# Setting up on the Raspberry Pi

A step-by-step guide from a Pi with Docker to a working claude.ai connector.
[DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md) explains *why* each piece is there; this page is
the order to do it in.

The Pi never builds the server. It pulls the image published to
`registry.mc02.dev`, built for arm64 and amd64 by `npm run publish-image` on a
development machine ([DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md#publishing-an-image)).

```
claude.ai ─┐                    ┌──────────── Pi (home, always on) ─────────────┐
Claude Code├─HTTPS─▶ VPS ─TCP─▶ │ Caddy ─▶ schulcloud-mcp ─▶ schulcloud-thueringen.de
CLI ───────┘  (public IP,       │ (TLS)     └─ postgres (private network)        │
               your domain)     └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## What you need

- **The Pi**, always on. More than two hours offline ends the Schulcloud
  session, and only a new token from a browser revives it. A Pi 5 on 64-bit Raspberry Pi
  OS is plenty; put Docker's data on an SSD rather than the SD card if you can,
  since Postgres and the file mirror (about 1.3 GB on the current account) write
  to it.
- **Docker Engine with the Compose plugin**, Compose 2.24 or later, on the Pi.
- **A login for `registry.mc02.dev`**, where the image is published.
- **Caddy running in a container on the Pi**, serving ports 80 and 443. This
  server joins its Docker network; it opens no port of its own.
- **The VPS**, with a public IPv4 address, forwarding TCP ports 80 and 443 to the
  Pi (step 7).
- **A hostname** in your domain — `mcp.example.org` below — whose `A` record
  points at the VPS.
- **Your Schulcloud login**, for the first token, and a machine with the
  `schulcloud` CLI (`npm link` in a checkout; see [CLI.md](CLI.md)).

## 1. Prepare the Pi

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker "$USER"     # then log out and back in
docker compose version               # v2.24 or later
timedatectl                          # "System clock synchronized: yes"
docker login registry.mc02.dev
```

The clock matters: token expiry and TLS certificates are both judged by it. The
login is needed to pull, not only to push; Docker keeps it in
`~/.docker/config.json`.

## 2. Get the compose files

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /opt/schulcloud-mcp && sudo chown "$USER": /opt/schulcloud-mcp
git clone https://git.mc02.dev/fabi/Schulcloud-MCP.git /opt/schulcloud-mcp
cd /opt/schulcloud-mcp
```

Every command below runs in `/opt/schulcloud-mcp`. The checkout provides the
compose files, `.env.example` and the Caddy snippet; its source code is not built
here.

## 3. Configure

Find the Docker network your Caddy container is on:

```bash
docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -i caddy
docker inspect -f '{{range $k, $v := .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{$k}} {{end}}' <caddy-container>
```

Create `.env`, readable by you alone, and add the Pi's settings with freshly
generated secrets — replace `<network>` with the name you just found:

```bash
cp .env.example .env && chmod 600 .env
sed -i '/^MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=$/d; /^DATABASE_URL=/d' .env
cat >> .env <<EOF

# --- the Pi ---
COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:deploy/docker-compose.pi.yml
CADDY_NETWORK=<network>
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 24)
MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
MCP_PATH_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
INDEX_PERSONAL_FILES=true
# SCHULCLOUD_MCP_TAG=latest
EOF
```

What those lines do:

| Setting | |
|---|---|
| `COMPOSE_FILE` | Makes every `docker compose` command here use [`deploy/docker-compose.pi.yml`](../deploy/docker-compose.pi.yml), which runs the registry image — removing the build section, so nothing can be built here — joins Caddy's network and wires up the database. It also keeps `docker-compose.override.yml` out — that one is for local development and would publish ports and switch the crawl timer off. |
| `CADDY_NETWORK` | The network Caddy reaches this server on, by the name `schulcloud-mcp`. |
| `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` | The bundled Postgres, which sits on a private network with this server only. Hex, so it needs no escaping inside the connection URL. |
| `MCP_AUTH_TOKEN` | What Claude Code, the CLI and the `/token` page present. |
| `MCP_PATH_SECRET` | The secret path claude.ai uses until OAuth exists. |
| `INDEX_PERSONAL_FILES` | Also indexes your own files and handed-in work, including teachers' feedback. Optional. |
| `SCHULCLOUD_MCP_TAG` | Which published image to run. Unset means `latest`; a commit id such as `bac9130` pins it, so updates happen only when you change it. Optional. |

**Copy `MCP_AUTH_TOKEN` and `MCP_PATH_SECRET` into your password manager now** —
you need both again in step 9, and neither is ever printed by the server:

