WIP: dns auto-update feature by jim-toth · Pull Request #145 · anyone-protocol/ator-protocol

jim-toth · 2026-06-03T13:28:25Z

Summary

Adds automatic updating of the anyone_hosts DNS mapping file. The client now fetches a fresh copy of the mapping from the .anyone DNS service nodes — triggered when new directory information arrives and/or on a periodic schedule — so operators no longer need to ship/update the file manually.

What's included

New feature: anyone_hosts auto-update

New periodic + consensus-triggered fetch logic in src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c.
Fetches run as anonymized streams over a 3-hop circuit to a .anyone onion service (plain HTTP on port 80), with an ordered URL fallback list (config → previously saved mapping addresses → built-in default).
Response handling enforces a size cap (DNSMappingFileMaxSize), a configurable signature policy, and writes the file atomically.
New directory purpose DIR_PURPOSE_FETCH_ANYONE_HOSTS wired through dirclient/dircommon.

New configuration options

AnyoneHostsUpdate, AnyoneHostsURL, AnyoneHostsUpdateInterval, AnyoneHostsFetchPath, AnyoneHostsUpdateTrigger, AnyoneHostsSignatureRequirement.

Directory client: name-based onion routing

Added an anon_onion_address field + directory_request_set_anon_onion_address() setter so a directory request can be routed to an onion service by name rather than by IP. directory_initiate_request() uses this address for the connection and skips the numeric-address requirement for these fetches.

Documentation

DNSMappingFileMaxSize now documents bit-based units (KBits/MBits/GBits/TBits), consistent with other MEMUNIT options.
Clarified that DNSMappingFileMaxSize only limits loading an existing file; a missing file is always recreated with the default mapping.

Code review fixes (this revision)

Renamed the module callback to anyone_hosts_update_callback to resolve a symbol collision with the mainloop wrapper.
Replaced the unused X-Anyone-Onion header approach with proper name-based onion routing so fetches actually launch.
Restricted mapping-line parsing to entries ending in .anyone.
Corrected the scheduling doc comment and added a missing confline.h include (build fix).

Testing

Builds cleanly and the full unit suite passes: 1489 tests ok (41 skipped) (Debian bookworm dev container).

Manual testing checklist

Setup

Build with unit tests enabled and start a client with AnyoneHostsUpdate 1.
Confirm a baseline anyone_hosts file exists (or is recreated with the default mapping when missing).
Set Log info (or notice) to observe fetch/scheduling log lines.

Periodic trigger

With AnyoneHostsUpdateTrigger periodic and a short AnyoneHostsUpdateInterval, verify a fetch is launched after the interval elapses.
Confirm the anyone_hosts file is updated on disk (mtime/contents change) after a successful fetch.
Confirm only one fetch runs at a time (no overlapping/duplicate fetches while one is in progress).

Consensus trigger

With AnyoneHostsUpdateTrigger consensus, verify a fetch is kicked when fresh directory info / a new consensus arrives.
With AnyoneHostsUpdateTrigger both, verify both paths can trigger a fetch.

URL fallback ordering

With a valid AnyoneHostsURL set, verify it is tried first.
Point AnyoneHostsURL at an unreachable/invalid .anyone address; verify it falls back to addresses from the saved mapping, then the built-in default.
Verify the minimum retry interval is honored after a failed attempt (no rapid retry storm).

Routing

Confirm the fetch goes out as an anonymized stream (3-hop) to the onion address, not a direct/begindir connection.
Confirm requests are routed by .anyone name (no spurious "without a remote DirPort" warnings for these fetches).

Size cap & signature policy

Serve a file larger than DNSMappingFileMaxSize; verify it is rejected and the existing file is left intact.
AnyoneHostsSignatureRequirement strict: verify an unsigned/invalid-signature file is rejected.
AnyoneHostsSignatureRequirement verify: verify a valid signature is accepted and an invalid one rejected.
AnyoneHostsSignatureRequirement any: verify the file is accepted regardless of signature.
Verify writes are atomic (interrupting a fetch leaves the previous file uncorrupted).

Disable / config validation

With AnyoneHostsUpdate 0, verify no fetches are scheduled or launched.
Provide invalid values for AnyoneHostsUpdateTrigger / AnyoneHostsSignatureRequirement; verify config validation rejects them with a clear error.

Documentation

Verify the man page renders the new options and the updated DNSMappingFileMaxSize wording.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR introduces an automatic update mechanism for the anyone_hosts DNS mapping file, integrating it into the directory-client response handling and the mainloop periodic/consensus-triggered flow.

