# Mancala Backend The game server: matchmaking, live games over a WebSocket, saved games and a small HTTP API. Java 25 and Quarkus 3.40, built with Maven. The design and the reasons for it are in `docs/specs/quarkus-backend`. ## Getting started You need a JDK 25 (e.g. Temurin); Maven comes with the wrapper. Postgres, Valkey and Keycloak run with Docker Compose, see the README in the repo root. ```sh ./mvnw quarkus:dev # http://localhost:5005; a debugger can attach on 5006 ./mvnw test # needs Docker: Postgres and Valkey run with Quarkus Dev Services ./mvnw package # target/quarkus-app/quarkus-run.jar java -jar target/quarkus-app/quarkus-run.jar ``` The Docker image is built from the repo root: `docker build -f apps/backend/Dockerfile .`. It listens on port 6000. ## Code | Package | What | |---|---| | `engine` | The game rules, a port of `packages/mancala.js` | | `model` | The JSON sent to clients and stored, and the shared `ObjectMapper` | | `loop` | `GameLoop`, the single thread that owns all live game state | | `auth` | Keycloak token verification | | `rtmt` | The WebSocket protocol (`RtmtServer`) and the Quarkus endpoint | | `game` | Games, matchmaking, the clock, live previews, snapshots and saving finished games | | `history` | Saved games in Postgres, migrations, the lists for the API | | `live` | Valkey: live game snapshots, games waiting to be saved, the cache | | `http` | The HTTP API | | `Backend` | Wiring and startup | All live state (games, matchmaking, sockets) is only touched on the game loop, like on the Node backend's event loop. Blocking work never runs there: Postgres writes run on the recorder's thread, Valkey writes on their own ordered thread, token checks on virtual threads, HTTP requests on Quarkus' workers (which read live games through `GameLoop.call`). The clients use the TypeScript engine, the server the Java one; they must play exactly alike. `EngineParityTest` replays games recorded with the TypeScript engine. After changing the rules in both, record them again: ```sh yarn --cwd ../../packages/mancala.js build && node scripts/record-engine-games.js ``` ## Authentication Clients log in with Keycloak (see `apps/keycloak`), either as a guest or with an account, and send the access token over the WebSocket right after connecting: ```json { "channel": "auth", "message": { "token": "" } } ``` The server answers on `on_auth` with the user (`{ id, name, isGuest }`) or on `on_auth_error` and closes the socket with code 4001. Other messages are ignored until the socket is authenticated, and connections that do not authenticate within 5 seconds are closed. Send `auth` again with the new token after refreshing it. User ids of Keycloak users are the token subject prefixed with `kc:`. | Variable | Default | Purpose | |---|---|---| | `KEYCLOAK_ISSUER` | `http://localhost:8080/realms/mancala` | Token issuer; must match the `iss` claim exactly | | `KEYCLOAK_JWKS_URL` | issuer + `/protocol/openid-connect/certs` | Where to fetch signing keys, if the backend reaches Keycloak at a different address | | `KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_IDS` | `mancala-web` | Comma-separated clients whose tokens are accepted | | `LEGACY_USERKEY_AUTH` | `true` | Also accept old clients that connect with `?userKey=` and the `/register` endpoint. Turn off once no released client uses it, because a userKey is not a secret the server can check | | `PORT` | `5005` (`6000` in the image) | HTTP and WebSocket port | ## Saved games and live games Finished games are saved in Postgres; live games are copied to Valkey after every change and restored when the backend starts, so a restart or deploy does not end them. The design is in `docs/specs/game-history`. | Variable | Default | Purpose | |---|---|---| | `DATABASE_JDBC_URL` | `jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5433/mancala` | Saved games; migrations run on startup | | `DATABASE_USERNAME`, `DATABASE_PASSWORD` | `mancala`, `mancala` | | | `VALKEY_URL` | `redis://localhost:6379` | Live game state and short-lived caches | The backend keeps running when either is down: games are still played, finished games are saved once Postgres is back, and lists are served without the missing data. The tables, the `schema_migrations` table and the Valkey keys are the Node backend's, so the two can replace each other in either direction. ## Game clock Each player has a clock for the whole game; only the clock of the player whose turn it is runs, also while they are offline. A move that arrives after the mover's time has run out is refused, and `GameClockScheduler` ends games whose running clock reaches zero once a second, so the opponent wins on time even if nobody is connected. Time while the backend is down is not charged. The design is in `docs/specs/game-clock`. | Variable | Default | Purpose | |---|---|---| | `GAME_CLOCK_MS` | `300000` | Time each player has for a game; a short value such as `40000` helps when testing by hand | | Route | Auth | Response | |---|---|---| | `GET /game/:id` | – | A live game, or `{ status: "finished", record }` | | `GET /games/popular?limit=5` | – | `{ kind: "live" \| "finished", games }` | | `GET /games/me/active` | Bearer token | `{ game }` or `{ game: null }` | | `GET /games/me?limit=3` | Bearer token | `{ games }`, newest first | Requests are logged to `access.log`, and a move that fails writes the game to `crashes/`, both in the working directory.