PULSE - Pipelined Unified Logic & Server Engine

A distributed workflow orchestration platform for managing and executing complex multi-step operations across server clusters through a retro terminal-themed web interface.

Overview

PULSE is a centralized workflow execution system designed to orchestrate operations across distributed infrastructure. It provides a powerful web-based interface with a vintage CRT terminal aesthetic for defining, managing, and executing workflows that can span multiple servers, require human interaction, and perform complex automation tasks at scale.

Key Features

• 🎨 Retro Terminal Interface: Phosphor green CRT-style interface with scanlines, glow effects, and ASCII art
• ⚡ Quick Command Execution: Instantly execute commands on any worker with built-in templates and command history
• 📊 Real-Time Worker Monitoring: Live system metrics including CPU, memory, load average, and active tasks
• 🔄 Interactive Workflow Management: Define and execute multi-step workflows with conditional logic and user prompts
• 🌐 Distributed Execution: Run commands across multiple worker nodes simultaneously via WebSocket
• 📈 Execution Tracking: Comprehensive logging with formatted output, re-run capabilities, and JSON export
• 🔐 SSO Authentication: Seamless integration with Authelia for enterprise authentication
• 🧹 Auto-Cleanup: Automatic removal of old executions with configurable retention policies
• 🔔 Terminal Notifications: Audio beeps and visual toasts for command completion events

Architecture

PULSE consists of two core components:

PULSE Server

Location: 10.10.10.65 (LXC Container ID: 122) Directory: /opt/pulse-server

The central orchestration hub that:

• Hosts the retro terminal web interface
• Manages workflow definitions and execution state
• Coordinates task distribution to worker nodes via WebSocket
• Handles user interactions through Authelia SSO
• Provides real-time status updates and logging
• Stores all data in MariaDB database

Technology Stack:

• Node.js 20.x
• Express.js (web framework)
• WebSocket (ws package) for real-time bidirectional communication
• MySQL2 (MariaDB driver)
• Authelia SSO integration

PULSE Worker

Example: 10.10.10.151 (LXC Container ID: 153, hostname: pulse-worker-01) Directory: /opt/pulse-worker

Lightweight execution agents that:

• Connect to PULSE server via WebSocket with heartbeat monitoring
• Execute shell commands and report results in real-time
• Provide system metrics (CPU, memory, load, uptime)
• Support concurrent task execution with configurable limits
• Automatically reconnect on connection loss

Technology Stack:

• Node.js 20.x
• WebSocket client
• Child process execution
• System metrics collection

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│   PULSE Server (10.10.10.65)   │
│   Terminal Web Interface + API  │
│   ┌───────────┐ ┌──────────┐   │
│   │ MariaDB   │ │ Authelia │   │
│   │ Database  │ │   SSO    │   │
│   └───────────┘ └──────────┘   │
└────────────┬────────────────────┘
             │ WebSocket
    ┌────────┴────────┬───────────┐
    │                 │           │
┌───▼────────┐   ┌───▼────┐  ┌──▼─────┐
│ Worker 1   │   │Worker 2│  │Worker N│
│10.10.10.151│   │  ...   │  │  ...   │
└────────────┘   └────────┘  └────────┘
 LXC Containers in Proxmox with Ceph

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.x or higher
• MariaDB 10.x or higher
• Authelia configured for SSO (optional but recommended)
• Network Connectivity between server and workers

PULSE Server Setup

# Clone repository
cd /opt
git clone <your-repo-url> pulse-server
cd pulse-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file with configuration
cat > .env << EOF
# Server Configuration
PORT=8080
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here

# MariaDB Configuration
DB_HOST=10.10.10.50
DB_PORT=3306
DB_NAME=pulse
DB_USER=pulse_user
DB_PASSWORD=your-db-password

# Worker API Key (for worker authentication)
WORKER_API_KEY=your-worker-api-key

# Auto-cleanup configuration (optional)
EXECUTION_RETENTION_DAYS=30
EOF

# Create systemd service
cat > /etc/systemd/system/pulse.service << EOF
[Unit]
Description=PULSE Workflow Orchestration Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/opt/pulse-server
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node server.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# Start service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable pulse.service
systemctl start pulse.service

PULSE Worker Setup

# On each worker node
cd /opt
git clone <your-repo-url> pulse-worker
cd pulse-worker

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file
cat > .env << EOF
# Worker Configuration
WORKER_NAME=pulse-worker-01
PULSE_SERVER=http://10.10.10.65:8080
PULSE_WS=ws://10.10.10.65:8080
WORKER_API_KEY=your-worker-api-key

# Performance Settings
HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL=30
MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS=5
EOF

# Create systemd service
cat > /etc/systemd/system/pulse-worker.service << EOF
[Unit]
Description=PULSE Worker Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/opt/pulse-worker
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node worker.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# Start service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable pulse-worker.service
systemctl start pulse-worker.service