```bash
grep -E '^(MCP_AUTH_TOKEN|MCP_PATH_SECRET)=' .env
```

## 4. The first Schulcloud token

1. Open a **private window** and log in to Schulcloud.
2. DevTools (F12) → *Application* (Firefox: *Storage*) → *Cookies* → the cookie
   named `jwt` → copy its value.
3. Put it into `.env` as `TSC_JWT_COOKIE=<value>`.
4. **Close the private window.** Left open, it logs the token out about two hours
   after login ([AUTH.md](AUTH.md) has the whole story).

This is the only time the token goes into `.env`. Later ones go in without a
restart (step 11).

## 5. Start the server

```bash
docker compose pull                  # the published image, and Postgres
docker compose up -d
docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f schulcloud-mcp
```

Nothing is built on the Pi: `pull` fetches the arm64 variant of the image, and
with the Pi file in place no `docker compose` command can fall back to a build.

Expect, within a few seconds:

```
[schulcloud-mcp] listening on 0.0.0.0:8080 — instance https://schulcloud-thueringen.de, auth enabled (plus secret MCP path), token from environment, 29 day(s) left, keepalive every 30min, index every 6h
[schulcloud-mcp] keepalive: session extended, 7200s (120 min) of budget left
```

- `auth DISABLED` means `MCP_AUTH_TOKEN` is empty. Stop and fix it.
- `keepalive: token rejected (401)` means the token is already dead: get a fresh
  one (step 4) and hand it over with `schulcloud token set` once step 9 is done.

The index is empty, so the first full crawl starts on its own. It downloads every
course file once — about 15 minutes and 1.3 GB on the current account — and the
server answers normally meanwhile.

`docker compose ps` must show **no published ports** for either container.

## 6. Add the site to Caddy

Append [`deploy/Caddyfile.snippet`](../deploy/Caddyfile.snippet) to the Pi's
Caddyfile, with your hostname in place of `mcp.example.org`, then validate and
reload:

```bash
docker exec <caddy-container> caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
docker exec <caddy-container> caddy reload --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
```

Keep the snippet's three easily-missed settings:

- `flush_interval -1`, or claude.ai's connection hangs without an error.
- The long timeouts, or a slow `search` is cut off.
- The `format filter` in `log`, which keeps the secret path out of the access log.

Caddy gets its certificate once DNS and the forwarding work (step 7). Watch for
it with `docker logs -f <caddy-container> | grep -i certificate`.

## 7. DNS and the VPS

**DNS:** an `A` record for `mcp.example.org` pointing at the VPS's public IPv4.
Publish no `AAAA` record unless the VPS forwards IPv6 as well.

**The forwarding must pass TCP through, untouched.** TLS has to end at Caddy on
the Pi. A VPS that terminates TLS itself, or proxies HTTP, sees every request
path — including the secret one — and may log it. Both ports are needed: 80 for
the certificate challenge, 443 for everything else.

If the VPS already forwards to the Pi, check how. On the VPS:

```bash
sudo ss -ltnp '( sport = :443 )'
```

No listening process is the good answer: the kernel forwards the packets, as in
the example below. An nginx `stream` block or HAProxy in `mode tcp` is also fine.
An nginx `http` server, a Caddy, or HAProxy in `mode http` on the VPS is not.

### Example: WireGuard and nftables

Skip this if your forwarding already passes TCP through. Otherwise, a minimal
tunnel with the VPS as `10.8.0.1` and the Pi as `10.8.0.2`. Create keys on each
machine with `umask 077; wg genkey | tee private.key | wg pubkey > public.key`.

On the VPS, `/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf`:

```ini
[Interface]
Address = 10.8.0.1/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = <vps private key>

[Peer]
PublicKey = <pi public key>
AllowedIPs = 10.8.0.2/32
```

On the Pi, `/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf`:

