NOTE This is an experimental concept. Not for production use. Even this README is a work in progress.

> make.d 0.1.174 alpha

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Curated Alpine Linux tools and services to work with RouterOS.

make.d Container

RouterOS container setup and general usage are not covered.

To bring up make.d, use /container add tag="ammo74/make.d" with VETH that allows outbound internet, and any ports "exposed" by any service recipes allowed inbound is what's required. The specific config beyond that is highly dependent on use cases.

By default, make.d brings up lighttpd, and sshd if nothing is set in cmd= nor entrypoint= (and no env's). A webpage will shown on port 80, and one non-root user sysop (password changeme) for use with SSH.

To run no services, set make.d container's cmd=loop. This is useful for experimenting, since /container/shell allows access to make.d as root to run things.

Internals: Startup

Since make is the entrypoint, cmd is assumed to be a target in /app/Makefile. By design, if make exits, the container stops as the prevents errors from going unnoticed – make should succeed, or be waiting on some process to exit - just like default Alpine. So loop is a special target to keep make /app/Makefile waiting, on nothing. run is also a special target, that is Dockerfile default cmd=, and uses a SERVICES env var to read the list of services (as an alternative to modifying cmd=). If SERVICES is not set in /container/env for make.d, then Makefile` will use a default value of "sshd http" — which is how the default config works. Changing either the env var, or cmd= is how you set what service you'd like to start.

About make.d Framework

make.d is more a simple "overlay" over Alpine's APK package management, than a new container. In fact, just you can just git clone this repo into /app using a base Alpine container, and running make will do the same things as the Dockerfile just the same.

The idea behind make.d to be a semi-curated set of Alpine, for a variety of needs. While Alpine simplicity is it's benifit, sometimes some cocktail of packages are needed but the right apk and vi incantations are not always easy.

An additional feature of make.d is "meta packages", so mk tools-network will add a variety of networking tools like dig and iperf3, in one operation. Also in the tool department, and for fun... a variety of TUI-based interfaces are also available. Like mk add-newsboat will install an TUI-based RSS reader, that can be started with newsboat, and comes preloaded by /app/make.d/extras.mk with various RouterOS RSS feeds.

One opinion here is all configuration should like under /app, ideally with configuration through environment variables - not files - for better automation. The other make.d framework principal is all "scripting" flow through a Makefile, which organizes all the "shell code" better than a bunch of *.sh files everywhere - leveraging make's ability along with some unwritten conventions to enable it. Along those lines, even modified config is stored in the Makefiles - rather than in seperate files. With the idea being to force using tools (sed/awk/patch/jq/etc) to modify an existing configuration, than replacing files.

Nothing here is RouterOS-specific. A few recipes are, like librouteros-dev, which adds a lib for the RouterOS native API and mini-devkit in /app/librouteros, but none installed by "default". The author's specific needs however are RouterOS /containers, which is "unusual" container host. But make.d work an "APK wrapper" on any Alpine-based installing, even outside containers – it's just a Makefile at the end of the day.

make.d Recipes

Recipes are invoked using mk in /container/shell, or in cmd= to run at startup. The recipes are stored in /app/make.d/*.mk, and loaded by /app/Makefile.

New receipes can be added by too, not quite "just copy-and-paste", but there are plenty of examples. Any file ending in *.mk, will automatically be available as part of mk (and make -C /app <target>) just by being place in /app/make.d.

In the shell, the mk command is added by make.d, but just wraps make -C /app, to allow make being called from any directory, with any mk args are passed directly to /app/Makefile.