Changes:

Add a new directory connection purpose for fetching anyone_hosts and route it through the dirclient response-handling path.
Introduce a new feature/anyone module to schedule/trigger anyone_hosts fetch attempts (periodic + consensus-triggered).
Add new configuration options and manpage/docs to control auto-update behavior and signature acceptance policy.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 12 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/include.am	Wires the new `feature/anyone` build include into the overall build.
src/feature/dircommon/directory.h	Adds a new `DIR_PURPOSE_FETCH_ANYONE_HOSTS` purpose constant.
src/feature/dircommon/directory.c	Treats the new purpose as requiring anonymity.
src/feature/dirclient/dirclient.c	Adds request/response handling for fetching, verifying, and atomically writing the `anyone_hosts` file; triggers update kick after consensus.
src/feature/anyone/include.am	Adds build rules for the new anyone-hosts update module.
src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.h	Declares the anyone-hosts update subsystem API.
src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c	Implements URL list building and the periodic/consensus-triggered fetch initiation logic.
src/core/mainloop/mainloop.c	Registers a new periodic event and initializes the anyone-hosts update subsystem.
src/app/config/or_options_st.h	Adds new config fields controlling anyone-hosts auto-update and signature policy.
src/app/config/config.c	Adds default values and validation for the new configuration options.
doc/man/anon.1.txt	Documents new options and expands documented units for `DNSMappingFileMaxSize`.
changes/anyone-hosts-autoupdate	Adds a changelog entry for the new feature and documentation updates.

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Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

+  fetch_in_progress = 1;
+  last_attempt_time = now;
+
+  directory_initiate_request(req);
+  directory_request_free(req);
+


Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

+  /* Atomically write the file using a temp file + rename. */
+  char *hosts_fname = get_datadir_fname("anyone_hosts");
+  char *hosts_fname_tmp = get_datadir_fname("anyone_hosts.tmp");
+  int write_ok = (write_str_to_file(hosts_fname_tmp, body, 0) == 0);


Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Jim Toth <jim@memeticblock.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 13 out of 13 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

+/**
+ * Launch one fetch if conditions are met.  Called both from the consensus
+ * hook (anyone_hosts_update_maybe_kick) and from the periodic callback.
+ */
+static void
+maybe_launch_fetch(time_t now)


Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Jim Toth <jim@memeticblock.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 17 out of 17 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

+  if (!options->AnyoneHostsFetchPath ||
+      !strlen(options->AnyoneHostsFetchPath) ||
+      options->AnyoneHostsFetchPath[0] != '/') {
+    REJECT("AnyoneHostsFetchPath must be a non-empty absolute path "
+           "beginning with '/'.");
+  }


+    SMARTLIST_FOREACH_BEGIN(_lines, const char *, _line) {              \
+      const char *_sp = strchr(_line, ' ');                             \
+      if (_sp && *(_sp + 1) &&                                          \
+          strcmpstart(_line, "anyone-hosts-") != 0) {                   \
+        const char *_addr = _sp + 1;                                    \
+        size_t _alen = strlen(_addr);                                   \
+        if (_alen >= 7 && !strcmp(_addr + _alen - 7, ".anyone"))        \
+          smartlist_add(urls, tor_strdup(_addr));                       \
+      }                                                                 \
+    } SMARTLIST_FOREACH_END(_line);                                     \
+    SMARTLIST_FOREACH(_lines, char *, _s, tor_free(_s));                \
+    smartlist_free(_lines);                                             \
+    tor_free(_copy);                                                    \
+  } while (0)


+  int idx = current_url_index % smartlist_len(urls);
+  const char *onion_addr = smartlist_get(urls, idx);
+
+  log_info(LD_DIR, "Launching anyone_hosts fetch from %s", onion_addr);


WIP: dns auto-update feature

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Comment thread src/core/mainloop/mainloop.c

Comment thread src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c Outdated

Comment thread src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c

Comment thread src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c Outdated

PR review fixes

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Comment thread src/feature/dircommon/directory.h

Comment thread src/feature/dirclient/dirclient.c Outdated

Comment thread src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c Outdated

PR review 4 fixes

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Comment thread src/feature/anyone/anyone_hosts_update.c

Comment thread src/core/mainloop/mainloop.c

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PR review 5 fixes

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Comment thread src/core/mainloop/mainloop.c

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jim-toth and others added 2 commits June 19, 2026 00:56

Potential fix for pull request finding

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Adds tests requested from PR review

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jim-toth commented Jun 3, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Summary

What's included

Code review fixes (this revision)

Testing

Manual testing checklist

Setup

Periodic trigger

Consensus trigger

URL fallback ordering

Routing

Size cap & signature policy

Disable / config validation

Documentation

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jim-toth commented Jun 3, 2026 •

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