mancala/apps/backend/README.md
Halit Aksoy b472c2813c docs: document the game clock
Backend README (GAME_CLOCK_MS), AGENTS.md notes, TODO items for the open points and the mobile release order; game-history R3.3 and R3.4 marked as replaced. Checked end to end in Chrome: moves, a backend restart, a timeout and the replay.
2026-10-16 01:54:01 +03:00

83 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

# Mancala Backend
This is the backend code for the Mancala project, written in Express.js.
## Getting Started
### Install Packages
```bash
yarn install
```
### Start in Development Mode
```bash
yarn dev
```
### Start in Release Mode
```bash
yarn build
yarn start
```
### Development Dependencies
This package links the local packages `@mancala/core` and `mancala.js`. Build them first with `yarn build:packages` in the repo root.
## 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": "<Keycloak access 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=<uuid>` and the `/register` endpoint. Turn off once no released client uses it, because a userKey is not a secret the server can check |
## 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_URL` | `postgres://mancala:mancala@localhost:5433/mancala` | Saved games; migrations run on startup |
| `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.
## 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 |
Tests use Docker (testcontainers) for Postgres and Valkey.