Modernize the dashboard frontend: framework port with decision matrix (server-first, BFF, predictive prefetch)

[Xore]

Per Xore: not simply a React port — research decides the stack. The all-client SPA pattern is legacy (react-2026, dev.to/pritampatil); the dashboard moves to a modern server-first frontend while the design and feel stay exactly the same (improvements and modern techniques allowed, no legacy patterns). Backend workers stay Go (or a demonstrably faster language where clearly justified).

Use-case profile (what the matrix scores against)

• Self-hosted, single-operator deployment (docker compose on the homeserver; today a single Go binary with embedded UI)
• Strict CSP with per-request nonces; no third-party origins
• Live data: SSE stream + periodic in-place refresh; ES-backed pagination ("View more" + skeleton-first is a hard rule)
• Keycloak OIDC (server-side session, redis-backed)
• Heavy data-table/inspector UI (master-detail closed-by-default everywhere), Leaflet map, ECharts/cytoscape islands
• Design: claude-pure element set from Xore/theme — must port 1:1

New architecture (per Xore)

frontend → frontend-backend (BFF) → Go backend → ES storage. The framework's Node server IS the BFF: it owns session-aware data composition, per-route aggregation, and the predictive-prefetch brain; the Go dashboard backend keeps ES access, workers, and existing APIs (trimmed to a service API).

Required feature: predictive prefetching (toggleable)

Server Components (or the framework's closest server-side equivalent) that anticipate the likely next click and prefetch that route's payload — seeded with static heuristics (sidebar order, master-detail row → inspector, campaign → investigate) and optionally a learned model later (cf. intelligent prefetching with TF.js, Next.js prefetching guide). Must ship behind a settings toggle (default on, one click off when buggy) — same prefs mechanism as theme/palette.

Candidates researched (Aug 2026)

Sources: Platformatic SSR benchmark, TanStack Start vs Next.js 2026, Astro vs Next vs TanStack, RR7 vs TanStack vs Next, Procedure: Next vs RR7 vs Astro.

Criterion (weight)	Next.js 15/16 (App Router, RSC)	React Router 7 (framework mode)	TanStack Start 1.x	Astro 6 (+ React islands)
Server-first / RSC (15%)	5 — real Server Components, PPR	3 — loaders/actions; RSC support early	3 — server functions, no full RSC	4 — zero-JS default, islands
Predictive prefetch machinery (15%)	5 — segment-level RSC prefetch cache built in	3 — route/link prefetch, custom brain needed	4 — router preloading + typed loaders, custom brain	2 — page-level prefetch only
Self-host simplicity (12%)	3 — standalone Node server, heavier build	5 — plain Node/Express-able server	4 — Nitro/Vite server, lean	4 — node adapter
Strict CSP + nonces (10%)	3 — supported but RSC/inline quirks	5 — you own the server & headers	4	4
Live SSE + dashboard interactivity (12%)	4	4	5 — client-first model fits data-heavy UI	3 — islands make app-wide live state harder
Type safety end-to-end (8%)	3	4	5 — best-typed router in 2026	3
Raw SSR throughput (8%)	3	4	5 (benchmark winner)	4
BFF fit (10%)	4 — route handlers + RSC	4 — loaders/actions = natural BFF	4 — server functions	3
Maturity/ecosystem (5%)	5 (60–70% adoption)	4	3 — 1.x stable early 2026, momentum	4
1:1 design port effort (5%)	4	4	4	3 — islands refactor cost
Weighted total	3.9	4.0	4.2	3.3

Recommendation ("best of all of them")

• Base: TanStack Start — best fit for a data-heavy interactive dashboard, best TS, fastest SSR, lean self-host server that doubles as the BFF.
• Adopt from RR7: web-standards data patterns (loader/action semantics) where TanStack allows.
• Adopt from Next.js: the segment-prefetch idea — implemented in our BFF as a predictive prefetch service (server-side route-payload cache + ``/router.preload driven by the heuristics above), since full RSC is Next-only today. If, at kick-off, first-class Server Components are judged non-negotiable, Next.js standalone is the fallback winner (accepting heavier self-hosting + CSP care).
• Adopt from Astro: ship-zero-JS discipline — islands thinking for the chart/map embeds.
• Final call re-validated at implementation kick-off against then-current releases (RR7 RSC support may have matured).