```ini
[Interface]
Address = 10.8.0.2/24
PrivateKey = <pi private key>

[Peer]
PublicKey = <vps public key>
Endpoint = <vps public ip>:51820
AllowedIPs = 10.8.0.1/32
PersistentKeepalive = 25
```

Bring the tunnel up on both (`sudo apt install wireguard` first), and keep it up
across reboots:

```bash
sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0
ping -c 3 10.8.0.1                  # from the Pi
```

On the VPS, turn on forwarding and send ports 80 and 443 into the tunnel.
Replace `eth0` with the VPS's public interface (`ip route get 1.1.1.1` names it):

```bash
echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1' | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-forward.conf
sudo sysctl --system
```

```nft
# /etc/nftables.conf on the VPS (merge into what is there)
table ip schulcloud_forward {
	chain prerouting {
		type nat hook prerouting priority dstnat; policy accept;
		iifname "eth0" tcp dport { 80, 443 } dnat to 10.8.0.2
	}
	chain postrouting {
		type nat hook postrouting priority srcnat; policy accept;
		oifname "wg0" ip daddr 10.8.0.2 tcp dport { 80, 443 } masquerade
	}
}
```

```bash
sudo nft -c -f /etc/nftables.conf && sudo systemctl enable --now nftables
```

If the VPS's `forward` chain has `policy drop`, also accept `ct state
established,related` and new TCP 80/443 from `eth0` to `wg0`. Its firewall
needs 80/tcp, 443/tcp and 51820/udp open, plus SSH. With the masquerade, Caddy's
logs show the VPS's tunnel address as the client; nothing here relies on client
addresses.

Check from the VPS that the Pi's Caddy answers through the tunnel:

```bash
curl -sI http://10.8.0.2/ -H 'Host: mcp.example.org' | head -1      # a redirect to https
```

## 8. Check it from outside

From any machine that is not the Pi:

```bash
curl -s https://mcp.example.org/healthz
# {"status":"ok","sessions":0,"index":"on"}

curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' -X POST https://mcp.example.org/mcp \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{}'
# 401   ← the bearer check

curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' -X POST https://mcp.example.org/$(openssl rand -hex 32)/mcp \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{}'
# 404   ← a wrong path secret, answered like any unknown path
```

Then confirm that TLS really ends on the Pi: the certificate the world sees is
the one Caddy there obtained.

```bash
echo | openssl s_client -connect mcp.example.org:443 -servername mcp.example.org 2>/dev/null \
  | openssl x509 -noout -issuer -enddate                     # from outside
docker logs <caddy-container> 2>&1 | grep -i 'certificate obtained' | tail -1   # on the Pi
```

## 9. Connect Claude and the CLI

**CLI**, on your laptop:

```bash
schulcloud login --server https://mcp.example.org --token <MCP_AUTH_TOKEN>
schulcloud token      # expires … (29 day(s) left); session alive, 120 min budget; from TSC_JWT_COOKIE
schulcloud status     # after the first crawl: generation 1 — crawled … min ago
```

**Claude Code**, replacing the registration that points at the laptop:

```bash
claude mcp remove --scope user schulcloud
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user schulcloud https://mcp.example.org/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <MCP_AUTH_TOKEN>"
claude mcp list       # schulcloud: https://mcp.example.org/mcp (HTTP) - ✔ Connected
```

**claude.ai:**

1. *Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector*.
2. Name: `Schulcloud`. URL: `https://mcp.example.org/<MCP_PATH_SECRET>/mcp`. No sign-in.
3. In a chat: **+ → Connectors** → switch *Schulcloud* on, and ask *"Welche Kurse
   habe ich?"*

The URL is the credential for as long as the secret path is in use: keep it out
of screenshots and notes. [DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md#claudeai--a-secret-path-for-now)
says what that trades away.

**Retire the laptop's container** once the Pi answers — in the laptop checkout,
`docker compose down` keeps its index and mirror volumes. Its session is separate
and simply lapses.

## 10. Verify the first crawl

