Josh Siviour
ae6fcfe7a1
* chore(ansible): add dev-status playbook (read-only health doctor)
New `dev-status` role + playbook + Makefile target. Read-only snapshot of
spinifex.target, failed units, port listeners, OVN/OVS state, gateway
round-trip, AMI/keypair/volume/instance counts, and build-vs-install drift
for spx + nbdkit plugin + microvm artifacts. Pairs with dev-preflight as
the post-install / running-system diagnostic.
Plan: docs/development/improvements/ansible-dev-extensions.md (mulga).
Bead: mulga-siv-86.1.
* chore(ansible): add dev-logs playbook (bug-report bundle)
New `logs` role + playbook + Makefile target. Captures journalctl for
spinifex-* / ovn-* / openvswitch-switch / qemu / nbdkit, copies
/var/log/spinifex/, snapshots systemctl status + networking (ip/ss/ovs/
ovn show) + spx/plugin/microvm version manifest + dmesg, then bundles
into /tmp/spinifex-logs-<host>-<ts>.tar.gz owned by the invoking user.
Tail mode deliberately omitted — devs should `journalctl -u 'spinifex-*' -f`
directly; ansible captures stdout and is the wrong tool for follow.
Overrides: -e logs_since=10min, -e logs_output_dir=/tmp,
-e logs_include_dmesg=false.
Plan: docs/development/improvements/ansible-dev-extensions.md (mulga).
Bead: mulga-siv-86.2.
* chore(ansible): add dev-snapshot / dev-restore (state checkpoint)
New snapshot + restore roles + playbooks + Makefile targets.
dev-snapshot quiesces the full spinifex+OVN+OVS stack in dependency
order (spinifex.target → ovn-controller → ovn-central →
openvswitch-switch), kills lingering QEMU VMs, then tars /etc/spinifex,
/var/lib/spinifex (viperblock volumes included), /var/lib/ovn (NB+SB
DBs), and /etc/openvswitch/conf.db into /var/lib/spinifex-snapshots/
<name>.tar.gz with a sibling .manifest, restarts services in reverse,
and waits for the AWS gateway to come back.
dev-restore inverses: stop services, wipe the same path set, untar the
named bundle, copy /etc/spinifex/ca.pem back into the system trust
store and rebuild the CA bundle (the snapshot doesn't include
/usr/local/share/ca-certificates/spinifex-ca.crt), daemon-reload,
restart in reverse order.
Both refuse to run without -e snapshot_name=<name>, validate the name
matches [A-Za-z0-9._-]+, and produce honest summaries when the gateway
fails to come back (does not mask other ongoing issues).
Tested on dev box: snapshot/restore of 2.4 GiB state (large viperblock
volumes) completes cleanly with no data drift; services all return to
active.
Plan: docs/development/improvements/ansible-dev-extensions.md (mulga).
Bead: mulga-siv-86.3.
* fix(ansible): wrap aws/spx calls in sg spinifex to fix group inheritance
Adds scripts/ansible/scripts/aws-as-spinifex.sh and spx-as-spinifex.sh
helpers that re-enter the command under `sg spinifex -c '...'` with
AWS_PROFILE=spinifex preset. Swaps every AWS / spx admin task across
the status, init, deploy, smoketest, snapshot, and restore roles to
use these via spinifex_aws_cli / spinifex_spx_cli vars.
Root cause (mulga-siv-92): ansible's `become_user` is a no-op when the
target user equals the calling user, so sudo never runs and
supplementary groups are inherited from the operator's invoking shell
rather than re-initialised via initgroups(3). On shells that predate
setup.sh's spinifex group add, the spinifex group is missing and
/etc/spinifex/ca.pem (drwxr-x--- root:spinifex, the AWS CLI's
ca_bundle) is unreadable — aws cli fails with SSL Errno 13. The
helpers re-enter the command in a shell that explicitly assumes the
spinifex group via sg(1), bypassing the issue regardless of how
ansible-playbook is invoked.
Side benefit: drops 50 lines of repeated `become: true / become_user /
environment: AWS_PROFILE` boilerplate across the roles.
Closes mulga-siv-92.
* chore(ansible): add dev-version playbook (build vs install drift)
New `version` role + playbook + Makefile target. Compares sha256 of
built artifacts (bin/spx, viperblock/lib/nbdkit-viperblock-plugin.so,
build/microvm/{vmlinuz,initramfs.cpio.gz}) against their installed
counterparts (/usr/local/bin/spx, plugindir, /usr/share/spinifex/
microvm/*). Prints per-artifact drift verdict plus sub-repo HEAD
short-revs (spinifex/viperblock/predastore) for context. Closes with
either "DRIFT detected — run: make ansible-dev-deploy" or "No drift".
