unraid-docker-manager/ARCHITECTURE.md

Architecture

Technical reference for the Unraid Docker Manager workflow system.

System Overview

The bot is an n8n workflow that receives Telegram messages, routes them through authentication and keyword matching, dispatches to domain-specific sub-workflows, and sends responses back to the user.

Telegram
  |
  v
n8n-workflow.json (166 nodes)
  |-- Auth check (Telegram user ID)
  |-- Correlation ID generation
  |-- Text path: Keyword Router -> Parse Command -> Match Container -> Execute
  |-- Callback path: Parse Callback Data -> Route -> Execute
  |
  |-- n8n-update.json        (34 nodes)  Container image pull + recreate
  |-- n8n-actions.json       (11 nodes)  Start / stop / restart
  |-- n8n-logs.json           (9 nodes)  Log retrieval + formatting
  |-- n8n-batch-ui.json      (17 nodes)  Batch selection keyboard UI
  |-- n8n-status.json        (11 nodes)  Container list + status display
  |-- n8n-confirmation.json  (16 nodes)  Confirmation dialogs
  |-- n8n-matching.json      (23 nodes)  Container name matching
  |
  v
docker-socket-proxy (tecnativa/docker-socket-proxy)
  |
  v
Docker Engine

Total: 287 nodes (166 main + 121 across 7 sub-workflows)

Workflow Files

File	n8n ID	Purpose	Nodes
n8n-workflow.json	HmiXBlJefBRPMS0m4iNYc	Main orchestrator	166
n8n-update.json	7AvTzLtKXM2hZTio92_mC	Container update (pull, recreate, cleanup)	34
n8n-actions.json	fYSZS5PkH0VSEaT5	Container start/stop/restart	11
n8n-logs.json	oE7aO2GhbksXDEIw	Container log retrieval	9
n8n-batch-ui.json	ZJhnGzJT26UUmW45	Batch selection keyboard	17
n8n-status.json	lqpg2CqesnKE2RJQ	Container list and status	11
n8n-confirmation.json	fZ1hu8eiovkCk08G	Confirmation dialogs	16
n8n-matching.json	kL4BoI8ITSP9Oxek	Container name matching	23

Request Flow

Text Commands

1. Telegram Trigger receives message
2. Auth IF node checks user ID
3. Correlation ID generator creates a unique request trace ID (timestamp-random)
4. Keyword Router (Switch node) matches command keyword
5. Parse Command (Code node) extracts parameters
6. Matching sub-workflow resolves container name to Docker ID
7. Domain sub-workflow executes the operation
8. Result routed to Telegram response node

Callback (Inline Keyboard)

1. Telegram Trigger receives callback query
2. Auth IF node checks user ID
3. Correlation ID generator creates a unique request trace ID
4. Parse Callback Data (Code node, 441 lines) decodes callback string
5. Route Callback (Switch node) dispatches by prefix
6. Domain sub-workflow executes the operation
7. Result routed to Telegram response node (editMessageText)

Observability

Correlation IDs

Every request gets a unique correlation ID generated at the entry point of the main workflow. This ID flows through all sub-workflow calls via Prepare Input nodes, enabling request tracing across workflow boundaries in the n8n execution log.

How it works:

• Two generator nodes in the main workflow: one for the text path, one for the callback path
• Format: timestamp-randomString (no external dependencies)
• All 19 Prepare Input nodes include correlationId: $json.correlationId in their output
• Sub-workflows receive the ID as an input field and can reference it in their logs

Where to find it: Open any execution in the n8n UI, inspect the output of a Prepare Input node — the correlationId field traces back to the original user request.

Limitations: Correlation IDs are only visible in the n8n execution log. There is no persistent storage or user-facing output. n8n's workflow static data is execution-scoped (not workflow-scoped), so ring buffers and cross-execution logging are not possible on this platform.

Structured Error Returns

All 7 sub-workflows return structured error objects on failure:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Container not found: foo",
  "correlationId": "1707400000-abc123"
}

This provides a consistent error shape for the main workflow to route and format error messages to the user.

Debugging a Request

1. Open the n8n execution list for the main workflow
2. Find the execution by timestamp or Telegram message content
3. Check the Prepare Input node output for the correlationId
4. Search sub-workflow executions for the same correlationId
5. Trace the full request path: main workflow -> sub-workflow -> Docker API -> response

Sub-workflow Contracts

Each sub-workflow has a defined input/output contract. The main workflow communicates with sub-workflows through Prepare Input (Code) nodes that build the input object, and Route Result (Code) nodes that interpret the response.

n8n-update.json (Container Update)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
containerId	string	yes*	Docker container ID (empty string to resolve by name)
containerName	string	yes	Container display name
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID (0 for text mode)
responseMode	string	yes	"text", "inline", or "batch"
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

*containerId can be empty — the sub-workflow resolves by name via its Resolve Container ID node.

