Add production-ready one-command miner installer with virtualenv isol…

[samuel-asleep]

Implements a comprehensive installer for RustChain miners supporting Linux (Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora) and macOS (Intel/Apple Silicon) with virtualenv isolation, persistent service setup, and clean uninstall.

Changes

Installer enhancements (install.sh)

• Virtualenv isolation at ~/.rustchain/venv - dependencies install without touching system Python
• Systemd user service (Linux) and launchd agent (macOS) for auto-start on boot with failure restart
• --uninstall flag removes services, files, virtualenv, and configuration cleanly
• --wallet WALLET_NAME argument for non-interactive installations
• Post-install output includes wallet balance check commands and service management instructions

Platform support

• Linux: x86_64, ppc64le, ppc, POWER8 with systemd service
• macOS: Intel (x86_64), Apple Silicon (arm64), PowerPC with launchd agent

Documentation

• Updated README.md with installation examples and service management commands
• New INSTALL.md (371 lines) covering installation, troubleshooting, service management, and security notes

Usage

# Install with auto-generated wallet
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Scottcjn/Rustchain/main/install.sh | bash

# Install with specific wallet (non-interactive)
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Scottcjn/Rustchain/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --wallet my-miner

# Uninstall completely
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Scottcjn/Rustchain/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall

# Manage service (Linux)
systemctl --user status rustchain-miner

# Manage service (macOS)
launchctl list | grep rustchain

Technical notes

• Virtualenv creation uses python -m venv with fallback to virtualenv module
• Services run as user (no root/sudo required)
• SSL verification disabled for self-signed node certificate (documented in security notes)
• Service logs to ~/.rustchain/miner.log

Fixes Scottcjn/rustchain-bounties#4

[Scottcjn]

Review: Miner Installer with Virtualenv Isolation (PR #6)

@samuel-asleep - This is the strongest PR of the batch. Virtualenv isolation, systemd/launchd auto-start, and clean uninstall are all real improvements over the existing installer. The code is clean and well-structured.

Issues to Fix

1. All API endpoint URLs are wrong (BLOCKER)
The PR references three endpoint patterns throughout INSTALL.md, README.md, and the install.sh post-install output that don't exist on the RustChain node:

/wallet/YOUR_WALLET_NAME/balance       → 404
/wallet/YOUR_WALLET_NAME/transactions  → 404
/miner/YOUR_WALLET_NAME/stats          → 404

The actual endpoints are:

# Balance check (the only one that exists)
curl -sk "https://50.28.86.131/wallet/balance?miner_id=YOUR_WALLET_NAME"

# Active miners list
curl -sk https://50.28.86.131/api/miners

# Node health
curl -sk https://50.28.86.131/health

# Current epoch
curl -sk https://50.28.86.131/epoch

There is no transaction history endpoint and no per-miner stats endpoint. Fix all references in:

• INSTALL.md lines 177, 183, 189 (and all other occurrences)
• README.md lines 56, 61
• install.sh post-install echo statements

2. config.json is created but never consumed

cat > "$INSTALL_DIR/config.json" << EOF
{
    "wallet": "$WALLET_NAME",
    "node_url": "$NODE_URL"
}
EOF

The miner uses --wallet CLI arg, not a config file. INSTALL.md tells users to edit config.json to change settings, but the miner ignores it. Either:

• Remove config.json creation and references
• Or have the start script read from it (parse with python -c "import json; ...")

3. No wallet name validation
Wallet names with spaces, quotes, or shell metacharacters will break the systemd service file and launchd plist since they're interpolated directly:

ExecStart=$venv_python $INSTALL_DIR/rustchain_miner.py --wallet $wallet

If wallet is my wallet or $(rm -rf ~), this breaks or worse. Add validation:

if [[ ! "$wallet_name" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$ ]]; then
    echo -e "${RED}[!] Wallet name can only contain letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores${NC}"
    exit 1
fi

Minor Issues

4. Heredoc quoting in service files
The systemd service and launchd plist use unquoted heredocs (<< EOF), which means shell variables are expanded at creation time. This is actually correct here since you want the current values baked in, but worth a comment in the script.

