DeBros Network - Distributed P2P Database System

DeBros Network is a decentralized peer-to-peer data platform built in Go. It combines distributed SQL (RQLite), pub/sub messaging, and resilient peer discovery so applications can share state without central infrastructure.

Table of Contents

• At a Glance
• Quick Start
• Production Deployment
• Components & Ports
• Configuration Cheatsheet
• CLI Highlights
• HTTP Gateway
• Troubleshooting
• Resources

At a Glance

• Distributed SQL backed by RQLite and Raft consensus
• Topic-based pub/sub with automatic cleanup
• Namespace isolation for multi-tenant apps
• Secure transport using libp2p plus Noise/TLS
• Lightweight Go client and CLI tooling

Quick Start

1. Clone and build the project:

   git clone https://github.com/DeBrosOfficial/network.git
   cd network
   make build
   

2. Generate local configuration (bootstrap, node2, node3, gateway):

   ./bin/dbn config init
   

3. Launch the full development stack:

   make dev
   

   This starts three nodes and the HTTP gateway. The command will not complete successfully until all services pass health checks (IPFS peer connectivity, RQLite cluster formation, and LibP2P connectivity). If health checks fail, all services are stopped automatically. Stop with Ctrl+C.

4. Validate the network from another terminal:

   ./bin/dbn health
   ./bin/dbn peers
   ./bin/dbn pubsub publish notifications "Hello World"
   ./bin/dbn pubsub subscribe notifications 10s
   

Production Deployment

DeBros Network can be deployed as production systemd services on Linux servers. The production installer handles all dependencies, configuration, and service management automatically.

Prerequisites

• OS: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, or compatible Linux distribution
• Architecture: amd64 (x86_64) or arm64 (aarch64)
• Permissions: Root access (use sudo)
• Resources: Minimum 2GB RAM, 10GB disk space, 2 CPU cores

Installation

Quick Install

Install the CLI tool first:

curl -fsSL https://install.debros.network | sudo bash

Or download manually from GitHub Releases.

Bootstrap Node (First Node)

Install the first node in your cluster:

# Main branch (stable releases)
sudo dbn prod install --bootstrap

# Nightly branch (latest development)
sudo dbn prod install --bootstrap --branch nightly

The bootstrap node initializes the cluster and serves as the primary peer for other nodes to join.

Secondary Node (Join Existing Cluster)

Join an existing cluster by providing the bootstrap node's IP and peer multiaddr:

sudo dbn prod install \
  --vps-ip <your_public_ip> \
  --peers /ip4/<bootstrap_ip>/tcp/4001/p2p/<peer_id> \
  --branch nightly

Required flags for secondary nodes:

• --vps-ip: Your server's public IP address
• --peers: Comma-separated list of bootstrap peer multiaddrs

Optional flags:

• --branch: Git branch to use (main or nightly, default: main)
• --domain: Domain name for HTTPS (enables ACME/Let's Encrypt)
• --bootstrap-join: Raft join address for secondary bootstrap nodes

Secondary Bootstrap Node

Create a secondary bootstrap node that joins an existing Raft cluster:

sudo dbn prod install \
  --bootstrap \
  --vps-ip <your_public_ip> \
  --bootstrap-join <primary_bootstrap_ip>:7001 \
  --branch nightly

Branch Selection

DeBros Network supports two branches:

• main: Stable releases (default). Recommended for production.
• nightly: Latest development builds. Use for testing new features.

Branch preference is saved automatically during installation. Future upgrades will use the same branch unless you override it with --branch.

Examples:

# Install with nightly branch
sudo dbn prod install --bootstrap --branch nightly

# Upgrade using saved branch preference
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart

# Upgrade and switch to main branch
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart --branch main

Upgrade

Upgrade an existing installation to the latest version:

# Upgrade using saved branch preference
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart

# Upgrade and switch branches
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart --branch nightly

# Upgrade without restarting services
sudo dbn prod upgrade

The upgrade process:

1. ✅ Checks prerequisites
2. ✅ Updates binaries (fetches latest from selected branch)
3. ✅ Preserves existing configurations and data
4. ✅ Updates configurations to latest format
5. ✅ Updates systemd service files
6. ✅ Optionally restarts services (--restart flag)

Note: The upgrade automatically detects your node type (bootstrap vs. regular node) and preserves all secrets, data, and configurations.

Service Management

All services run as systemd units under the debros user.

Check Status

# View status of all services
dbn prod status

# Or use systemctl directly
systemctl status debros-node-bootstrap
systemctl status debros-ipfs-bootstrap
systemctl status debros-gateway

View Logs

# View recent logs
dbn prod logs node

# Follow logs in real-time
dbn prod logs node --follow

# View specific service logs
dbn prod logs ipfs --follow
dbn prod logs gateway --follow

Available log targets: node, ipfs, ipfs-cluster, rqlite, olric, gateway

Service Control Commands

Use dbn prod commands for convenient service management:

# Start all services
sudo dbn prod start

# Stop all services
sudo dbn prod stop

# Restart all services
sudo dbn prod restart

Or use systemctl directly for more control:

# Restart all services
sudo systemctl restart debros-*

# Restart specific service
sudo systemctl restart debros-node-bootstrap

# Stop services
sudo systemctl stop debros-*

# Start services
sudo systemctl start debros-*

# Enable services (start on boot)
sudo systemctl enable debros-*

Directory Structure

Production installations use /home/debros/.debros/:

/home/debros/.debros/
├── configs/              # Configuration files
│   ├── bootstrap.yaml    # Bootstrap node config
│   ├── node.yaml         # Regular node config
│   ├── gateway.yaml      # Gateway config
│   └── olric/            # Olric cache config
├── data/                 # Runtime data
│   ├── bootstrap/        # Bootstrap node data
│   │   ├── ipfs/         # IPFS repository
│   │   ├── ipfs-cluster/ # IPFS Cluster data
│   │   └── rqlite/       # RQLite database
│   └── node/             # Regular node data
├── secrets/              # Secrets and keys
│   ├── cluster-secret    # IPFS Cluster secret
│   └── swarm.key         # IPFS swarm key
├── logs/                 # Service logs
│   ├── node-bootstrap.log
│   ├── ipfs-bootstrap.log
│   └── gateway.log
└── .branch               # Saved branch preference

Uninstall

Remove all production services (preserves data and configs):

sudo dbn prod uninstall

This stops and removes all systemd services but keeps /home/debros/.debros/ intact. To completely remove:

sudo dbn prod uninstall
sudo rm -rf /home/debros/.debros

Production Troubleshooting

Services Not Starting

# Check service status
systemctl status debros-node-bootstrap

# View detailed logs
journalctl -u debros-node-bootstrap -n 100

# Check log files
tail -f /home/debros/.debros/logs/node-bootstrap.log

Configuration Issues

# Verify configs exist
ls -la /home/debros/.debros/configs/

# Regenerate configs (preserves secrets)
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart

IPFS AutoConf Errors

If you see "AutoConf.Enabled=false but 'auto' placeholder is used" errors, the upgrade process should fix this automatically. If not:

# Re-run upgrade to fix IPFS config
sudo dbn prod upgrade --restart

Port Conflicts

# Check what's using ports
sudo lsof -i :4001  # P2P port
sudo lsof -i :5001  # RQLite HTTP
sudo lsof -i :6001  # Gateway

Reset Installation

To start fresh (⚠️ destroys all data):

sudo dbn prod uninstall
sudo rm -rf /home/debros/.debros
sudo dbn prod install --bootstrap --branch nightly

Components & Ports

• Bootstrap node: P2P 4001, RQLite HTTP 5001, Raft 7001
• Additional nodes (node2, node3): Incrementing ports (400{2,3}, 500{2,3}, 700{2,3})
• Gateway: HTTP 6001 exposes REST/WebSocket APIs
• Data directory: ~/.debros/ stores configs, identities, and RQLite data

Use make dev for the complete stack or run binaries individually with go run ./cmd/node --config <file> and go run ./cmd/gateway --config gateway.yaml.

Configuration Cheatsheet

All runtime configuration lives in ~/.debros/.

• bootstrap.yaml: type: bootstrap, optionally set database.rqlite_join_address to join another bootstrap's cluster
• node*.yaml: type: node, set database.rqlite_join_address (e.g. localhost:7001) and include the bootstrap discovery.bootstrap_peers
• gateway.yaml: configure gateway.bootstrap_peers, gateway.namespace, and optional auth flags

Validation reminders:

• HTTP and Raft ports must differ
• Non-bootstrap nodes require a join address and bootstrap peers
• Bootstrap nodes can optionally define a join address to synchronize with another bootstrap
• Multiaddrs must end with /p2p/<peerID>

Regenerate configs any time with ./bin/dbn config init --force.

CLI Highlights

All commands accept --format json, --timeout <duration>, and --bootstrap <multiaddr>.

• Auth

  ./bin/dbn auth login
  ./bin/dbn auth status
  ./bin/dbn auth logout
  

• Network

  ./bin/dbn health
  ./bin/dbn status
  ./bin/dbn peers
  

• Database

  ./bin/dbn query "SELECT * FROM users"
  ./bin/dbn query "CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)"
  ./bin/dbn transaction --file ops.json
  

• Pub/Sub

  ./bin/dbn pubsub publish <topic> <message>
  ./bin/dbn pubsub subscribe <topic> 30s
  ./bin/dbn pubsub topics
  

Credentials live at ~/.debros/credentials.json with user-only permissions.

HTTP Gateway

Start locally with make run-gateway or go run ./cmd/gateway --config gateway.yaml.

Environment overrides:

export GATEWAY_ADDR="0.0.0.0:6001"
export GATEWAY_NAMESPACE="my-app"
export GATEWAY_BOOTSTRAP_PEERS="/ip4/localhost/tcp/4001/p2p/<peerID>"
export GATEWAY_REQUIRE_AUTH=true
export GATEWAY_API_KEYS="key1:namespace1,key2:namespace2"

Common endpoints (see openapi/gateway.yaml for the full spec):

• GET /health, GET /v1/status, GET /v1/version
• POST /v1/auth/challenge, POST /v1/auth/verify, POST /v1/auth/refresh
• POST /v1/rqlite/exec, POST /v1/rqlite/find, POST /v1/rqlite/select, POST /v1/rqlite/transaction
• GET /v1/rqlite/schema
• POST /v1/pubsub/publish, GET /v1/pubsub/topics, GET /v1/pubsub/ws?topic=<topic>
• POST /v1/storage/upload, POST /v1/storage/pin, GET /v1/storage/status/:cid, GET /v1/storage/get/:cid, DELETE /v1/storage/unpin/:cid

Troubleshooting

• Config directory errors: Ensure ~/.debros/ exists, is writable, and has free disk space (touch ~/.debros/test && rm ~/.debros/test).
• Port conflicts: Inspect with lsof -i :4001 (or other ports) and stop conflicting processes or regenerate configs with new ports.
• Missing configs: Run ./bin/dbn config init before starting nodes.
• Cluster join issues: Confirm the bootstrap node is running, peer.info multiaddr matches bootstrap_peers, and firewall rules allow the P2P ports.

Resources

• Go modules: go mod tidy, go test ./...
• Automation: make build, make dev, make run-gateway, make lint
• API reference: openapi/gateway.yaml
• Code of Conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md