Pure read-only. Faster than dev-status (no AWS/OVN/port probing).
Plan: docs/development/improvements/ansible-dev-extensions.md (mulga).
Bead: mulga-siv-86.9.
* chore(ansible): add missing roles/deploy/meta/main.yml
All other roles have meta/main.yml; deploy was the lone outlier.
Consistency fix. Closes mulga-siv-86.10.
* chore(ansible): add dev-vpc playbook (idempotent dev VPC fixture)
New `vpc` role + playbook + Makefile target. Idempotent
present/absent dispatch creates a deterministic spinifex-dev-vpc with
public subnet (10.99.1.0/24, map-public-ip-on-launch), internet
gateway, route table, and default route. Hooks into smoketest's launch
path — smoketest's existing
Name=map-public-ip-on-launch,Values=true filter now picks it up
instead of falling through to the "no subnet → skip launch" branch.
Idempotency: each step describe-then-create, looking up by Name tag
where possible. Re-running on a converged VPC is changed=0, skipped=5
(the create tasks).
Workaround for mulga-siv-94 (gateway silently drops
--tag-specifications and no-ops create-tags for route tables): role
falls back to "RT associated with our subnet" lookup so tag absence
doesn't break idempotency. create-tags task is kept as a no-op-now
forward-looking step for when the gateway gap is closed.
Teardown (-e dev_vpc_state=absent) enumerates ALL non-main route
tables in the VPC (not just the tagged one), so orphans from prior
runs that landed before the fallback was added get cleaned up too.
Tested end-to-end against josh-banksia dev gateway: create / re-run
(idempotent) / teardown all converge cleanly.
Plan: docs/development/improvements/ansible-dev-extensions.md (mulga).
Bead: mulga-siv-86.4.
What is Spinifex? · Platform · Components · Architecture · Installation · Docs
Spinifex: An Open Source AWS-Compatible Stack for Bare-Metal, Edge, and On-Prem Deployments
Spinifex developed by Mulga Defense Corporation is an open source infrastructure platform that brings the core services of AWS—like EC2, VPC, EBS, and S3—to environments where running in the cloud isn't an option. Whether you're deploying to edge sites, private data-centers, or need to operate in low-connectivity or highly contested environments, Spinifex gives you AWS-style workflows on your own hardware.
What is Spinifex?
Spinifex replicates essential AWS primitives—virtual machines, block volumes, and object storage—using lightweight, self-contained components that are easy to deploy and integrate.
It's designed for developers and operators who need:
- Cloud-like infrastructure without the cloud
- Minimal dependencies, full control
- Drop-in compatibility with tools like the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform
- A secure cloud environment you control and own the entire hardware, network and software stack
You can run Spinifex on a few servers in a rack, a field site, or anywhere centralized cloud services aren't feasible.
The Platform
From commodity hardware up to unmodified AWS tooling, every layer is replaceable and yours to own.
Core Components
Spinifex (Compute Service – EC2 Alternative)
Spinifex is a minimal VM orchestration layer built on top of QEMU, exposing APIs similar to EC2. It manages lifecycle operations like start, stop, and terminate, using QEMU's QMP interface. Designed to be straightforward and scriptable, Spinifex lets you launch VMs using the AWS CLI, SDKs, or Terraform—without needing Kubernetes or heavyweight orchestrators. Keep in mind, you can also setup a Kubernetes environment using Spinifex with underlying instances.
- EC2-like VM management on bare metal
- Launches with cloud-init metadata support
- Works with standard AWS tooling
Viperblock (Block Storage – EBS Alternative)
Viperblock is a high-performance, WAL-backed block storage service that replicates volumes across multiple nodes. It's built for reliability and speed, with support for snapshots, recovery, and direct connection to QEMU instances using NBD or virtio-blk.
- Fast, durable virtual disks
- Replication for resilience
- Exposed over NBD or embedded in VMs
- Supports high performance WAL logs using local NVMe drives to reduce IO traffic to S3.
- In memory read/write block cache for blazing performance.
Predastore (Object Storage – S3-Compatible)
Predastore is a fully S3-compatible object storage system. It supports the AWS S3 API, including Signature V4 authentication, multipart uploads, and Terraform provisioning. Data is chunked and distributed across nodes using Reed-Solomon erasure coding, making it fault-tolerant and ideal for large-scale or low-bandwidth scenarios.