5. read -r in piped context
When the script is piped from curl (curl ... | bash), stdin is the curl output, not the terminal. The read -r wallet_name and read -r setup_autostart calls will read from the pipe (which is empty/exhausted), not from the user. This means:

• Without --wallet, the auto-generated name is always used (user can't type)
• Auto-start prompt is always skipped

The fix: redirect reads from /dev/tty:

read -r wallet_name < /dev/tty
read -r setup_autostart < /dev/tty

What's Good

• Virtualenv isolation is the right call - pip install --user pollutes the user's Python
• Systemd user services (not system services) - no sudo needed
• Launchd plist with KeepAlive and -u (unbuffered) for real logging
• Clean uninstall removes services, files, and symlinks
• --wallet flag for non-interactive/scripted installs
• Fallback from python -m venv to virtualenv module
• Good error messages with colored output
• INSTALL.md is thorough (troubleshooting section is useful)

Fix items 1, 3, and 5, and this is mergeable. Item 2 is a nice-to-have.

[Scottcjn]

@samuel-asleep Here's the fix checklist:

Fix List

1. Fix all API endpoint URLs (BLOCKER)

Every curl example in INSTALL.md, README.md, and install.sh uses endpoint patterns that return 404. Replace with the actual API:

# Balance check (CORRECT)
curl -sk "https://50.28.86.131/wallet/balance?miner_id=YOUR_WALLET_NAME"

# Miners list (CORRECT)
curl -sk https://50.28.86.131/api/miners

# Node health (CORRECT)
curl -sk https://50.28.86.131/health

Remove references to /wallet/WALLET/transactions and /miner/WALLET/stats — those endpoints don't exist.

2. Add wallet name validation

Prevent shell injection via wallet names. Before using the wallet name anywhere:

if [[ ! "$wallet_name" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$ ]]; then
    echo -e "${RED}[!] Wallet name must be alphanumeric (hyphens and underscores allowed)${NC}"
    exit 1
fi

3. Fix read in piped context

When installed via curl ... | bash, read can't read from the user because stdin is the pipe. Redirect from /dev/tty:

read -r wallet_name < /dev/tty
read -r setup_autostart < /dev/tty
read -r start_now < /dev/tty

4. (Optional) Remove or fix config.json

The miner doesn't read config.json — it uses --wallet CLI arg. Either remove the config.json creation and INSTALL.md references, or update start.sh to parse it.

---

Fix 1-3 and push. This is close to merge.

[Scottcjn]

@samuel-asleep Re-reviewed after your second commit. All 4 items from the original fix checklist have been addressed:

• ✅ API endpoint URLs: All corrected to /wallet/balance?miner_id=X, /api/miners, /health, /epoch
• ✅ Wallet name validation: Added ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$ regex check
• ✅ read in piped context: All 3 read calls now use < /dev/tty
• ✅ config.json removed: Creation and all references removed

New Features (Nice Additions)

The second commit also added several improvements beyond the original fixes:

• --wallet flag for non-interactive install
• --uninstall flag for clean removal
• virtualenv isolation (no system pollution)
• systemd user service setup (Linux)
• launchd agent setup (macOS)
• Proper service management commands in output

Remaining Nits (Non-Blocking)

1. Fake example response in INSTALL.md (Minor)

Line 164-170 shows:

{
  "wallet": "my-miner-wallet",
  "balance": 12.456,
  "pending": 0.12
}

The actual /wallet/balance response format is:

{"miner_id": "my-miner-wallet", "amount_rtc": 12.456, "amount_i64": 12456000}

2. Mixed HTTP/HTTPS in README (Minor)

The "Network Verification" section now uses curl -sk https://... (correct), but the block explorer link at the bottom still uses http://50.28.86.131/explorer (no HTTPS). Not a real issue since the explorer works on both, but inconsistent.

3. No --start-now flag (Suggestion)

For fully non-interactive deployment (curl ... | bash -s -- --wallet X), the auto-start prompt still requires /dev/tty. Consider adding --auto-start flag for CI/automation use cases. Not required for this PR though.

---

Verdict

This is ready to merge with the documentation nit fixed. The installer now handles the full lifecycle (install → configure → service → uninstall) and works correctly in piped context.

[Scottcjn]

All 4 fix checklist items addressed. Installer now handles full lifecycle. Ready to merge — only remaining nit is a fake example response in INSTALL.md (wrong field names in the JSON example).

[Scottcjn]

@samuel-asleep Sent 5 RTC to wallet samuel-asleep for your approved PR. Check your balance:

curl -s 'https://50.28.86.131/wallet/balance?miner_id=samuel-asleep' -k

This is a welcome bonus — the full 25 RTC bounty (#4 on rustchain-bounties) pays on merge to main. If you want a different wallet name, let us know and we'll transfer.