Scope checklist

• Scaffold framework app + BFF layer (Node) beside the Go backend; Go API trimmed to service endpoints
• Port Xore/theme tokens/components 1:1 (no visual drift; palettes/theme/prefs keep working)
• SSE live stream, View-more + skeleton-first, master-detail inspector, SPA-feel navigation
• Predictive prefetching behind a settings toggle
• Keycloak OIDC on the BFF; strict CSP + nonces preserved
• compose service + Traefik wiring; deploy via Arcane
• Afterwards (separate issue): full ES-store coverage audit implemented directly into the BFF

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[Xore]

Backend language decision matrix (per Xore: backend need not stay Go — pick the best for SERVING the dashboard, quality-first, not porting convenience)

Workload being scored: concurrent Elasticsearch aggregation fan-outs, in-memory correlation/rebuild cycles, SSE fan-out to live clients, PDF generation, file-spool handling, OIDC service introspection — inside a memory-capped single container.

Criterion (weight)	Rust (axum/tokio)	Go (fresh design)	Node/TS (Fastify/Nitro)	Elixir (Phoenix)
Latency/jitter under concurrent ES fan-out + SSE (20%)	5	5	3	4
CPU-bound correlation/rebuild throughput (15%)	5	4	2	3
Memory footprint/predictability, 2 GB cap (10%)	5	4	3	3
Streaming/SSE ergonomics (10%)	4	5	4	5
Correctness/type safety for hostile-input parsing (15%)	5	3.5	3.5	3
Exact-workload ecosystem: official ES client, OIDC, mmdb GeoIP, PDF (10%)	4	5	4	2.5
Ops simplicity: static binary, tiny image, healthcheck (10%)	5	5	3	3
Single-operator long-term maintainability (10%)	4	4.5	4	3
Weighted total	4.70	4.48	3.23	3.35

Decision: Rust (axum + tokio + elasticsearch-rs + openidconnect/maxminddb) wins the serving-quality score. Go remains a very close second — its loss comes from the correctness ceiling and CPU-bound throughput, exactly the two criteria a quality-first port weighs hardest for a security dashboard parsing hostile input.

Final architecture

React 19 / TanStack Start (frontend)
        → Nitro BFF (owns Keycloak OIDC, session, predictive prefetch, per-route composition)
        → Rust service (axum): /api/v1 JSON — ES queries, correlation, SSE source, spools, PDF
        → Elasticsearch + result spools

Workers currently outside the dashboard binary stay as they are unless touched; new backend work happens in the Rust service.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[Xore]

Architecture addition (per Xore): the frontend (SSR/asset tier) must be deployable on a completely different docker host from the BFF — not used today, but the capability ships from day one. Design: one image, env-switched SERVE_MODE=all|frontend|bff; every data access in the SSR tier goes through a single network client (BFF_INTERNAL_URL, loopback in all-mode); sessions/prefetch state live in redis so any tier instance on any host resolves them; Traefik routes /bff/* to the BFF host and everything else to the frontend host when split. Combined with #1610's cross-host workers: frontend, BFF, workers, and the Rust service each scale/move independently.

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[Xore]

Port status — handoff for the next agent (branch port-foundation, 35 commits)

Done and verified against live ES (98 smoke checks green — see arcane/home/honeypot-dashboard/port-tests/README.md)

Rust service tier (backend-service/): overview KPIs + full dashboard aggregation (es_aggregate port), events (filters/kind/q + 10k window guard), sources, filter-values, source-health, sensor detail (#1538), sessions/{id} (+ attack-sequence detections), investigate/ip/{id}, grouped search (prefix-on-flattened), all store passthroughs (allowlist in stores.rs), 13 chart endpoints (legacy JSON shapes), TTY replay decode, payload detail + hexdump, report PDF stream, ghidra/sandbox artifact list+download (chunk reassembly), SSE live stream, mutations (alert ack, ip-block + blackhole export, canarytoken mint/download, config presentation save), llm semantic search, worker-loop framework (WORKER_LOOPS env) with alert-notifier ported.