```bash
docker compose logs schulcloud-mcp | grep 'scheduled crawl'
# [schulcloud-mcp] scheduled crawl: generation 1, 1030 files, … newly extracted, …s
```

A second crawl runs every six hours and downloads only what is new.

## 11. The monthly token

The token lasts 30 days. From a week before, the log, `whoami` and
`schulcloud token` warn. Replacing it takes a minute and no restart:

1. Private window → log in → copy the `jwt` cookie (as in step 4).
2. `schulcloud token set` and paste it — or open `https://mcp.example.org/token`
   and paste it there with `MCP_AUTH_TOKEN`.
3. Close the private window.

The server checks the token with Schulcloud before using it, restarts the
keepalive, and saves it in the `state` volume, where it outlives restarts and
takes precedence over the older one in `.env`.

The same steps revive a session that lapsed — after a power cut of more than two
hours, say.

## Updating

A new version is published first, from a development machine:
`npm run publish-image` ([DEPLOYMENT.md](DEPLOYMENT.md#publishing-an-image)).
Then, on the Pi:

```bash
cd /opt/schulcloud-mcp
git pull                             # compose files and docs
docker compose pull                  # the newly published image
docker compose up -d
docker compose logs --tail 20 schulcloud-mcp
```

`COMPOSE_FILE` in `.env` keeps applying the Pi settings. Recreating the container
keeps the database, the mirror and a replaced token, all of which live in volumes.

With `SCHULCLOUD_MCP_TAG` pinned, set it to the new commit id before pulling.
Going back works the same way: set the previous commit id, then `pull` and
`up -d`.

## Backups

| What | Needed? |
|---|---|
| `.env` | **Yes** — it holds every secret. Only ever back it up encrypted. |
| Postgres | Optional: a crawl rebuilds it. `docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U schulcloud schulcloud \| gzip > index.sql.gz` |
| `schulcloud-mcp_mirror` | No — re-downloaded by the next crawl. |
| `schulcloud-mcp_state` | No — a replaced token, expiring within 30 days anyway. |

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| `keepalive: token rejected (401)` | The session ended: the Pi was off for more than two hours, a Schulportal tab was left open, or 30 days passed | Step 11 |
| 401 about two hours after pasting a token | A Schulportal tab still open on that login | Close it, then step 11 |
| claude.ai cannot add the connector | DNS, forwarding or certificate not in place, or a wrong secret (404) | Step 8's checks, in order |
| claude.ai connects, then tools hang | `flush_interval -1` missing from the Caddy site | Step 6 |
| `/mcp` answers 401 with the right token | Whitespace copied along with the token | Re-copy it |
| Caddy never obtains a certificate | Port 80 not forwarded, or DNS not yet pointing at the VPS | Step 7 |
| `network … declared as external, but could not be found` | Wrong `CADDY_NETWORK` | Step 3 |
| `required variable … is missing a value` | A line missing from `.env` | Step 3 |
| `unauthorized` or `pull access denied` from `docker compose pull` | Not logged in to the registry on the Pi | `docker login registry.mc02.dev` |
| `no matching manifest for linux/arm64` | The image was published for amd64 only | Publish again with `npm run publish-image`, which builds both |
| Compose rejects `!reset` in `deploy/docker-compose.pi.yml` | Compose older than 2.24 | Update Docker (step 1) |
| `EACCES` for `/data/state` or `/data/mirror` in the logs | A volume created by an old image, owned by root | `docker compose down`, `docker volume rm schulcloud-mcp_state` (or `_mirror`), `docker compose up -d` |

## Security checklist

- `.env` is mode 600 and in no unencrypted backup.
- `docker compose ps` shows no published ports for `schulcloud-mcp` or `schulcloud-mcp-db`.
- The registry login in `~/.docker/config.json` is only base64-encoded. Keep the
  Pi user's home private, and use an account that may only pull if your
  registry can issue one.
- The VPS forwards raw TCP and opens only 80, 443, 51820/udp and SSH.
- The secret path stays out of Caddy's access log — this prints a count, never
  the secret:
  ```bash
  docker exec <caddy-container> grep -c "$(grep '^MCP_PATH_SECRET=' .env | cut -d= -f2)" /var/log/caddy/schulcloud-mcp.log
  # 0
  ```
- If the claude.ai URL may have leaked: set a new `MCP_PATH_SECRET`, run
  `docker compose up -d --force-recreate schulcloud-mcp`, and re-add the connector.