# MemPalace on Unraid — GUI install with `br0` networking

This walks through installing MemPalace as a single Docker container on
Unraid, using the **dockerMan WebUI** (no compose, no SSH-driven YAML),
attached to **`br0`** so the container has its own IP address on your
LAN — separate from Unraid's IP.

If you'd rather do an SSH/compose install with TLS + bearer auth via a
Caddy sidecar, see [`README.md`](README.md). This guide is the
GUI-friendly path.

---

## Why `br0`?

`br0` (macvlan-style bridge to your physical network) gives the
container its **own LAN IP**. That means:

* No port conflicts with Unraid itself (you can keep `8765`/`8766`
  instead of remapping).
* Clients connect to the container directly — `http://<container-ip>:8765/sse`
  rather than `http://<unraid-ip>:8765/sse`.
* The container can be reached by every machine on your LAN without
  punching holes in the Unraid host.

The trade-off, classic macvlan:

* By default the **Unraid host itself can't talk to the container**.
  If you only ever connect from other machines, this is fine. If you
  also want to test from Unraid's own shell, enable **Host access to
  custom networks** (see Step 1).
* The container is exposed bare to the LAN. Anyone on the LAN can hit
  the MCP endpoint — it has no auth in this mode. See "Security
  notes" at the bottom.

---

## Prerequisites

* Unraid 6.12+ with Docker enabled.
* The repo synced to a path on Unraid (e.g. `/mnt/user/system/build/mempalace`).
  You can clone over SSH or just copy the folder via SMB.
* `/mnt/user/appdata` available (default on every Unraid).
* A free LAN IP for the container, ideally with a DHCP reservation on
  your router so it doesn't drift.

---

## Step 1 — Enable br0 in Unraid

Skip this if you already use `br0` for other containers.

1. **Stop the Docker service** so settings are editable: *Settings →
   Docker → Enable Docker = No → Apply*.
2. *Settings → Docker → Advanced View*.
3. **Host access to custom networks** = **Enabled**. (Lets the Unraid
   shell reach `br0` containers — needed for `curl` health checks
   from Unraid itself. Skip if you don't need that.)
4. **Docker custom network type** = **macvlan** (default) or
   **ipvlan** if your switch/router doesn't like macvlan MAC churn.
5. Re-enable Docker: *Enable Docker = Yes → Apply*.
6. Confirm `br0` shows up under *Settings → Docker → Docker custom
   networks* (or implicitly — every Unraid with a bridge has it).

---

## Step 2 — Build the image on Unraid

There's no public registry image — the container is built locally from
the repo's root `Dockerfile`. SSH into Unraid (or open the WebUI
terminal) and run:

```bash
cd /mnt/user/system/build/mempalace      # wherever you put the repo
docker build -t mempalace-server:latest .
```

First build pulls `python:3.13-slim` and pip-installs `mempalace` +
`mcp-proxy` (~3–5 minutes). When it finishes:

```bash
docker images mempalace-server
# REPOSITORY          TAG       IMAGE ID       CREATED         SIZE
# mempalace-server    latest    <hash>         <time>          ~600 MB
```

You only repeat this step when you `git pull` an update.

---

## Step 3 — Create appdata directories

```bash
mkdir -p /mnt/user/appdata/mempalace
chown -R 99:100 /mnt/user/appdata/mempalace
```

The container runs as UID/GID **99:100** (`nobody:users` — the Unraid
appdata convention). Wrong ownership here is the #1 cause of "permission
denied" on first start.

---

## Step 4 — Add the container in the WebUI

1. *Docker → Add Container* (don't pick a template — fill it in
   manually).
2. Fill the top section:

   | Field | Value |
   |---|---|
   | **Name** | `MemPalace` |
   | **Repository** | `mempalace-server:latest` |
   | **Network Type** | **Custom: br0** |
   | **Fixed IP address** | *(your chosen LAN IP, e.g. `192.168.1.50`)* |
   | **Console shell command** | `Bash` |
   | **Privileged** | `Off` |
   | **Extra Parameters** | `--user 99:100` |

   Use a fixed IP. macvlan + DHCP can race the DHCP server on
   container restart and end up unreachable.