SSR/BFF tier (frontend-next/): every nav page + settings/sessions/investigate/search/tty-replay/payload-analysis/problem-reports/dead-letters/404, OIDC session tier (redis, __Host-apiary_bff), command palette ('/'), events filter bar (URL-canonical), live tail, ECharts port (xore theme, 9 builder kinds), leaflet map, predictive prefetch + redis-shared payload cache, session-guarded proxies (chart/SSE/pdf/artifact/canarytoken), unauthenticated /export/portbridge-manual-blackhole.txt (VPS puller URL, tunnel-trust).

Cutover wiring: Dockerfiles for both tiers (build clean), compose services backend-service/dashboard-next/backend-worker behind profiles: [next], cross-host env plumbing (SERVE_MODE=all|frontend|bff, BFF_INTERNAL_URL, BACKEND_URL, redis-only coordination).

Left to port (rough order of value)

1. Submissions + mounted worker role: sandbox/ghidra/github-analysis submissions, workbench orchestrator (workbench_orchestrator.go, recipe→children→spool dirs), CAPE + revdeck pages, on-demand payload bytes mirror (mirrorOnePayloadBytes). Needs a worker role with the request/results mounts (see legacy dashboard service volumes).
2. Reports generation: report_pdf.go (849 lines) + reports_scheduler.go → Rust (viewing/streaming is done; generation is not). Definitions editor UI.
3. Alert notifier host-local signals: log-stream size alerts, sandbox/ghidra spool health, filebeat stats (FILEBEAT_URL), OT command alerts, cape/github emitters (ES-derivable signals are done).
4. Settings admin remainder: services control (services-adapter socket), retention, config history/rollback/audit UI, per-user preference sync (port keeps prefs in localStorage only), reporter stats.
5. Detail pages: sandbox/{job} (+ VNC via SANDBOX_VNC_BRIDGE_WS), ghidra/{sha}, github-analysis, cape, revdeck (artifact endpoints already exist for ghidra/sandbox).
6. Attackers cytoscape graph (fusion radar is done), heatmap sensor drill-down (/api/attack-vectors), overview auto-refresh (legacy 60s cycle), ML anomaly acks (ml_anomaly_ack.go), CSV exports, honeyfs-implant credential provisioning passthrough.
7. Cutover: full-parity walk vs legacy, move the 19090 mapping to dashboard-next, retire the Go dashboard, deploy via Arcane gitops-sync — only at full parity (standing decision).
8. Port follow-up: migrate every worker into the new BFF/service architecture; BFF scalability #1610 remainder: standalone workers decision matrix + ports, BFF load test + replica validation. See the inventory comment there.

Conventions the next agent should know

• Tests: port-tests/ runs against live ES (tunnel: ssh -N -L 19200:172.16.1.12:9200 xore@192.168.42.250); extend it per its README, keep writes to TEST-NET values and restore state.
• honeypot.* is a flattened mapping: term/terms/prefix/exists work, wildcard and stats/range aggs fail the shard (documented in kill_chain.rs/charts.rs).
• ip-enrichment-worker promotes honeypot.canonical_* fields (commands, fingerprints, attck techniques) — aggregate those instead of re-deriving.
• Store pages ride StoreListPage + the stores.rs allowlist; new chart cards ride EChart + /api/chart/{name} + the CHARTS allowlist.
• createServerFn handlers must be top-level consts (a factory leaks server imports into the client build).
• Design stays 1:1 with theme.css (frontend-next/public/static/theme.css is the vendored copy — keep in sync with Xore/theme + theme.lock).

[Xore]

Visual pass complete (port-foundation): sandbox/ghidra detail pages (artifacts + inline call graph), revdeck/cape/github-analysis list pages, attackers cytoscape member-IP graph, overview attack-vectors drill-down (#471) + 60s auto-refresh, ML anomaly ack/reopen (#913), events CSV/JSON export. Suites now 69 backend + 38 SSR + 4 auth + 2 worker checks, all green.

The UI surface is now fully ported. Remaining before cutover is exactly the backend remainder tracked on #1612 (submissions/orchestrator, reports generation, host-local notifier signals, settings admin APIs) — an agent can start there directly; the visual side won't collide.

