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Snakeway v0.7.0

Ethan Hann

Highlights​

1. New config init Templates​

You can now generate a fully structured configuration directory using built-in templates:

snakeway config init ./my-proxy --template=httpbin

Available templates:

  • minimal -- Barebones starting point
  • httpbin -- Working reverse proxy example
  • dev -- Full-featured development setup

Generated structure:

my-proxy/ ├── device.d/ ├── ingress.d/ └── snakeway.hcl

This makes onboarding easier and removes guesswork when starting a new deployment.

2. Standardized config dump and config check​

Both commands now support consistent output formats using --format:

snakeway config check /etc/snakeway --format=json
snakeway config dump /etc/snakeway --format=hcl --repr=runtime

Supported formats:

  • hcl
  • json
  • yaml

You can inspect either:

  • --repr=spec (your configuration files)
  • --repr=runtime (internal resolved state)

This improves automation, CI validation, and debugging workflows.

3. Directory Naming Cleanup (Breaking Change)​

The include section has been standardized.

Old:

include {
  devices = "devices.d/*.hcl"
  ingress = "ingress.d/*.hcl"
}

New:

include {
  devices   = "device.d/*.hcl"
  ingresses = "ingress.d/*.hcl"
}

Changes:

  • devices.d/ → device.d/
  • ingress → ingresses

If upgrading, update both your snakeway.hcl and directory names.

4. Identity Device Hardening​

The Identity device now exposes two configurable limits:

identity_device = {
  max_x_forwarded_for_length = 1024
  max_user_agent_length      = 2048
}

These were previously hard-coded. Both are range validated and applied during parsing, improving safety against oversized or malicious headers.

5. Logging Simplified and Clarified​

Runtime logging is now controlled via environment variables:

  • RUST_LOG
  • SNAKEWAY_LOG_DIR
  • TOKIO_CONSOLE

Structured observability remains available via the structured_logging_device.

Everything Else​

Config System Refactor​

  • Clear separation between specification types and runtime types
  • Health check and circuit breaker moved to explicit Spec and Config types
  • Reduced internal unwrap/expect usage

CLI Namespace Cleanup​

Internal CLI modules moved from cli::conf to cli::config.
User-facing commands remain unchanged.

HCL Serialization Improvements​

Snakeway now uses an internal HCL serializer that:

  • Preserves identifier keys
  • Produces clean HCL output
  • Supports dumping runtime structures

Optional Field Serialization Cleanup​

Many configuration fields now use:

#[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]

This keeps generated configurations clean and avoids emitting default values unnecessarily.

WASM Feature Gate Cleanup​

Header mutation APIs are now gated behind the wasm feature.
They are only available when WASM support is enabled.

Removal of rust-embed​

Embedded config templates have been removed.
Templates are now generated programmatically at runtime, reducing binary size and improving clarity.

Validation Improvements​

  • Identity header limits are now range validated
  • Validation error output improved
  • Fixture failures now clearly display violations

Documentation Updates​

  • CLI docs updated for new flags and behavior
  • Logging docs clarified
  • Getting started guide updated for template-based initialization
  • Roadmap reorganized for clearer phase separation

Upgrade Notes​

If upgrading:

In snakeway.hcl:

  1. Rename devices.d/ → device.d/
  2. Update the include block to use ingresses

In your Identity device config file:

  1. Consider explicitly setting:
    • max_x_forwarded_for_length
    • max_user_agent_length