3. Leave **WebUI** blank (there isn't one). **Icon URL** optional:
   `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MemPalace/mempalace/develop/assets/mempalace_logo.png`

---

## Step 5 — Add the path mapping

Click **Add another Path, Port, Variable, Label or Device** → **Path**:

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Name** | `Appdata` |
| **Container Path** | `/data` |
| **Host Path** | `/mnt/user/appdata/mempalace` |
| **Access Mode** | `Read/Write` |

This holds ChromaDB, the knowledge graph, the embedding-model cache,
and the inbox for ingested transcripts. Lose it = lose all memory.

---

## Step 6 — Add the ports

In `br0` mode the "host port" field is just a label — the container's
ports are published on **the container's own IP**, not Unraid's. Set
both to match the container port.

Click **Add another …** → **Port** twice:

| Name | Container Port | Host Port | Connection Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| `MCP SSE` | `8765` | `8765` | `TCP` |
| `Ingest HTTP` | `8766` | `8766` | `TCP` |

Skip the ingest port if you only use this from a single machine and
won't push transcripts in via HTTP hooks.

---

## Step 7 — Add environment variables

Click **Add another …** → **Variable** for each:

### Required

| Name | Key | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Palace path | `MEMPALACE_PALACE_PATH` | `/data/palace` |

### Recommended (enables transcript ingest)

| Name | Key | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ingest port | `MEMPALACE_INGEST_PORT` | `8766` |
| Ingest bind | `MEMPALACE_INGEST_HOST` | `0.0.0.0` |
| Ingest token | `MEMPALACE_INGEST_TOKEN` | *a long random string* |

`MEMPALACE_INGEST_TOKEN` is optional but **strongly recommended in
`br0` mode** — without it, anyone on the LAN can POST transcripts
into your palace. Generate one with:

```bash
openssl rand -hex 32
```

…and save it; you'll set the same value as `MEMPAL_REMOTE_TOKEN` on
each client.

### Optional

| Name | Key | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embedding device | `MEMPALACE_EMBEDDING_DEVICE` | *(auto)* | `cpu`, `cuda`, `dml`, or `coreml`. CUDA needs a rebuild with the `[gpu]` extra and the NVIDIA driver plugin. |
| Entity languages | `MEMPALACE_ENTITY_LANGUAGES` | `en` | Comma-separated, e.g. `en,es,de`. |

---

## Step 8 — Apply and verify

Click **Apply**. Unraid will start the container; first start takes
~10 s while ChromaDB initializes.

From any machine on your LAN (or from Unraid itself if you enabled
*Host access to custom networks*):

```bash
# Unauth liveness check on the ingest port:
curl http://<container-ip>:8766/healthz
# → {"status":"ok","version":"3.3.x"}

# Confirm token gating works (only relevant if you set MEMPALACE_INGEST_TOKEN):
curl -i http://<container-ip>:8766/ingest/transcript
# → HTTP/1.0 401 Unauthorized
```

For the MCP SSE endpoint:

```bash
curl -i http://<container-ip>:8765/sse
# Should hang open with `Content-Type: text/event-stream` —
# that's healthy. Ctrl-C to bail.
```

If both work, you're done. Container logs are under *Docker → MemPalace
→ Logs* in the WebUI, or `docker logs MemPalace` from the shell.

---

## Connect AI tools

Each client needs `mcp-proxy`:

```bash
uv tool install mcp-proxy
# or: pip install mcp-proxy
```

### Claude Code

`~/.claude.json` (or project `.mcp.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mempalace": {
      "command": "mcp-proxy",
      "args": ["http://<container-ip>:8765/sse"]
    }
  }
}
```

No bearer header on this path — the MCP endpoint is unauthenticated
in `br0` mode.

### Codex CLI — `~/.codex/config.toml`

```toml
[mcp_servers.mempalace]
command = "mcp-proxy"
args = ["http://<container-ip>:8765/sse"]
```

### Antigravity / Windsurf

Settings → AI → MCP Servers, or `~/.antigravity/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mempalace": {
    "command": "mcp-proxy",
    "args": ["http://<container-ip>:8765/sse"]
  }
}
```

### Smoke test

Start a session in any of those clients and ask:

> "Use mempalace_status to show palace stats."

