LibEuFin How-To ############### .. contents:: Table of Contents The LibEuFin Nexus is a Web service that provides a JSON abstraction layer to access bank accounts. It does **not** itself offer banking services, but is a translator between JSON requests and other banking protocols (such as EBICS), that are offered by banks. This document explains how to set up Nexus to access a bank account via the EBICS protocol. In order to follow all the steps below, the reader should either have access to a bank account with EBICS support or follow the steps in :ref:`Configuring the Sandbox `. Installing LibEuFin =================== .. warning:: LibEuFin does not yet ship with any systemd unit files. There is an `open bug report `__ for this issue. Installation on Debian ---------------------- .. include:: ../frags/installing-debian.rst To install LibEuFin, you can now simply run: .. code-block:: console # apt install libeufin Administration via SystemD -------------------------- After the Debian installation, the installed unit files should be listed by the following command: .. code-block:: console # systemctl list-unit-files | egrep '(nexus|sandbox)' Both ``nexus.service`` and ``sandbox.service`` should appear. At this point, the services can be started on boot: .. code-block:: console # systemctl enable nexus # use 'disable' to rollback # systemctl enable sandbox Or just manually: .. code-block:: console # systemctl start nexus # use 'stop' to terminate. # systemctl start sandbox The following command should inform the user about the status of the running / terminated service: .. code-block:: console # systemctl status nexus For more diagnostics, use: .. code-block:: console # journalctl -u nexus Run-time dependencies --------------------- LibEuFin has the following run-time dependencies: * OpenJDK 11 * Python 3.8 * python3-click (can be installed via ``pip3 install click``) * python3-requests (can be installed via ``pip3 install requests``) These dependencies only need to be installed manually when building from source or using the prebuilt binaries. Downloading prebuilt binaries ----------------------------- Pre-built packages can be obtained from the `taler.net website `__. Unpack the ``libeufin-$version.zip`` file to your desired location (typically ``/opt`` or ``~/opt``) and make sure that your ``PATH`` environment variable contains the ``bin/`` directory of the unpacked archive. Building from source -------------------- Nexus belongs to the LibEuFin project, and can be downloaded via Git: .. code-block:: console $ git clone git://git.taler.net/libeufin Note that Kotlin and Gradle should already work on the host system. Navigate into the *libeufin* local repository, and from top-level run: .. code-block:: console $ ./bootstrap $ ./configure --prefix=$PREFIX $ make install Verifying your installation --------------------------- In case of success, the three following commands should be found: .. code-block:: console $ which libeufin-nexus $ which libeufin-sandbox $ which libeufin-cli .. _configuring-the-sandbox: (Optional) Configuring the Sandbox ================================== If you don't have access to a real bank account with an EBICS API, you can set up the sandbox. The sandbox is a simplistic and incomplete implementation of a core banking system with EBICS access to bank accounts. The sandbox relies on a database, which you must specify using a JDBC connection URI with the ``LIBEUFIN_SANDBOX_DB_CONNECTION`` environment variable, before invoking any commands. (If this variable is not set, ``libeufin-sandbox`` complains and exits.) Only *SQLite* (e.g. ``jdbc:sqlite:/tmp/libeufintestdb``) and *PostgreSQL (via TCP)* (e.g. ``jdbc:postgresql://localhost:$port/libeufintestdb?user=$username&password=$password``) are supported right now. For the following commands, the sandbox service must be running. The sandbox service is started with the following command: .. code-block:: console $ export LIBEUFIN_SANDBOX_DB_CONNECTION=jdbc:sqlite:/tmp/libeufintestdb $ libeufin-sandbox serve --port 5000 To reset the state of the sandbox, delete the database. For invocations of the LibEuFin command-line interface tool (``libeufin-cli``), the following environment variable must be set to the URL of the sandbox service: .. code-block:: console $ export LIBEUFIN_SANDBOX_URL=http://localhost:5000/ Verify that the sandbox is running: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox check { "name" : "libeufin-sandbox", "version" : "0.0.0-dev.0" } Now an EBICS host can be created: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox ebicshost create --host-id testhost Note that most ``libeufin-cli`` subcommands will ask for input interactively if the respective value is not specified as a command line option. Next, create an EBICS subscriber (identified by the partner ID and user ID) for the host: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox ebicssubscriber create \ --host-id testhost --partner-id partner01 --user-id user01 Create a bank account for the subscriber and add a sample transaction: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox ebicsbankaccount create \ --currency EUR \ --iban DE18500105172929531888 \ --bic INGDDEFFXXX \ --person-name "Jane Normal" \ --account-name "testacct01" \ --ebics-host-id testhost \ --ebics-user-id user01 \ --ebics-partner-id partner01 The account name ``testacct01`` is the unique identifier of the account within the sandbox. The EBICS parameters identify the subscriber that should have access to the bank account via EBICS. To populate the account with some test transactions, run the following command (note that we use the ``bankaccount`` subcommand, because there is no need to rely on EBICS): .