Volume-bind problem for web-applications

[tackin]

According to: https://docs.opencloud.eu/de/docs/admin/configuration/web-applications
and the docker-compose.yaml
https://github.com/opencloud-eu/opencloud-compose/blob/b7078d309b7db0aa828d635d75324c8679ffbc47/docker-compose.yml#L60

I should be able to add the downloaded json-viewer-app from the App-Store.

This does not work.
Problem:

• ${OC_DATA_DIR:-opencloud-data}:/var/lib/opencloud ( in .env-file I set OC_DATA_DIR=./OC-data )
  will take control over the /var/lib/opencloud directory.
  A later added/installed:
• ${OC_APPS_DIR:-./OC-apps}:/var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps
  will therefore not bind again and create the dir in /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps
  So /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps will still not exist in the container.

And even if I put the extracted json-viewer in the ./OC-data/web/assets/apps/json-viewer/ directory, I cannot see the web-app showing up in my browser or parse a test.json - file while editing.

This issue is related to multiple repos to fix/clear things. Please put the issue where ever helpfull.

• openloud-eu/opencloud-compose (Volumes-part should be changed to be more failsafe/helpfull)
• openloud-eu/docs (should be more helpfull in explaining what to do and why and show the expected result and the working web-app in action.)
• openloud-eu/web (can't see the web app as expected. No helpfull input to the web-app support and what to expect.)
• opencloud-eu/web-extensions needs an update as well: https://github.com/opencloud-eu/web-extensions/blob/c8b63910b09f0fb1069e7668e8c2afa6f54c312e/README.md?plain=1#L25-L29

[tackin]

Found out in:
https://github.com/opencloud-eu/web-extensions/blob/c8b63910b09f0fb1069e7668e8c2afa6f54c312e/docker-compose.yml#L22C7-L22C37

Means for me:
In my docker-compose.yaml

environment:
.....
      # WEB
      WEB_ASSET_APPS_PATH: /var/lib/opencloud/web/apps

might be usefull but was missing.

(Please don't be confused with my first post! I also changed the previous used app-path above from /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps to /var/lib/opencloud/web/apps )

Now it works.

[micbar]

In our compose file we are using /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps (https://github.com/opencloud-eu/opencloud-compose/blob/main/docker-compose.yml#L60) which is the default value of WEB_ASSET_APPS_PATH and therefore only needed when you change the default paths.

The whole mechanism in the docker compose project assumes that you do not change the paths inside of the container.

[tackin]

Thank you for the input.
Sorry, but that did not seem to work as expected. So I set it. I changed the path to ease it after I found out how it works.
That also does not solve the "Volume will not bind" docker-problem at https://github.com/opencloud-eu/opencloud-compose/blob/main/docker-compose.yml#L60
The volume-definition line simply will be ignored on an existing/running container-build if you only add it to your compose-file later.

And ... why is it used in https://github.com/opencloud-eu/web-extensions/blob/main/docker-compose.yml
It simply confuses me.

[micbar]

You need to restart the container if you add it later.

[micbar]

And ... why is it used in https://github.com/opencloud-eu/web-extensions/blob/main/docker-compose.yml
It simply confuses me.

Please do not confuse dev stack with docker compose production.

There are too many ways to the target, so we tried to simplify in the compose project for the sake of simplicity and on the cost of flexibility 😅

[tackin]

You need to restart the container if you add it later.

Of course! Any change in a docker-compose.yml requires a restart.

[micbar]

So can we close because the volume became available after the restart?

[tackin]

No, sorry! It did not become available after "restart" and it would never do so without some additional "help".

• ${OC_APPS_DIR:-./config/opencloud/apps}:/var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps
  will always be ignored by docker on restart, no matter how often you "restart" or "recreate" the compose-stack ... if the OC-data/ volume already exists but the sub-dirs to /web/assets/apps are missing in that volume. My OC-data-Volume was created back in may and did not have that app-dir build in on startup. Maybe later OC-versions did that at first boot.

And after a closer look to it, it is clear to me why this happens.
You need to edit the local OC-data/ - directory on your host. You need to manualy add the sub-dirs /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps to it.
This is because docker cannot do that for you on restart, as a former volume-bind in the compose-file gives the container the full control over the existing ./OC-data/ directory. Docker simply refuses to add a second bind that may conflict the first one if the sub-dir /web/assets/apps is missing.

So you need to add some information to the docs that it is not enought to activate the volume-setting for the apps-dir. You have to make sure that $OC_APPS_DIR is already existing in the $OC_DATA_DIR on your host.

[micbar]

And after a closer look to it, it is clear to me why this happens.
You need to edit the local OC-data/ - directory on your host. You need to manualy add the sub-dirs /var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps to it.
This is because docker cannot do that for you on restart, as a former volume-bind in the compose-file gives the container the full control over the existing ./OC-data/ directory. Docker simply refuses to add a second bind that may conflict the first one if the sub-dir /web/assets/apps is missing.

So you need to add some information to the docs that it is not enought to activate the volume-setting for the apps-dir. You have to make sure that $OC_APPS_DIR is already existing in the $OC_DATA_DIR on your host.

Ok. Let me check that.

[micbar]

My Steps

1. Start with a blank deployment, no docker volumes or containers are running.
2. git clone the opencloud-compose && cd opencloud-compose
3. Set OC_APPS_DIR=./config/opencloud/apps(./config/opencloud/apps already exists)
4. run docker compose up -d
5. Run curl -L https://github.com/opencloud-eu/web-extensions/releases/download/unzip-v1.0.2/unzip-1.0.2.zip | tar -xz -C config/opencloud/apps

The folders are mounted correctly, the unzip app shows correctly inside the container.
Uploading a .zip file
Right click or three dots menu should show an "extract here" action.

[tackin]

On initial boot of a new OC there is no local volume ./OC-data . It will be created by docker. In this case all depending sub-dirs are build and bind as well on first boot.
There are OC-users with an already running OC since months. They might (like me) not have these apps/ - sub-dirs been created on first boot.

To reproduce, just stop your OC- container, delete .../web/assets/apps in the local data-volume and try to start it up again.
The apps-dir is physicaly empty anyway in your local OC-data-volume as it is filled with the volume-bind defined with the volume-definition:
- ${OC_APPS_DIR:-./local/place/for/apps}:/var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps
in docker-compose.yml.

I'm quit sure your apps will not be there anymore because the bind is now refused by docker and the subdirs to ../apps/ will not be created again on container start.

[tackin]

.... if
- ${OC_DATA_DIR:-opencloud-data}:/var/lib/opencloud
- ${OC_APPS_DIR:-./apps}:/var/lib/opencloud/web/assets/apps
is the order of volume-binds.

But might work the other way around. I did not test that because I was afraid of killing my local data-volume.

[micbar]

Why /var/lib/opencloud/web/apps ? This is still the wrong path inside the container?

So we need to document that you need to create the sub dirs if you have an instance running already?

[tackin]

Why /var/lib/opencloud/web/apps ? This is still the wrong path inside the container?

Changed my comment above to not confuse you more.

So we need to document that you need to create the sub dirs if you have an instance running already?

Jep!
... "may need to create .....if not already existing on your data-volume."