paivana

commit 1b754fe8da30ea906304931948adc7c8e1a16bae
parent 4d6092453dbce9b943019a3accf280b09fa2593d
Author: Christian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org>
Date:   Thu,  6 Aug 2026 23:18:37 +0200

refuse to start without templates, unless in no-pay-mode

Diffstat:
M
README
 | 
5
+++++
M
src/backend/paivana-httpd_templates.c
 | 
30
++++++++++++++++++++++++------

2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/README b/README
@@ -136,6 +136,11 @@ covers unpaywalled.  Transient backend outages are the service manager's
 job to ride out -- the shipped `paivana-httpd.service` restarts with an
 increasing back-off, and does not restart on a configuration error.
 
+An instance that offers no template at all is refused for the same
+reason: with nothing to sell, no URL ever matches a paywall and the
+entire site would be served for free without a word of warning.  Serving
+a site without a paywall is what `-n` is for, and it has to be asked for.
+
 
 Deployment behind a reverse proxy
 ----------------------------------
diff --git a/src/backend/paivana-httpd_templates.c b/src/backend/paivana-httpd_templates.c
@@ -233,12 +233,33 @@ load_timeout (void *cls)
 
 
 /**
- * The templates are in (or there are none): stop the watchdog and
- * open the listen sockets.
+ * The templates are in: stop the watchdog and open the listen sockets.
+ *
+ * Refuses to start if there is not a single one.  Only reachable with
+ * the paywall enabled -- `-n' returns before
+ * #PAIVANA_HTTPD_load_templates() is ever called -- and a paywall with
+ * nothing to sell is not a paywall: PAIVANA_HTTPD_search_templates()
+ * would answer "no template matched" for every URL, which create_response()
+ * reads as "no paywall applies" and forwards.  The whole site would be
+ * free, silently, which is exactly the outcome an operator running a
+ * paywall did not ask for.  An operator who does want a plain reverse
+ * proxy says so with `-n'.
  */
 static void
 templates_ready (void)
 {
+  if (NULL == t_head)
+  {
+    GNUNET_log (GNUNET_ERROR_TYPE_ERROR,
+                "The merchant backend at `%s' offers no payment template;"
+                " refusing to start, as every request would then be"
+                " forwarded for free.  Pass -n if serving the site without"
+                " a paywall is what you want.\n",
+                PH_merchant_base_url);
+    PH_global_ret = EXIT_NOTCONFIGURED;
+    GNUNET_SCHEDULER_shutdown ();
+    return;
+  }
   if (NULL != load_timeout_task)
   {
     GNUNET_SCHEDULER_cancel (load_timeout_task);
@@ -692,8 +713,7 @@ check_templates (
   case MHD_HTTP_OK:
     break;
   case MHD_HTTP_NO_CONTENT:
-    GNUNET_log (GNUNET_ERROR_TYPE_WARNING,
-                "No templates found, starting to serve requests\n");
+    /* templates_ready() turns "none" into the diagnosis and the exit. */
     templates_ready ();
     return;
   case MHD_HTTP_UNAUTHORIZED:
@@ -714,8 +734,6 @@ check_templates (
   }
   if (0 == tgr->details.ok.templates_length)
   {
-    GNUNET_log (GNUNET_ERROR_TYPE_WARNING,
-                "No templates found, starting to serve requests\n");
     templates_ready ();
     return;
   }