# Alox printer backend

HTTP backend and admin UI for managing print plates, item SVG templates, layout configurations, and PDF previews.

## Requirements

| Requirement | Required for | Notes |
|-------------|--------------|-------|
| **Go 1.26+** | Build and run | See `go.mod` for the exact toolchain version. |
| **`rsvg-convert`** | PDF export only | Part of [librsvg](https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/LibRsvg). The server starts without it; PDF endpoints return an error until it is installed and on `PATH`. |

### Installing `rsvg-convert`

Examples:

```bash
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install librsvg2-bin

# Fedora
sudo dnf install librsvg2-tools

# Arch / Manjaro
sudo pacman -S librsvg

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install librsvg
```

Verify:

```bash
rsvg-convert --version
```

## Build

From the repository root:

```bash
go build -o printer-backend .
```

## Run

Start the API and admin servers from the **repository root** (or any directory where you want the `data/` folder to live):

```bash
./printer-backend serve
```

Defaults (no config file):

- **API:** `http://127.0.0.1:8080`
- **Admin dashboard:** `http://127.0.0.1:8081`

Stop with `Ctrl+C`.

### Optional configuration

Copy `config.example.json` and pass it with `--config`:

```bash
cp config.example.json config.json
./printer-backend serve --config config.json
```

| Field | Default | Description |
|-------|---------|-------------|
| `host` | `127.0.0.1` | Bind address for both servers |
| `api_port` | `8080` | REST API port |
| `admin_port` | `8081` | Admin UI port |

Legacy field `port` is still accepted and maps to `api_port` when `api_port` is unset.

## Data directory

All runtime data is stored under `data/` relative to the **current working directory**:

```
data/
  plates/           # plate definitions (JSON)
  svg_template/     # item SVG files and metadata
  configurations/   # plate + item + spacing presets (JSON)
```

Directories are created automatically when you save plates, items, or configurations. Run `serve` from the project root if you want to use the bundled sample data.

## Other commands

```bash
# Print version
./printer-backend version

# Generate an SVG item template (writes to data/svg_template/)
./printer-backend template -o my_item.svg -w 100 -H 50 -r 8 -b 2 -m 5 -p 3
# Square shortcut: -s 80 sets width and height
./printer-backend template -o square.svg -s 80 -r 5 -b 2 -m 5 -p 3
```

## Quick check

After starting the server:

```bash
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8080/health
```

Open the admin UI in a browser at `http://127.0.0.1:8081`.