Argon Server

Argon is a high-performance, distributed voice chat server built on modern cloud-native technologies. It provides real-time communication capabilities with a focus on scalability, reliability, and low latency.

🌟 Features

• Real-time Voice Communication: Built on LiveKit for high-quality, low-latency voice chat
• Distributed Architecture: Leverages Orleans virtual actors for scalable, distributed computing
• Multi-Region Support: CockroachDB cluster with multi-region replication
• Event-Driven: NATS messaging with JetStream for reliable event streaming
• S3-Compatible Storage: SeaweedFS for scalable object storage
• High-Performance Caching: DragonflyDB for Redis-compatible in-memory operations

---

🛠️ Technology Stack

Component	Technology
Framework	.NET 10.0 (Preview)
Language	C# (Latest)
Actor Model	Microsoft Orleans
Database	CockroachDB (3-node cluster)
NoSQL	ScyllaDB (Cassandra-compatible)
Cache	DragonflyDB (Redis-compatible)
Messaging	NATS with JetStream
Storage	SeaweedFS (S3-compatible)
Media Server	LiveKit
Reverse Proxy	Caddy

---

📋 Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure you have:

• .NET 10.0 SDK (Preview)
• Docker Desktop (or Docker Engine + Compose)
• mkcert — for generating local TLS certificates
• PowerShell (for Windows) or Bash (for Linux/macOS) for running setup scripts

---

🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/argon-chat/server.git
cd server

2. Set Up Local Infrastructure

Navigate to the deploy directory and start the local development environment:

cd deploy
./ensure-certs.ps1  # Generate local TLS certificates
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d

This will start all required services (databases, caching, messaging, media server, etc.).

3. Build the Server

From the repository root:

dotnet restore
dotnet build

4. Run the Server

cd src/Argon.Api
dotnet run

---

📦 Local Development Environment

This section explains the complete local infrastructure for development using Docker Compose.

Infrastructure Components

The local environment includes the following services:

Service	Description
NATS	Messaging bus with JetStream enabled for event streaming
ScyllaDB	High-performance Cassandra-compatible NoSQL database
CockroachDB (3 nodes)	Distributed SQL database cluster with multi-region support
SeaweedFS (S3)	Local S3-compatible object storage
KineticaFS	Argon's file lifecycle manager and S3 bridge
DragonflyDB	High-performance Redis-compatible in-memory cache
LiveKit	Real-time media server for voice/video communication
Caddy	HTTPS reverse proxy for LiveKit

All services are connected through the argon Docker bridge network.

---

🔐 Generating Local Certificates

Before starting the containers, generate local certificates used by Caddy and LiveKit.

Run:

cd deploy
./ensure-certs.ps1

This script will:

• Check for existing certificates in the certs/ directory
• Create new certificates via mkcert if they don't exist

---

🚀 Starting the Infrastructure

The docker-compose.local.yml file is located in the /deploy directory.

To launch the local infrastructure, run:

cd deploy
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d

This will start all services in detached mode (-d).

The first startup may take a few minutes as the databases initialize.

Alternative: You can also use the provided PowerShell script:

cd deploy
./start.ps1

---

🧠 Service URLs and Ports

Service	URL/Port	Notes
NATS	localhost:4222	NATS client port
ScyllaDB CQL	localhost:9042	CQL port
CockroachDB SQL	localhost:26257	SQL port
CockroachDB UI	http://localhost:8080	Admin console
SeaweedFS S3	http://localhost:8333	S3 API endpoint
SeaweedFS UI	http://localhost:9321	Admin interface
KineticaFS	http://localhost:3000	File lifecycle manager
DragonflyDB	localhost:6379	Redis-compatible port
LiveKit	localhost:7880	LiveKit server port
LiveKit (HTTPS)	https://localhost:9443	Served via Caddy proxy

---

🧹 Stopping and Cleaning Up

To stop all containers:

cd deploy
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml down

Alternative: Use the PowerShell script:

cd deploy
./stop.ps1

To stop all containers and remove related volumes (resetting all data):

cd deploy
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml -p argonlocal down --volumes --remove-orphans

This will:

• Stop and remove all running containers
• Remove persistent volumes
• Clean up orphaned resources

---

🗂 Directory Structure

.
├── src/                      # Source code
│   ├── Argon.Api/           # Main API server
│   ├── Argon.Core/          # Core business logic
│   ├── Argon.Cassandra/     # ScyllaDB/Cassandra integration
│   ├── Argon.CodeGen/       # Code generation utilities
│   └── Argon.Ion/           # Ion protocol implementation
├── tests/                    # Test projects
├── deploy/                   # Deployment configurations
│   ├── certs/               # Local TLS certificates (generated)
│   ├── docker/              # Docker-related scripts/configs
│   ├── dynamicconfig/       # Temporal dynamic configuration
│   ├── docker-compose.local.yml  # Main Docker Compose file
│   ├── ensure-certs.ps1     # Certificate generation script
│   ├── start.ps1            # Start infrastructure script
│   ├── stop.ps1             # Stop infrastructure script
│   ├── Caddyfile            # Caddy reverse proxy configuration
│   └── livekit.yaml         # LiveKit server configuration
├── Argon.Server.slnx        # Solution file
└── README.md                # This file

---

🧩 Notes

• The CockroachDB cluster automatically bootstraps with 3 nodes (cockroach1, cockroach2, cockroach3) in different regions.
• KineticaFS waits for ScyllaDB to become healthy before starting.
• DragonflyDB provides a fast Redis-compatible cache and stores data in the argon-cache-data volume.
• Caddy uses certificates from ./certs to serve LiveKit over HTTPS on port 9443.

---

🧰 Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Fix
mkcert not found	Install it from mkcert GitHub
Database healthcheck failures	Wait 1–2 minutes; some databases (Scylla/CockroachDB) have long startup times
Ports already in use	Check for conflicting local services and stop them
SSL errors in browser	Run mkcert -install to add the local CA to your OS trust store
CockroachDB cluster init fails	Run docker compose logs init to see initialization logs

---

🏗️ Building and Running the Server

Build

To build the entire solution:

dotnet restore
dotnet build

Run

To run the Argon API server:

cd src/Argon.Api
dotnet run

The server will start and connect to the local infrastructure services.

Configuration

The server configuration is managed through:

• appsettings.json - Application settings
• Environment variables - Runtime configuration
• User secrets - Development secrets (use dotnet user-secrets)

---

🧪 Testing

To run tests:

dotnet test

---

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow the existing code style and conventions
• Write tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Ensure all tests pass before submitting PR

---

📄 License

This project is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1.

• Licensor: Argon Inc. LLC
• Change Date: 4 years from publication
• Change License: MPL 2.0

See LICENSE.md for full details.

Key Points:

• ✅ Free for internal use within organizations
• ✅ Free for non-production use
• ✅ Free for modifications and derivative works
• ⚠️ Cannot offer as a competing hosted service
• ⏰ Automatically becomes MPL 2.0 after 4 years

For alternative licensing arrangements, contact: privacy@argon.gl

---

📞 Support and Contact

• Repository: https://github.com/argon-chat/server
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Email: privacy@argon.gl

---

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ by the Argon team and contributors.

Special thanks to all the open-source projects that make Argon possible:

• Microsoft Orleans
• CockroachDB
• ScyllaDB
• LiveKit
• NATS
• And many more...

---

✅ Ready to build!
You now have everything you need to start developing with Argon Server.