Output:

Outcome	Fields
Updated	success: true, updated: true, message, oldDigest, newDigest
No update needed	success: true, updated: false, message
Error	success: false, updated: false, message

Callers: Execute Text Update, Execute Callback Update, Execute Batch Update

---

n8n-actions.json (Container Actions)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
containerId	string	yes	Docker container ID
containerName	string	yes	Container display name
action	string	yes	"start", "stop", or "restart"
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID (0 for text mode)
responseMode	string	yes	"text", "inline", or "batch"
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

Output: success, message, action, containerName, containerId, chatId, messageId, responseMode

HTTP status codes are checked before message content: 204 = success, 304 = already in state (treated as success), others = error.

Callers: Execute Container Action, Execute Inline Action, Execute Batch Action Sub-workflow

---

n8n-logs.json (Container Logs)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
containerName	string	yes*	Container name for lookup
containerId	string	no	Docker container ID (optional)
lineCount	number	no	Lines to retrieve (default: 50, max: 1000)
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	no	Telegram message ID (default: 0)
responseMode	string	no	"text" or "inline" (default: "text")
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

*Either containerId or containerName is required.

Output: success: true, message, containerName, lineCount

Errors (container not found, Docker error) throw exceptions handled by n8n's error system.

Callers: Execute Text Logs, Execute Inline Logs

---

n8n-batch-ui.json (Batch Selection UI)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID
callbackData	string	yes	Raw callback data string
queryId	string	yes	Telegram callback query ID
action	string	yes	"mode", "toggle", "nav", "exec", "clear", "cancel"
batchPage	number	no	Current page number (default: 0)
selectedCsv	string	no	Comma-separated selected container names
toggleName	string	no	Container name being toggled
batchAction	string	no	Action for batch execution (stop/restart/update)
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

Output:

action	Description
"keyboard"	Rendered selection keyboard with checkmarks
"execute"	User confirmed — includes containerNames and batchAction
"cancel"	User cancelled batch selection

Batch selection uses bitmap encoding (base36 BigInt) to fit container selections within Telegram's 64-byte callback data limit.

Callers: Execute Batch UI

---

n8n-status.json (Container Status/List)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID
action	string	yes	"list", "status", "paginate"
containerId	string	no	Docker container ID (for status lookup)
containerName	string	no	Container name (for status lookup)
page	number	no	Page number for pagination (default: 0)
queryId	string	no	Telegram callback query ID
searchTerm	string	no	Container name search term
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

Output:

action	Description
"list"	Container list with pagination keyboard
"status"	Single container detail with action buttons
"paginate"	Updated page of container list

The container list keyboard includes an "Update All :latest" button after the navigation row.

Callers: Execute Container Status, Execute Select Status, Execute Paginate Status, Execute Batch Cancel Status

---

n8n-confirmation.json (Confirmation Dialogs)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID
action	string	yes	"show_stop", "show_update", "confirm", "cancel", "expired"
containerId	string	no	Docker container ID
containerName	string	yes	Container display name
confirmAction	string	no	"stop" or "update" (for confirm action)
confirmationToken	string	no	Timestamp token for 30-second expiry check
expired	boolean	no	Whether confirmation has expired
responseMode	string	no	"inline" (default)
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

This sub-workflow internally calls n8n-actions.json for confirmed stop actions.

Output:

action	Description
"show_stop"	Stop confirmation dialog rendered
"show_update"	Update confirmation dialog rendered
"confirm_stop_result"	Stop executed, result returned
"confirm_update"	Update confirmed, containerId/name returned for update sub-workflow
"cancel"	Confirmation cancelled
"expired"	Confirmation token expired (30-second timeout)

Callers: Execute Confirmation (fed by 3 Prepare Input nodes: Prepare Confirm Input, Prepare Show Stop Input, Prepare Show Update Input)

---

n8n-matching.json (Container Matching/Disambiguation)

Input:

Field	Type	Required	Description
action	string	yes	"match_action", "match_update", or "match_batch"
containerList	string	yes	Raw Docker API JSON output (container list)
searchTerm	string	yes	Container name query to match
selectedContainers	string	no	Comma-separated names for batch matching
chatId	number	yes	Telegram chat ID
messageId	number	yes	Telegram message ID
correlationId	string	no	Request trace ID

Matching priority: exact match > single substring match > multiple matches (disambiguation) > no match (suggestion keyboard).