You should get back a JSON blob with wing/room/drawer counts. A
connection error means wrong IP or the container isn't on `br0`.

---

## Set up auto-save hooks (optional)

Enables transcripts to flow into the palace automatically as you work.
Each client needs the env vars:

**Windows (PowerShell)**:

```powershell
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MEMPAL_REMOTE_URL",   "http://<container-ip>:8766", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MEMPAL_REMOTE_TOKEN", "<the-ingest-token>",         "User")
```

**macOS/Linux**: same exports in `~/.zshrc` / `~/.bashrc`.

Then wire `hooks/mempal_save_hook_remote.sh` and
`hooks/mempal_precompact_hook_remote.sh` into your client's hook
config — see the "Set up auto-save hooks" section in
[`README.md`](README.md), it's identical from this point on.

Note: these hooks talk **HTTP**, not HTTPS, since this guide doesn't
use Caddy. If `MEMPAL_REMOTE_URL` starts with `http://`, no TLS env
vars are needed.

---

## Security notes

`br0` puts the container on your LAN with no auth in front of MCP.
That's fine if and only if:

* You trust every device on your LAN (no untrusted IoT, no guest
  network bridged in, no roommates).
* You've set `MEMPALACE_INGEST_TOKEN` so nobody can drop transcripts
  in unprompted.

If those don't both hold, do one of these instead:

* **Run on a Tailscale subnet** rather than `br0` so only your
  tailnet devices can reach it.
* **Use the Caddy compose path** in [`README.md`](README.md) to add
  TLS + bearer-token auth on the MCP side too.
* **Front it with SWAG / Nginx Proxy Manager** if you already run
  one — drop the bare `8765` exposure, route through the proxy with
  bearer-token auth and SSE pass-through configured.

---

## Troubleshooting

### Container starts then dies immediately

99% of the time this is `/data` ownership. From Unraid shell:

```bash
ls -ld /mnt/user/appdata/mempalace
# Want: owner 99 (nobody), group 100 (users)
chown -R 99:100 /mnt/user/appdata/mempalace
```

Then *Docker → MemPalace → Restart*.

### "Address already in use" on start

Another container on `br0` is using the same IP. Pick a different
**Fixed IP address** in Step 4. (Port conflicts are not possible in
`br0` mode since each container has its own IP.)

### Unraid shell can't reach the container, but other machines can

Default macvlan behavior. *Settings → Docker → Host access to custom
networks → Enabled* (Step 1).

### Clients see SSE connect but tool calls hang

Network path is fine; this is usually a stale `mcp-proxy` install on
the client. `uv tool upgrade mcp-proxy` or `pip install -U mcp-proxy`.

### Embedding model download stalls on first request

The ~80 MB MiniLM ONNX model downloads from HuggingFace on first use.
Pre-warm it from the Unraid shell:

```bash
docker exec MemPalace python -c \
  "from chromadb.utils.embedding_functions import ONNXMiniLM_L6_V2; ONNXMiniLM_L6_V2()(['warmup'])"
```

Subsequent uses load from cache (~50 ms).

### Port 8765 / 8766 already used by something else

In `br0` mode the container has its own IP, so this only happens if
you literally run a second mempalace on the same IP. Pick a different
fixed IP and restart.

---

## Updating

```bash
cd /mnt/user/system/build/mempalace
git pull
docker build -t mempalace-server:latest .
```

Then in the WebUI: *Docker → MemPalace → Force Update* (or just
*Restart*). Your palace data persists because it's on the
`/mnt/user/appdata/mempalace` volume, outside the container.

---

## Backups

Add `/mnt/user/appdata/mempalace/` to **CA Backup / Appdata Backup**.
Three subdirectories matter:

* `palace/` — ChromaDB vectors + SQLite metadata
* `kg/` — knowledge graph
* `inbox/` — uploaded transcripts (kept for re-mining)

Losing this directory = losing all memory. The image itself is
disposable — you can rebuild it from the repo any time.