ncro/README.md

# ncro - Nix Cache Route Optimizer

`ncro` (pronounced Necro) is a lightweight HTTP proxy, inspired by Squid and
several other projects in the same domain, optimized for Nix binary cache
routing. It routes narinfo requests to the fastest available upstream using EMA
latency tracking, persists routing decisions in SQLite and optionally gossips
routes to peer nodes over a mesh network. How cool is that!

[ncps]: https://github.com/kalbasit/ncps

Unlike [ncps], ncro **does not store NARs on disk**. It streams NAR data
directly from upstreams with zero local storage. The tradeoff is simple:
repeated downloads of the same NAR always hit an upstream, but routing decisions
(which upstream to use) are cached and reused. Though, this is _desirable_ for
what ncro aims to be. The optimization goal is extremely domain-specific.

## How It Works

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A[Nix client] --> B[ncro proxy :8080]

    B --> C[/hash.narinfo request/]
    B --> D[/nar/*.nar request/]

    C --> E[Parallel HEAD race]
    E --> F[Fastest upstream wins]
    F --> G[Result cached in SQLite TTL]

    D --> H[Try upstreams in latency order]
    H --> I{404?}
    I -- yes --> J[Fallback to next upstream]
    I -- no --> K[Zero copy stream to client]

    J --> H
    K --> A
```

The request flow is quite simplistic:

1. Nix requests `/<hash>.narinfo`
2. ncro checks SQLite route cache; on hit, re-fetches from cached upstream
3. On miss, races HEAD requests to all configured upstreams in parallel
4. Fastest responding upstream wins; narinfo body is fetched and returned
   directly
5. Route is persisted with TTL; subsequent requests use the cache

Background probes (`HEAD /nix-cache-info`) run every 30 seconds to keep latency
measurements current and detect unhealthy upstreams.

## Quick Start

```bash
# Run with defaults (upstreams: cache.nixos.org, listen: :8080)
$ ncro

# Point at a config file
$ ncro -config /etc/ncro/config.yaml

# Tell Nix to use it
$ nix-shell -p hello --substituters http://localhost:8080
```

## Configuration

Default config is embedded; create a YAML file to override any field.

```yaml
server:
  listen: ":8080"
  read_timeout: 30s
  write_timeout: 30s

upstreams:
  - url: "https://cache.nixos.org"
    priority: 10 # lower = preferred on latency ties (within 10%)
  - url: "https://nix-community.cachix.org"
    priority: 20

cache:
  db_path: "/var/lib/ncro/routes.db"
  max_entries: 100000 # LRU eviction above this
  ttl: 1h # how long a routing decision is trusted
  latency_alpha: 0.3 # EMA smoothing factor (0 < α < 1)

logging:
  level: info # debug | info | warn | error
  format: json # json | text

mesh:
  enabled: false
  bind_addr: "0.0.0.0:7946"
  peers: [] # list of {addr, public_key} peer entries
  private_key: "" # path to ed25519 key file; empty = ephemeral
  gossip_interval: 30s
```

### Environment Overrides

| Variable         | Config field    |
| ---------------- | --------------- |
| `NCRO_LISTEN`    | `server.listen` |
| `NCRO_DB_PATH`   | `cache.db_path` |
| `NCRO_LOG_LEVEL` | `logging.level` |

## NixOS Integration

```nix
{
  services.ncro = {
    enable = true;
    settings = {
      upstreams = [
        { url = "https://cache.nixos.org"; priority = 10; }
        { url = "https://nix-community.cachix.org"; priority = 20; }
      ];
    };
  };

  # Point Nix at the proxy
  nix.settings.substituters = [ "http://localhost:8080" ];
}
```

Alternatively, if you're not using NixOS, create a Systemd service similar to
this. You'll also want to harden this, but for the sake of brevity I will not
cover that here. Make sure you have `ncro` in your `PATH`, and then write the
Systemd service:

```ini
[Unit]
Description=Nix Cache Route Optimizer

[Service]
ExecStart=ncro --config /etc/ncro/config.yaml
DynamicUser=true
StateDirectory=ncro
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Place it in `/etc/systemd/system/` and enable the service with
`systemctl enable`. In the case you want to test out first, run the binary with
a sample configuration instead.

## Mesh Mode

When `mesh.enabled = true`, ncro creates an ed25519 identity, binds a UDP socket
on `bind_addr`, and gossips recent route decisions to configured peers on
`gossip_interval`. Messages are signed with the node's ed25519 private key and
serialized with msgpack. Received routes are merged into an in-memory store
using a lower-latency-wins / newer-timestamp-on-tie conflict resolution policy.

Each peer entry takes an address and an optional ed25519 public key. When a
public key is provided, incoming gossip packets are verified against it; packets
from unlisted senders or with invalid signatures are silently dropped.

```yaml
mesh:
  enabled: true
  peers:
    - addr: "100.64.1.2:7946"
      public_key: "a1b2c3..." # hex-encoded ed25519 public key (32 bytes)
    - addr: "100.64.1.3:7946"
      public_key: "d4e5f6..."
  private_key: "/var/lib/ncro/node.key"
```

The node logs its public key on startup (`mesh node identity` log line). You
canshare it with peers so they can add it to their config.

## Metrics

Prometheus metrics are available at `/metrics`.

<!--markdownlint-disable MD013-->

| Metric                                    | Type      | Description                              |
| ----------------------------------------- | --------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `ncro_narinfo_cache_hits_total`           | counter   | Narinfo requests served from route cache |
| `ncro_narinfo_cache_misses_total`         | counter   | Narinfo requests requiring upstream race |
| `ncro_narinfo_requests_total{status}`     | counter   | Narinfo requests by status (200/error)   |
| `ncro_nar_requests_total`                 | counter   | NAR streaming requests                   |
| `ncro_upstream_race_wins_total{upstream}` | counter   | Race wins per upstream                   |
| `ncro_upstream_latency_seconds{upstream}` | histogram | Race latency per upstream                |
| `ncro_route_entries`                      | gauge     | Current route entries in SQLite          |

<!--markdownlint-enable MD013-->

## Building

```bash
# With Nix (recommended)
$ nix build

# With Go directly
$ go build ./cmd/ncro/

# Development shell
$ nix develop
$ go test ./...
```