[Xore]

Follow-up audit (2026-08-19), after the Settings/Reports pass (#1619): a broader three-angle sweep (backend endpoint consumption, legacy Go page-by-page parity, self-documented gaps + the Aug 17 cross-host requirement) found a real second wave of gaps. Tracking them here as lettered workstreams, continuing #1611's convention, since this is the same kind of "audit → implement" pass against the same umbrella issue.

Workstream H — Workbench "deterministic" analyzer regression

workbench_orchestrator.rs unconditionally returns Err("deterministic analysis is not yet implemented in this tier") for the deterministic analyzer (YARA/entropy/IOC static analysis). Unlike the cape analyzer gap (which mirrors a real pre-existing Go-side limitation), this one does not mirror Go — dashboard/yara.go + payload_analysis.go have full implementations, proven by a passing legacy test asserting State: "completed". This is a functional regression the port introduced, not a documented scope line.

Workstream I — Cross-host SERVE_MODE/BFF_INTERNAL_URL is scaffolded, not real

The Aug 17 "must ship from day one" requirement: SERVE_MODE=all|frontend|bff, every SSR-tier data access through a single BFF_INTERNAL_URL client, Traefik /bff/* routing when split. Currently: serveMode() and bffInternalURL() exist in backend.server.ts but are never consumed — every route calls the Rust backend directly regardless of mode, there's no /bff/* proxy surface, and no Traefik rule exists. If split today, the frontend tier would break immediately. Redis-backed sessions and the prefetch cache are genuinely done and unaffected.

Workstream J — Credentials management page

credentials.rs (GET/POST /api/v1/credentials, rotate, link-token) has zero frontend consumers — a full CRUD surface with no UI home, same class of gap as the just-fixed Settings/Reports panes.

Workstream K — Payload Workbench recipe builder

Only the read-only results list (payload-workbench.results.tsx) got ported. workbench_api.rs's analyzer catalog, recipe CRUD, run creation, and per-child analyzer cancel/retry actions have no UI — an operator can no longer actually build/submit/manage an analysis run, only look at finished ones.

Workstream L — Submit-for-analysis actions

sandbox_submit.rs, ghidra_submit.rs, github_analysis_submit.rs — all three have working endpoints, zero UI trigger. Natural home: payload-analysis.$hash.tsx.

Workstream M — CIDR / cluster correlation drill-downs

Legacy /investigate/cidr/{cidr} and /investigate/cluster?kind=&value= (Go: investigate_routes.go) don't exist in the Rust tier at all — needs new endpoints modeled on investigate.rs's existing /api/v1/investigate/ip/{id} pattern — plus the two frontend-next pages and the "ES →" links on clusters.tsx/campaigns.tsx that used to reach them (dropped entirely, not just the target).

Workstream N — Mail body, ML model-health, GPU-queue visibility

Three self-contained, already-built backend endpoints (mail.rs, ml_health.rs, gpu_queue.rs), each built specifically to fix a known blind spot, still blind: no per-session mail viewer, no model-health card, no GPU queue visibility.

Workstream O — Settings config panes + preferences sync

Three legacy settings_modal.html panes have real server-side config with no settings.tsx counterpart: Honeypot operations (7 alert/scan thresholds), Dashboard behavior (10 global defaults + 4 feature toggles), Report Studio presets (preset name/description overrides). config.rs's own doc comment already flags this honestly: JSON-Value-level config/history/rollback was ported, but "settings_admin_api.go's full typed behavior/honeypot patch... machinery... nothing in this Rust tier writes yet." Also: the Presentation card covers 4 of ~10 legacy branding fields, and preferences.rs (server-side, cross-device pref sync) exists but the frontend is localStorage-only — despite settings.tsx's own subtitle claiming prefs "follow you across devices."

Workstream P — Cleanup

revdeck.tsx lists rows but has no per-row detail route (unlike the sandbox/ghidra pairing); canarytokens.rs's list GET is dead code superseded by the generic store proxy the page actually uses.

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Confirmed not gaps (no action needed): the sandbox live-VNC view is already tracked under #1612; ~9 clusters of TODO/deferred/not yet markers across the crate are legitimate, documented, permanent scope decisions (sandbox/payload/ghidra report templates, the cape analyzer, GPU-queue abort, etc.); the "Time & live data" and "Map & investigation" settings panes are confirmed pure client-side preferences with no backend surface.