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox bankaccount generate-transactions testacct01 Payments to a sandbox bank account can be listed as follows: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli sandbox bankaccount transactions testacct01 .. note:: The sandbox is intended as a testing tool and thus not stable. For more information on the available commands, use the built-in ``--help`` flag. The full functionality of the sandbox is available via the :ref:`Sandbox API `. Connect Nexus with an EBICS account =================================== Nexus relies on a database, which you must specify using a JDBC connection URI with the ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_DB_CONNECTION`` environment variable, before invoking any commands. (If this variable is not set, ``libeufin-nexus`` complains and exits.) Only *SQLite* (e.g. ``jdbc:sqlite:/tmp/libeufintestdb``) and *PostgreSQL (via TCP)* (e.g. ``jdbc:postgresql://localhost:$port/libeufintestdb?user=$username&password=$password``) are supported right now. Use the following command to run the nexus service: .. code-block:: console $ export LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_DB_CONNECTION=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5433/libeufindb?user=foo&password=secret $ libeufin-nexus serve --port 5001 This sets up the PostgreSQL database to listen on port 5433, for internal communication with the nexus service. The nexus service itself listens on port 5001. At this point a superuser account needs to be created: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-nexus superuser foo --password secret If you omit ``--password secret``, you will interactively be asked for a password. For simplicity, a superuser can as well act as a normal user, but an API to create less privileged users is offered. .. note:: User and permissions management in LibEuFin is still under development. In particular, permissions for non-superusers are very limited at the moment. The command line interface needs the following three values to be defined in the environment: ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_URL``, ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_USERNAME``, and ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_PASSWORD``. In this example, ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_USERNAME`` should be set to ``foo``, and ``LIBEUFIN_NEXUS_PASSWORD`` to the value given for its password in the previous step (with the ``libeufin-nexus superuser`` command). Next, we create a EBICS *bank connection* that nexus can use to communicate with the bank. .. note:: For the sandbox setup in this guide, the EBICS base URL is ``http://localhost:5000/ebicsweb``. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli \ connections \ new-ebics-connection \ --ebics-url $EBICS_BASE_URL \ --host-id $EBICS_HOST_ID \ --partner-id $EBICS_PARTNER_ID \ --ebics-user-id $EBICS_USER_ID \ $CONNECTION_NAME If this step executes correctly, Nexus will have created all the cryptographic material that is needed on the client side; in this EBICS example, it created the signature and identification keys. It is therefore advisable to *make a backup copy* of such keys. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli \ connections \ export-backup \ --passphrase $SECRET \ --output-file $BACKUP_FILE \ $CONNECTION_NAME At this point, Nexus needs to both communicate its keys to the bank, and download the bank's keys. This syncronization happens through the INI, HIA, and finally, HPB message types. After the electronic synchronization, the subscriber must confirm their keys by sending a physical mail to the bank. The following command helps generating such letter: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli connections get-key-letter $CONNECTION_NAME out.pdf .. note:: When using the LibEuFin sandbox, subscribers are automatically activated after keys are received electronically. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli \ connections \ connect \ $CONNECTION_NAME Once the connection is synchronized, Nexus needs to import locally the data corresponding to the bank accounts offered by the bank connection just made. The command below downloads the list of the bank accounts offered by ``$CONNECTION_NAME``. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli \ connections \ download-bank-accounts \ $CONNECTION_NAME It is now possible to list the accounts offered by the connection. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli \ connections \ list-offered-bank-accounts \ $CONNECTION_NAME Nexus now needs an explicit import of the accounts it should manage. This step is needed to let the user pick a custom name for such accounts. