# Runtime and Components The diagram below focuses on the deployed `galaxy/backend` process and its runtime dependencies. Every component is wired in `backend/cmd/backend/main.go`. ```mermaid flowchart LR subgraph Inbound Gateway["Gateway
HTTP + gRPC push subscriber"] Probes["Liveness / readiness
probes"] end subgraph BackendProcess["Backend process"] HTTP["HTTP listener
:8080
/api/v1/{public,user,internal,admin}"] Push["gRPC push listener
:8081
Push.SubscribePush"] Metrics["Optional Prometheus
metrics listener"] AuthSvc["auth.Service"] UserSvc["user.Service"] AdminSvc["admin.Service"] LobbySvc["lobby.Service"] RuntimeSvc["runtime.Service"] MailSvc["mail.Service"] NotifSvc["notification.Service"] GeoSvc["geo.Service"] PushSvc["push.Service
(ring buffer + cursor)"] Caches["Write-through caches
auth / user / admin /
lobby / runtime"] MailWorker["mail worker"] NotifWorker["notification worker"] Sweeper["lobby sweeper"] RuntimeWorkers["runtime worker pool +
scheduler + reconciler"] Telemetry["zap + OpenTelemetry"] end Postgres[(Postgres
backend schema)] Docker[(Docker daemon)] SMTP[(SMTP relay)] GeoDB[(GeoLite2 mmdb)] Game[(galaxy-game-{id}
engine containers)] Gateway --> HTTP Gateway --> Push Probes --> HTTP HTTP --> AuthSvc & UserSvc & AdminSvc & LobbySvc & RuntimeSvc & MailSvc & NotifSvc & GeoSvc Push --> PushSvc AuthSvc & UserSvc & AdminSvc & LobbySvc & RuntimeSvc & MailSvc & NotifSvc --> Caches AuthSvc & UserSvc & AdminSvc & LobbySvc & RuntimeSvc & MailSvc & NotifSvc & GeoSvc --> Postgres MailWorker --> Postgres MailWorker --> SMTP NotifWorker --> Postgres NotifWorker --> MailSvc & PushSvc Sweeper --> LobbySvc RuntimeWorkers --> Docker RuntimeWorkers --> Game RuntimeWorkers --> RuntimeSvc GeoSvc --> GeoDB HTTP & Push & MailWorker & NotifWorker & Sweeper & RuntimeWorkers --> Telemetry ``` ## Process lifecycle `internal/app.App` orchestrates startup and shutdown. The start order is fixed: 1. Load configuration with `internal/config.LoadFromEnv` and validate. 2. Build the zap logger and OpenTelemetry runtime. 3. Open the Postgres pool through `internal/postgres.Open`. 4. Apply embedded migrations with `pressly/goose/v3` before any listener binds. 5. Build the push service (no listener yet) so domain modules can be given a real publisher. 6. Build domain services in dependency order: geo → user (uses geo) → mail → auth (uses user, mail, push) → admin → lobby (uses runtime adapter, notification adapter, user-entitlement adapter) → runtime (uses lobby consumer) → notification (uses mail, push, accounts). 7. Warm every cache (`auth`, `user`, `admin`, `lobby`, `runtime`). Each cache exposes `Ready()`; `/readyz` waits on every flag. 8. Wire HTTP handlers and the gin engine. 9. Start the HTTP server, the gRPC push server, the mail worker, the notification worker, the lobby sweeper, the runtime worker pool, the runtime scheduler, and the reconciler. The optional Prometheus metrics server is added only when configured. `app.New` accepts a `shutdownTimeout` (`BACKEND_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT`, default `30s`). On `SIGINT`/`SIGTERM`, components are stopped in reverse order: 1. Refuse new HTTP and gRPC traffic. 2. Drain in-flight requests (`BACKEND_HTTP_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT`, `BACKEND_GRPC_PUSH_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT`). 3. Flush the mail worker's currently-running attempt; pending rows stay in the database for the next process to pick up. 4. Flush push events that already left domain services to the gateway buffer. 5. Drain pending geo counter goroutines. 6. Close the Docker client and the runtime engine HTTP client. 7. Close the Postgres pool. 8. Shut down telemetry, flushing any buffered traces. The smaller of `BACKEND_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT` and the per-component deadline always wins. ## Cyclic dependency adapters Several domain pairs are mutually dependent (auth↔user for session revoke on permanent block; lobby↔runtime for start/stop calls and snapshot push-back; user/lobby/runtime↔notification for fan-out publishers). The wiring code in `cmd/backend/main.go` constructs a small adapter struct first, then patches its inner pointer once the real service exists. The adapters live next to the wiring code and never grow domain logic; they are pure forwarders that fall back to a no-op when the inner pointer is still `nil` (the initial state during boot). ## Worker pools - **Mail worker** (`internal/mail.Worker`) — single goroutine that scans `mail_deliveries` with `SELECT ... FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED`, sends through SMTP, records the attempt, and either marks `sent` or schedules `next_attempt_at` with backoff plus jitter. Drains pending and retrying rows on startup. - **Notification worker** (`internal/notification.Worker`) — same pattern over `notification_routes`: pulls a route, dispatches push or email, writes the outcome, and either marks delivered or moves the route into `notification_dead_letters` after the configured attempt budget. - **Lobby sweeper** (`internal/lobby.Sweeper`) — `pkg/cronutil` job that releases `pending_registration` Race Name Directory entries past `BACKEND_LOBBY_PENDING_REGISTRATION_TTL` and auto-closes enrollment-expired games whose `approved_count >= min_players`. - **Runtime worker pool** (`internal/runtime.Workers`) — bounded concurrency (`BACKEND_RUNTIME_WORKER_POOL_SIZE`) over a buffered channel (`BACKEND_RUNTIME_JOB_QUEUE_SIZE`). Long-running pulls and starts execute here; the calling path returns as soon as the job is queued. After Docker reports the container running, the worker polls the engine `/healthz` until the listener is bound (Docker marks a container running as soon as the entrypoint starts; the Go binary inside takes a moment to bind its TCP port). Only after `/healthz` succeeds does the worker call `/admin/init`. - **Runtime scheduler** (`internal/runtime.SchedulerComponent`) — `pkg/cronutil` schedule per running game; each tick invokes the engine `admin/turn`. Force-next-turn flips a one-shot skip flag in `runtime_records`; the next scheduled tick observes the flag and consumes it. - **Runtime reconciler** (`internal/runtime.Reconciler`) — periodic list of containers labelled `galaxy.backend=1`, matched against `runtime_records`. Adopts unrecorded labelled containers, marks recorded but missing as `removed`, and emits `lobby.OnRuntimeJobResult` for the latter. ## Telemetry Tracing covers `HTTP request → domain operation → Postgres call → external client (SMTP, Docker, engine)`. zap injects `otel_trace_id` and `otel_span_id` into every log entry written inside a request scope. OTel exporters honour `BACKEND_OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER` and `BACKEND_OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER`; both default to `otlp` and accept `none`, `stdout`, and (for metrics) `prometheus`. `TraceFieldsFromContext(ctx)` is exposed by `internal/telemetry.Runtime` rather than the logger package because the helper is used by middleware and depends on the OTel runtime, not the logger configuration. Keeping it next to the runtime keeps `server → telemetry` import direction one-way.