessage, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Instagram, SMS, Google Messages, etc...) for any type of communication, providing an easy‑to‑use alternative empowers:

    • Censorship resistance - No single entity controls the relay; operators can spin up new nodes quickly.
    • Surveillance mitigation - End‑to‑end OpenPGP encryption ensures relay operators never see plaintext.
    • Digital sovereignty - Communities can host their own infrastructure under local jurisdiction, aligning with national data‑policy goals.

    By turning the Chatmail relay into a plug‑and‑play container stack, we enable broader adoption, foster a resilient messaging fabric, and give developers, activists, and hobbyists a concrete tool to defend privacy online.

    Goals

    As I indicated earlier, this project aims to drastically simplify the deployment of Chatmail relay. By converting this architecture into a portable, containerized stack using Podman and OpenSUSE base container images, we can allow anyone to deploy their own censorship-resistant, privacy-preserving communications node in minutes.

    Our goal for Hack Week: package every component into containers built on openSUSE/MicroOS base images, initially orchestrated with a single container-compose.yml (podman-compose compatible). The stack will:

    • Run on any host that supports Podman (including optimizations and enhancements for SELinux‑enabled systems).
    • Allow network decoupling by refactoring configurations to move from file-system constrained Unix sockets to internal TCP networking, allowing containers achieve stricter isolation.
    • Utilize Enhanced Security with SELinux by using purpose built utilities such as udica we can quickly generate custom SELinux policies for the container stack, ensuring strict confinement superior to standard/typical Docker deployments.
    • Allow the use of bind or remote mounted volumes for shared data (/var/vmail, DKIM keys, TLS certs, etc.).
    • Replace the local DNS server requirement with a remote DNS‑provider API for DKIM/TXT record publishing.

    By delivering a turnkey, host agnostic, reproducible deployment, we lower the barrier for individuals and small communities to launch their own chatmail relays, fostering a decentralized, censorship‑resistant messaging ecosystem that can serve DeltaChat users and/or future services adopting this protocol

    Resources