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli connections \ import-bank-account \ --offered-account-id testacct01 \ --nexus-bank-account-id $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME \ $CONNECTION_NAME Once a Nexus user imported a bank account (``$LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME``) under a certain connection (``$CONNECTION_NAME``), it is possible to accomplish the usual operations for any bank account: asking for the list of transactions, and making a payment. Request history of transactions =============================== The LibEuFin nexus keeps a local copy of the bank account's transaction history. Before querying transactions locally, it is necessary to request transactions for the bank account via the bank connection. This command asks Nexus to download the latest transaction reports/statements through the bank connection: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli accounts fetch-transactions $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME .. note:: By default, the latest available transactions are fetched. It is also possible to specify a custom date range (or even all available transactions) and the type of transactions to fetch (inter-day statements or intra-day reports). Once Nexus has stored all the information in the database, the client can ask to actually see the transactions: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli accounts transactions $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME Make a payment ============== Payments pass through two phases: preparation and submission. The preparation phase assigns the payment initiation a unique ID, which prevents accidental double submissions of payments in case of network failures or other disruptions. The following command prepares a payment: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli accounts prepare-payment \ --creditor-iban $IBAN_TO_SEND_MONEY_TO \ --creditor-bic $BIC_TO_SEND_MONEY_TO \ --creditor-name $CREDITOR_NAME \ --payment-amount $AMOUNT \ --payment-subject $SUBJECT \ $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME Note: the ``$AMOUNT`` value needs the format ``X.Y:CURRENCY``; for example ``10:EUR``, or ``1.01:EUR``. The previous command should return a value (``$UUID``) that uniquely identifies the prepared payment in the Nexus system. That is needed in the next step, to **send the payment instructions to the bank**: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli accounts submit-payment \ --payment-uuid $UUID \ $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME Automatic scheduling ==================== With an EBICS bank connection, the LibEuFin nexus needs to regularly query for new transactions and (re-)submit prepared payments. It is possible to schedule these tasks via an external task scheduler such as cron(8). However, the nexus also has an internal task scheduling mechanism for accounts. The following three commands create a schedule for submitting payments hourly, fetching transactions (intra-day reports) every 5 minutes, and (inter-day statements) once at 11pm every day : .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli accounts task-schedule myacct \ --task-type="submit" --task-name='submit-payments-hourly' --task-cronspec='0 0 *' $ libeufin-cli accounts task-schedule myacct \ --task-type="fetch" \ --task-name='fetch-5min' \ --task-cronspec='0 */5 *' \ --task-param-level=report \ --task-param-range-type=latest $ libeufin-cli accounts task-schedule myacct \ --task-type="fetch" \ --task-name='fetch-daily' \ --task-cronspec='0 0 23' \ --task-param-level=statement \ --task-param-range-type=latest The cronspec has the following format, which is slightly non-standard due to the ``SECONDS`` field .. code-block:: none SECONDS MINUTES HOURS DAY-OF-MONTH[optional] MONTH[optional] DAY-OF-WEEK[optional] Restore the backup ================== The following command restores all the details associated with one bank connection subscription. For EBICS, this means that the INI and HIA secret keys will be restored for the requesting user. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli connection \ restore-backup --passphrase $SECRET \ --backup-file $BACKUP_FILE \ $CONNECTION_NAME Creating a Taler facade ======================= Facades are additional abstraction layers that can serve specific purposes. For example, one application might need a filtered version of the transaction history, or it might want to refuse payments that do not conform to certain rules. At this moment, only the *Taler facade type* is implemented in the Nexus, and the command below instantiates one under a existing bank account / connection pair. .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli facades new-facade \ --facade-name $FACADE_NAME \ $CONNECTION_NAME \ $LOCAL_ACCOUNT_NAME At this point, the additional *taler-wire-gateway* (FIXME: link here to API here) API becomes offered by the Nexus. The purpose is to let a Taler exchange rely on Nexus to manage its bank account. Managing Permissions and Users ============================== This guide has so far assumed that a superuser is accessing the LibEuFin Nexus. However, it is advisable that the Nexus is accessed with users that only have a minimal set of permissions. The Nexus currently only has support for giving non-superusers access to Taler wire gateway facades. To create a new user, use the ``users`` subcommand of the CLI: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli users list # [ ... shows available users ... ] $ libeufin-cli users create $USERNAME # [ ... will prompt for password ... ] Permissions are managed with the ``permissions`` subcommand. The following commands grant permissions to view the transaction history and create payment initiations with a Taler wire gateway facade: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli permissions grant \ user $USERNAME \ facade $FACADENAME \ facade.talerWireGateway.history $ libeufin-cli permissions grant \ user $USERNAME \ facade $FACADENAME \ facade.talerWireGateway.transfer The list of all granted permissions can be reviewed: .. code-block:: console $ libeufin-cli permissions list