- S3-compatible API and auth
- Multipart uploads, streaming reads/writes
- Data redundancy with Reed-Solomon encoding
Architecture at a Glance
Every AWS API call is authenticated at the gateway, published to a NATS subject, and answered by whichever daemon claims it. Daemons are stateless — scale horizontally by starting more. No etcd, no Kubernetes, no external control plane. Deep dive: docs/DESIGN.md.
Key Features
AWS-Compatible Interfaces – Provision infrastructure with awscli, Terraform, or SDKs you already use.
- Designed for Control – Run on your own terms, whether that's in a datacenter, remote site, or sensitive environment.
- Minimal Dependencies – Each service is standalone and avoids complex orchestration layers.
- Works Offline – No reliance on centralized cloud services or external networks.
- Open Source – Licensed under AGPL 3.0. Fork it, extend it, or deploy it as-is.
Installation
Installation requires an Ubuntu / Debian system. See the detailed documentation at docs.mulgadc.com for maintaining and installing Spinifex.
Bare Metal ISO
The recommended installation is a bootable x86 installer for bare-metal hardware.
curl -fLO https://iso.mulgadc.com/spinifex.iso
Follow the USB install guide to write the ISO to USB and install on your hardware. The install guide walks through the full process.
Single Node Install
The installation is straightforward to set up and running on a single node for testing purposes. Debian 13 is currently supported, additional Linux distributions are on the immediate roadmap.
Prerequisite: Linux bridge for networking.
Spinifex requires a Linux bridge configured on the host for VM networking. See the single-node install guide prerequisites for setup details.
curl -fsSL https://install.mulgadc.com | bash
sudo /usr/local/share/spinifex/setup-ovn.sh --management
sudo spx admin init --node node1 --nodes 1
sudo systemctl start spinifex.target
export AWS_PROFILE=spinifex
aws ec2 describe-instance-types
Development Setup
For a complete development environment see the Source Install documentation
Component Repositories
Spinifex coordinates these independent components:
- Predastore - S3-compatible object storage
- Viperblock - EBS-compatible block storage
Each component can be developed independently. See component-specific documentation for focused development guides.
Spinifex UI
Spinifex ships with a built-in web console — an optional alternative to the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform. If you're familiar with the AWS Management Console, the Spinifex UI fills the same role: a browser-based view of your instances, volumes, buckets, VPCs, and IAM resources, without leaving your own network.
The console is served by each node on port 3000 over TLS, and becomes available as soon as spinifex.target is up:
open https://YOUR_NODE_IP:3000
- Same API, different surface. Every action in the UI is the same AWS SigV4 call the CLI makes — so RBAC, audit trails, and IAM policies apply uniformly.
- Single sign-on against your AWS credentials. Log in with the access keys from
~/.aws/credentialson the node where Spinifex is installed — no separate user database. - Self-hosted, works offline. The UI is embedded in the Spinifex binary and served from the node itself. No external CDN, no analytics calls, no cloud dependency.
For the full walkthrough — first-time TLS certificate trust, login, and feature tour — see Launching the Web UI in the cluster setup guide.
Development Philosophy
Built by Engineers, For Engineers
Spinifex is developed by experienced infrastructure engineers with deep AWS expertise, including former AWS team members who understand the intricacies of building production-grade cloud services. Our team brings decades of combined experience from AWS, enterprise infrastructure, and edge computing environments.
Real-World Experience:
- Production AWS service development and operations
- Large-scale infrastructure deployment and management
- Edge computing and resource-constrained environments
- Enterprise security and compliance requirements
AI-Assisted Development
While Spinifex is architected and implemented by experienced engineers, we leverage Claude Code (Anthropic's AI coding assistant) to accelerate certain development tasks. This approach combines human expertise with AI efficiency:
How We Use Claude Code:
- Code Generation: Boilerplate AWS API structures and handlers
- Documentation: Comprehensive development guides and API documentation
- Testing: Test case generation and validation scenarios
- Refactoring: Large-scale code restructuring and optimization
What Remains Human-Driven:
- Architecture Decisions: Core system design and scalability choices
- Security Implementation: Authentication, encryption, and threat modeling
- Performance Optimization: Real-world performance tuning and benchmarking
- Production Operations: Deployment strategies and operational procedures
This hybrid approach ensures Spinifex benefits from both proven engineering expertise and modern development acceleration, while maintaining the quality and reliability standards required for production infrastructure.
License
Spinifex is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. You're free to use, modify, and deploy it anywhere you need reliable infrastructure without depending on centralized cloud platforms.