A specific list of availble recipes can view either by using tab-completion mk tabtab, or mk list-recipes:

add-alpine-sdk                  add-ruby                        netinstall
add-asciidoc                    add-rust                        nodered
add-aws-cli                     add-rustic                      nodered-update
add-bind9                       add-sox                         notes-building-new-recipes
add-blocky                      add-sqlite                      notes-container-use
add-build-core                  add-systeroid                   notes-future-recipes
add-caddy                       add-texinfo                     notes-open-issues
add-cloudflared                 add-traefik                     notes-tips
add-crystal                     add-tree-sitter                 play-atc
add-cute-tui                    add-trippy                      play-games
add-dovecot                     add-tsduck                      play-mines
add-emacs                       add-unmake                      play-snake
add-erlang                      add-vim                         pocketbase
add-erlang-tui                  add-wiki-tui                    postgres
add-exim                        all-extras                      run
add-ffmpeg                      all-help                        sshd
add-fossil                      bind9                           stress-build-src
add-git                         blocky                          stress-everything
add-goimapnotify                build-src                       stress-services
add-golang                      build-src-go                    stress-services-built
add-gstreamer                   build-src-linux                 stress-services-nobuild
add-helix                       build-src-rust                  stress-services-nobuild-unwise
add-imap                        caddy                           stress-subcommands
add-iperf3                      check-for-updates               syslogd
add-librouteros                 commentary                      telnetd
add-librouteros-dev             dns                             tools-all-langs
add-lighttpd                    fossil-init                     tools-all-text
add-lorawan-server              git-commit                      tools-all-vpns
add-lua53                       git-init                        tools-cloud
add-mailtutan                   help                            tools-color
add-mdbook                      help-job-control                tools-db
add-mdbook-man                  help-update                     tools-dns
add-midimonster                 http                            tools-docs
add-mosquitto                   install-all                     tools-editors
add-mtr                         install-all-built               tools-extras
add-newsboat                    install-all-services            tools-files
add-nmap                        install-all-tools               tools-games
add-nodejs                      install-everything              tools-mail
add-nodered                     lighttpd                        tools-music
add-openapi-tui                 list-commands                   tools-network
add-openvpn                     list-games                      tools-serial
add-pandoc                      list-recipes                    tools-tuis
add-pocketbase                  loop                            tools-video
add-postgres                    mailtutan-test                  tools-wireguard
add-pptpclient                  midimonster                     traefik
add-python3                     midimonster-drivers             upgrade
add-restic                      mosquitto                       
add-rsync                       mqtt                            

Some recipes just install tools, like mk add-python3 which will add python for use. Other recipes might both install and run something, like mk play-snake, which also runs apk add bsdgames to facilite "download on demand" for snake. Others like midimonster and mosquitto even allow integration MIDI with RouterOS.

Internals: Compiled Code

In some cases, services can be compiled inside the /container, with /app/make.d/midi.mk as an example that loads tools to build, then compiles midimonster for the architecture, and finally removes build tools to preserve disk space. Internally, builder uses apk ... -virtual .... More complex builds will crash most RouterOS devices. e.g. mk add-cute-tui which uses Rust's cargo, and mk pocketbase which uses go – both will crash a RB1100AHx4. A set of "stress-*" targets are offered by mk if that's what you're looking to do.

"Daemons" and Services

"Daemons" are called service recipes, are typically network services like bind9 or applications like lighttpd. Generally, services have no prefix like tools- or add-. If you want to run "all services" (for testing), use mk stress-services, which starts most service recipes. Service recipes are designed to be used on the cmd= in /container on RouterOS (or, provided by SERVICES= env var) make will keep running generally by requesting they are foregrounded. For example, cmd=, SERVICES, or mk in /container/shell used "midimonster mqtt http", all three services will be run by make using it's -j # option.

To see running services, you can use /container/shell with ps -ef to see running processes. If needed, killall <service_name> can be used to stop a process. To look at what ports have services listening for network connections, use netstat -plt.

Testing Services

Shell "job control" can be used to start services temporally from /container/shell.
Essentially it's using ampersand & after the service name: mk <service_recipe> &.
See mk help-job-control for details on shell job control, but basically jobs shows anything backgrounded by you using the &, with kill %1 stopping job 1, with number after % coming from jobs.

Future

As more a proof-of-concept, not services in make.d may work out-of-the-box, but most were tacitly tested to start. Check the code in /app/make.d/*.mk for any services you plan to use – most have some rough commentary on status and/or usage. Some things may never run on low mem/CPU devices - but that's not something anyone can fix.
And various parts are half-baked or placeholders, many "recipes" only wrapping apk add, but do not move the package's config under /app.