Output (action match):

action	Description
"matched"	Single container matched — includes containerId, containerName
"multiple"	Multiple matches — includes matches array for disambiguation
"no_match"	No match found
"suggestion"	Suggestion keyboard with close matches
"error"	Matching error

Output (update match): Same as action match with _update suffix on action values.

Output (batch match):

action	Description
"batch_matched"	All names resolved — includes matchedContainers array
"disambiguation"	Some names ambiguous — disambiguation keyboard
"not_found"	Some names not found

Callers: Execute Action Match, Execute Update Match, Execute Batch Match

Execute Workflow Node Map

17 Execute Workflow nodes in the main workflow dispatch to 7 sub-workflows:

Target	Execute Nodes
n8n-update.json	Execute Text Update, Execute Callback Update, Execute Batch Update
n8n-actions.json	Execute Container Action, Execute Inline Action, Execute Batch Action Sub-workflow
n8n-logs.json	Execute Text Logs, Execute Inline Logs
n8n-batch-ui.json	Execute Batch UI
n8n-status.json	Execute Container Status, Execute Select Status, Execute Paginate Status, Execute Batch Cancel Status
n8n-confirmation.json	Execute Confirmation
n8n-matching.json	Execute Action Match, Execute Update Match, Execute Batch Match

Main Workflow Internals

Node Breakdown (166 nodes)

Category	Count	Purpose
Code	60	Command parsing, input preparation, result routing, response building, batch orchestration
HTTP Request	40	Docker API and Telegram API calls
Telegram	23	User-facing response nodes
Execute Workflow	17	Sub-workflow dispatch
Switch	13	Keyword Router, Route Callback, result routing
If	8	Auth checks, batch completion, expiry, status routing
Execute Command	6	Docker CLI (container list, exec)
Telegram Trigger	1	Entry point

Code Node Categories

The 60 Code nodes break down into orchestration categories. All are infrastructure — none contain extractable domain logic:

Category	Count	Role
prepare-input	27	Build input objects for sub-workflow calls
route-result	12	Interpret sub-workflow responses for routing
build-response	8	Build Telegram messages and keyboards
orchestration	6	Batch loop control and state management
parse-command	5	Parse text commands into structured data
domain-logic	2	Legacy candidates (net-negative extraction)

Callback Data Encoding

Telegram limits callback data to 64 bytes. The system uses two encoding schemes:

Colon-delimited for single operations: s:containerId (status), stop:containerId (action), cfm:stop:containerId:token (confirmation)

Bitmap encoding for batch selection: b:0:1a3:5 where the middle segment is a base36 BigInt representing selected container indices. Supports 50+ containers within the 64-byte limit.

Legacy parsers (batch:toggle:, batch:nav:, batch:exec:) are retained for graceful migration of in-flight messages.

Deployment

Redeploying After Changes

1. Import the modified sub-workflow JSON into n8n
2. If main workflow changed, re-import n8n-workflow.json
3. Activate the workflow

Workflow IDs are stable — n8n preserves them across re-imports of the same workflow.

Execute Workflow Node Format

All Execute Workflow nodes use typeVersion 1.2:

"workflowId": { "__rl": true, "mode": "list", "value": "<id>" }

Testing Checklist

After deployment, verify:

• status — Shows container list with pagination
• Tap container — Shows detail with action buttons
• stop <name> — Confirmation dialog, confirm executes stop
• update <name> — Confirmation dialog, confirm pulls image + recreates
• restart <name> — Immediate restart
• logs <name> — Shows last 50 lines
• stop plex sonarr — Batch selection keyboard
• Select multiple, execute — Batch processes all selected
• update all — Lists :latest containers, confirm updates all
• Update All button in keyboard — Same flow via inline keyboard

Known Limitations

Unraid Update Badges

After the bot updates a container, Unraid's Docker tab may show "apply update" on the next check. The bot uses Docker API directly while Unraid tracks containers through its XML template system — it doesn't know the container was updated externally.

Resolution: Click "Apply Update" in Unraid. It completes instantly since the image is already cached.

Why not automated: Clearing the badge would require calling Unraid's internal web API (authentication, template parsing) for a cosmetic issue that takes one click.

n8n Static Data

n8n workflow static data ($getWorkflowStaticData('global')) is execution-scoped, not workflow-scoped. Data written in one execution is not available in the next. This prevents persistent cross-execution features like error ring buffers or debug command history.

Orphan Nodes

3 legacy Code nodes remain in the main workflow (Build Action Command, Build Immediate Action Command, Prepare Cancel Return). They are unreachable dead code from pre-modularization inline action paths. They have no incoming connections and do not affect functionality.