Idlewatcher

Manages container lifecycle based on idle timeout, automatically stopping/pausing containers and waking them on request.

Overview

The internal/idlewatcher package implements idle-based container lifecycle management for GoDoxy. When a container is idle for a configured duration, it can be automatically stopped, paused, or killed. When a request arrives, the container is woken up automatically.

Primary Consumers

• Route layer: Routes with idlewatcher config integrate with this package to manage container lifecycle
• HTTP handlers: Serve loading pages and SSE events during wake-up
• Stream handlers: Handle stream connections with idle detection

Non-goals

• Does not implement container runtime operations directly (delegates to providers)
• Does not manage container dependencies beyond wake ordering
• Does not provide health checking (delegates to internal/health/monitor)

Stability

Internal package with stable public API. Changes to exported types require backward compatibility.

Public API

Exported Types

// Watcher manages lifecycle of a single container
type Watcher struct {
    // Embedded route helper for proxy/stream/health
    routeHelper

    cfg *types.IdlewatcherConfig

    // Thread-safe state containers
    provider    synk.Value[idlewatcher.Provider]
    state       synk.Value[*containerState]
    lastReset   synk.Value[time.Time]

    // Timers and channels
    idleTicker   *time.Ticker
    healthTicker *time.Ticker
    readyNotifyCh chan struct{}

    // SSE event broadcasting (HTTP routes only)
    eventChs       *xsync.Map[chan *WakeEvent, struct{}]
    eventHistory   []WakeEvent
}

// WakeEvent is broadcast via SSE during wake-up
type WakeEvent struct {
    Type      WakeEventType
    Message   string
    Timestamp time.Time
    Error     string
}

Exported Functions/Methods

// NewWatcher creates or reuses a watcher for the given route and config
func NewWatcher(parent task.Parent, r types.Route, cfg *types.IdlewatcherConfig) (*Watcher, error)

// Wake wakes the container, blocking until ready
func (w *Watcher) Wake(ctx context.Context) error

// Start begins the idle watcher loop
func (w *Watcher) Start(parent task.Parent) error

// ServeHTTP serves the loading page and SSE events
func (w *Watcher) ServeHTTP(rw http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)

// ListenAndServe handles stream connections with idle detection
func (w *Watcher) ListenAndServe(ctx context.Context, preDial, onRead nettypes.HookFunc)

// Key returns the unique key for this watcher
func (w *Watcher) Key() string

Package-level Variables

var (
    // watcherMap is a global registry keyed by config.Key()
    watcherMap map[string]*Watcher
    watcherMapMu sync.RWMutex

    // singleFlight prevents duplicate wake calls for the same container
    singleFlight singleflight.Group
)

Architecture

Core Components

Component Interactions

State Machine

Configuration Surface

Configuration is defined in types.IdlewatcherConfig:

type IdlewatcherConfig struct {
    IdlewatcherConfigBase
    Docker  *types.DockerProviderConfig  // Exactly one required
    Proxmox *types.ProxmoxProviderConfig // Exactly one required
}

type IdlewatcherConfigBase struct {
    IdleTimeout  time.Duration          // Duration before container is stopped
    StopMethod   types.ContainerMethod  // pause, stop, or kill
    StopSignal   types.ContainerSignal  // Signal to send
    StopTimeout  int                    // Timeout in seconds
    WakeTimeout  time.Duration          // Max time to wait for wake
    DependsOn    []string               // Container dependencies
    StartEndpoint string                // Optional path restriction
    NoLoadingPage bool                  // Skip loading page
}

Docker Labels

labels:
  proxy.idle_timeout: 5m
  proxy.idle_stop_method: stop
  proxy.idle_depends_on: database:redis

Path Constants

const (
    LoadingPagePath = "/$godoxy/loading"
    WakeEventsPath  = "/$godoxy/wake-events"
)

Dependency and Integration Map

Dependency	Purpose
internal/health/monitor	Health checking during wake
internal/route/routes	Route registry lookup
internal/docker	Docker client connection
internal/proxmox	Proxmox LXC management
internal/watcher/events	Container event watching
pkg/gperr	Error handling
xsync/v4	Concurrent maps
golang.org/x/sync/singleflight	Duplicate wake suppression

Observability

Logs

• INFO: Wake start, container started, ready notification
• DEBUG: State transitions, health check details
• ERROR: Wake failures, health check errors

Log context includes: alias, key, provider, method

Metrics

No metrics exposed directly; health check metrics available via internal/health/monitor.

Security Considerations

• Loading page and SSE endpoints are mounted under /$godoxy/ path
• No authentication on loading page; assumes internal network trust
• SSE event history may contain container names (visible to connected clients)

Failure Modes and Recovery

Failure	Behavior	Recovery
Wake timeout	Returns error, container remains in current state	Retry wake with longer timeout
Health check fails repeatedly	Container marked as error, retries on next request	External fix required
Provider connection lost	SSE disconnects, next request retries wake	Reconnect on next request
Dependencies fail to start	Wake fails with dependency error	Fix dependency container

Usage Examples

Basic HTTP Route with Idlewatcher

route := &route.Route{
    Alias: "myapp",
    Idlewatcher: &types.IdlewatcherConfig{
        IdlewatcherConfigBase: types.IdlewatcherConfigBase{
            IdleTimeout: 5 * time.Minute,
            StopMethod:  types.ContainerMethodStop,
            StopTimeout: 30,
        },
        Docker: &types.DockerProviderConfig{
            ContainerID: "abc123",
        },
    },
}

w, err := idlewatcher.NewWatcher(parent, route, route.Idlewatcher)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
return w.Start(parent)

Watching Wake Events

// Events are automatically served at /$godoxy/wake-events
// Client connects via EventSource:

const eventSource = new EventSource("/$godoxy/wake-events");
eventSource.onmessage = (e) => {
    const event = JSON.parse(e.data);
    console.log(`Wake event: ${event.type}`, event.message);
};

Testing Notes

• Unit tests cover state machine transitions
• Integration tests with Docker daemon for provider operations
• Mock provider for testing wake flow without real containers