Dev Docs Index

Netatalk Developer Documentation Index

Welcome to the Netatalk developer documentation. This index provides comprehensive navigation across all developer resources to help you understand, build, and contribute to Netatalk.

Quick Navigation

Section	Description	Key Topics
Getting Started	Essential reading for new developers	Overview, build process, contribution guidelines
API Reference	Library interfaces and programming APIs	libatalk API, function references
Architecture	System design and structure	Protocol stack, data flow, component interactions
Components	Individual system components	AFP daemon, AppleTalk, authentication, CNID
Configuration	Setup and volume management	Server setup, volume configuration
Performance	Optimization and tuning	High-speed networking, DSI tunables
Development	Contributing to Netatalk	Coding guidelines, testing, patches
Troubleshooting	Problem diagnosis and resolution	Common issues, debugging techniques

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Getting Started

Primary Documentation Entry Point

• Project overview and architecture summary
• Build instructions and dependencies
• Development environment setup
• Contributing guidelines

Related Source Code:

• Build system: meson.build
• Main headers: include/atalk/

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API Reference

Programming Interface Reference

• Core library functions and structures
• API usage examples and best practices
• Function signatures and parameters
• Error handling and return codes

Related Source Code:

• Library implementation: libatalk/
• Public headers: include/atalk/
• API definitions: include/atalk/globals.h

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Architecture

High-Level System Design

• Overall system architecture and component relationships
• Protocol implementation strategy
• Data flow patterns and processing pipelines
• Security model and access control

Related Source Code:

• Main daemon: etc/afpd/
• Protocol handlers: libatalk/dsi/

Network Protocol Layer Analysis

• AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) implementation
• DSI (Data Stream Interface) layer
• TCP/IP integration and networking
• Protocol state management

Related Source Code:

• DSI implementation: libatalk/dsi/
• AFP protocol: etc/afpd/
• Network utilities: libatalk/util/

Request Processing and Data Movement

• Request/response cycle analysis
• Data transformation pipelines
• Caching and buffering strategies
• I/O optimization techniques

Related Source Code:

• Request processing: etc/afpd/file.c, etc/afpd/directory.c
• Data handling: libatalk/adouble/
• VFS layer: libatalk/vfs/

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Components

Core Server Implementation

• AFP daemon architecture and functionality
• Client connection management
• File and directory operations
• Resource fork handling

Related Source Code:

• AFP daemon: etc/afpd/
• Main entry: etc/afpd/main.c
• Session management: etc/afpd/afp_dsi.c

Legacy AppleTalk Protocol Support

• AppleTalk protocol stack
• Network routing and discovery
• Legacy client compatibility
• Migration considerations

Related Source Code:

• AppleTalk library: libatalk/atp/, libatalk/asp/
• Network utilities: bin/ (AppleTalk tools)

User Authentication and Authorization

• Authentication methods (PAM, DHX, etc.)
• User account management
• Password handling and security
• Authorization and permissions

Related Source Code:

• UAMS (User Authentication Modules): etc/uams/
• Authentication core: libatalk/util/
• Security utilities: include/atalk/uam.h, include/atalk/acl.h

Catalog Node ID Management

• CNID database architecture
• File/directory indexing system
• Database backends (dbd, mysql, sqlite)
• Performance optimization

Related Source Code:

• CNID implementation: libatalk/cnid/
• Database daemon: etc/cnid_dbd/
• CNID utilities: bin/ad/

System Service and Integration

• Service initialization and management
• Configuration file processing
• System integration points
• Process coordination

Related Source Code:

• Main service: etc/netatalk/
• Configuration: etc/afpd/afp_config.c, libatalk/util/netatalk_conf.c
• System integration: distrib/

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Configuration

Installation and Initial Configuration

• Server installation procedures
• Configuration file structure and options
• Network setup and discovery
• Security configuration

Related Source Code:

• Configuration parsing: etc/afpd/afp_config.c
• Setup utilities: bin/misc/
• Default configs: config/

AFP Volume Management

• Volume definition and properties
• Access control and permissions
• Special volume types (Time Machine, etc.)
• Performance tuning options

Related Source Code:

• Volume management: etc/afpd/volume.c
• VFS operations: libatalk/vfs/
• Extended attributes: libatalk/adouble/

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Performance

Performance Tuning for 1-10 Gbps Networks

• DSI parameter optimization
• TCP buffer tuning and congestion control
• OS-level performance tunables
• ZFS optimization for AFP workloads
• Memory scaling and resource management

Related Source Code:

• DSI implementation: libatalk/dsi/
• Network tuning: etc/afpd/afp_dsi.c
• Performance tools: test/testsuite/

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Deployment

Cross-Platform Installation and Setup

• Linux distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS, etc.)
• FreeBSD installation and configuration
• macOS deployment considerations
• Container deployment (Docker)

Related Source Code:

• Build system: meson.build
• Init scripts: distrib/initscripts/
• Container support: Dockerfile

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Development

Contributing to Netatalk

• Coding standards and style guidelines
• Testing procedures and frameworks
• Patch submission process
• Code review requirements

Related Source Code:

• Test suite: test/
• Build configuration: meson.build, meson_options.txt
• CI/CD: .github/

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Troubleshooting

Problem Diagnosis and Resolution

• Frequently encountered problems
• Debugging techniques and tools
• Log analysis and interpretation
• Performance troubleshooting

Related Source Code:

• Logging utilities: libatalk/util/
• Debug tools: bin/misc/
• Test utilities: test/afpd/