Usage

Quick Command Execution

1. Access PULSE at http://your-server:8080
2. Navigate to ⚡ Quick Command tab
3. Select a worker from the dropdown
4. Use Templates for pre-built commands or History for recent commands
5. Enter your command and click Execute
6. View results in the Executions tab

Built-in Command Templates:

• System Info: uname -a
• Disk Usage: df -h
• Memory Usage: free -h
• CPU Info: lscpu
• Running Processes: ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -20
• Network Interfaces: ip addr show
• Docker Containers: docker ps -a
• System Logs: tail -n 50 /var/log/syslog

Worker Monitoring

The Workers tab displays real-time metrics for each worker:

• System information (OS, architecture, CPU cores)
• Memory usage (used/total with percentage)
• Load averages (1m, 5m, 15m)
• System uptime
• Active tasks vs. maximum concurrent capacity

Execution Management

• View Details: Click any execution to see formatted logs with timestamps, status, and output
• Re-run Command: Click "Re-run" button in execution details to repeat a command
• Download Logs: Export execution data as JSON for auditing
• Clear Completed: Bulk delete finished executions
• Auto-Cleanup: Executions older than 30 days are automatically removed

Workflow Creation (Future Feature)

1. Navigate to Workflows → Create New
2. Define workflow steps using JSON syntax
3. Specify target workers
4. Add interactive prompts where needed
5. Save and execute

Features in Detail

Terminal Aesthetic

• Phosphor green (#00ff41) on black (#0a0a0a) color scheme
• CRT scanline animation effect
• Text glow and shadow effects
• ASCII box-drawing characters for borders
• Boot sequence animation on first load
• Hover effects with smooth transitions

Real-Time Communication

• WebSocket-based bidirectional communication
• Instant command result notifications
• Live worker status updates
• Terminal beep sounds for events
• Toast notifications with visual feedback

Execution Tracking

• Formatted log display (not raw JSON)
• Color-coded success/failure indicators
• Timestamp and duration for each step
• Scrollable output with syntax highlighting
• Persistent history with pagination
• Load More button for large execution lists

Security

• Authelia SSO integration for user authentication
• API key authentication for workers
• User session management
• Admin-only operations (worker deletion, workflow management)
• Audit logging for all executions

Performance

• Automatic cleanup of old executions (configurable retention)
• Pagination for large execution lists (50 at a time)
• Efficient WebSocket connection pooling
• Worker heartbeat monitoring
• Database connection pooling

Configuration

Environment Variables

Server (.env):

PORT=8080                           # Server port
SECRET_KEY=<random-string>          # Session secret
DB_HOST=10.10.10.50                # MariaDB host
DB_PORT=3306                        # MariaDB port
DB_NAME=pulse                       # Database name
DB_USER=pulse_user                  # Database user
DB_PASSWORD=<password>              # Database password
WORKER_API_KEY=<api-key>           # Worker authentication key
EXECUTION_RETENTION_DAYS=30         # Auto-cleanup retention (default: 30)

Worker (.env):

WORKER_NAME=pulse-worker-01         # Unique worker name
PULSE_SERVER=http://10.10.10.65:8080   # Server HTTP URL
PULSE_WS=ws://10.10.10.65:8080          # Server WebSocket URL
WORKER_API_KEY=<api-key>            # Must match server key
HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL=30               # Heartbeat seconds (default: 30)
MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS=5              # Max parallel tasks (default: 5)

Database Schema

PULSE uses MariaDB with the following tables:

• users: User accounts from Authelia SSO
• workers: Worker node registry with metadata
• workflows: Workflow definitions (JSON)
• executions: Execution history with logs

See Claude.md for complete schema details.

Troubleshooting

Worker Not Connecting

# Check worker service status
systemctl status pulse-worker

# Check worker logs
journalctl -u pulse-worker -n 50 -f

# Verify API key matches server
grep WORKER_API_KEY /opt/pulse-worker/.env

Commands Stuck in "Running"

• This was fixed in recent updates - restart the server:

systemctl restart pulse.service

Clear All Executions

Use the database directly if needed:

mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u pulse_user -p pulse
> DELETE FROM executions WHERE status IN ('completed', 'failed');

Development

Recent Updates

Phase 1-6 Improvements:

• Formatted log display with color-coding
• Worker system metrics monitoring
• Command templates and history
• Re-run and download execution features
• Auto-cleanup and pagination
• Terminal aesthetic refinements
• Audio notifications and visual toasts

See git history for detailed changelog.

Future Enhancements

• Full workflow system implementation
• Multi-worker command execution
• Scheduled/cron job support
• Execution search and filtering
• Dark/light theme toggle
• Mobile-responsive design
• REST API documentation
• Webhook integrations

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

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PULSE - Orchestrating your infrastructure, one heartbeat at a time. ⚡

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