Fix NPM forwarding: use HOST_IP env var instead of socket detection

Socket detection inside Docker returns the container IP (172.18.0.x),
not the host IP. Now:
- install.sh detects host IP via hostname -I and stores in .env
- docker-compose.yml passes HOST_IP to the container
- npm_service.py reads HOST_IP from environment
- Increased SSL cert timeout to 120s (LE validation is slow)
- Added better logging for SSL cert creation/assignment
- README updated with HOST_IP in .env example

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ DATA_DIR=/opt/netbird-instances
 DOCKER_NETWORK=npm-network
 LOG_LEVEL=INFO
 WEB_UI_PORT=8000
+HOST_IP=<your-server-ip>
 ```
 
 > **All application settings** (domain, NPM credentials, Docker images, branding, etc.) are stored in the SQLite database and editable via the Web UI under **Settings**.

app/services/npm_service.py

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Also manages NPM streams for STUN/TURN relay UDP ports.
 """
 
 import logging
-import socket
+import os
 from typing import Any
 
 import httpx
@@ -25,27 +25,24 @@ NPM_TIMEOUT = 30
 
 
 def _get_forward_host() -> str:
-    """Detect the host machine's real IP address.
+    """Get the host machine's real IP address for NPM forwarding.
 
     NPM proxy hosts must forward to the actual host IP where Docker
     port mappings are exposed — NOT a container name or Docker gateway.
 
-    Uses a UDP socket to determine the primary outbound IP address
+    Reads the HOST_IP environment variable set during installation
-    of the host (works inside Docker containers).
+    (detected via ``hostname -I`` on the host and stored in .env).
 
     Returns:
-        The host's primary IP address (e.g. ``192.168.26.191``).
+        The host's IP address (e.g. ``192.168.26.191``).
     """
-    try:
+    host_ip = os.environ.get("HOST_IP", "").strip()
-        s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
+    if host_ip:
-        s.connect(("8.8.8.8", 80))
+        logger.info("Using HOST_IP from environment: %s", host_ip)
-        host_ip = s.getsockname()[0]
-        s.close()
-        logger.info("Detected host IP: %s", host_ip)
         return host_ip
-    except Exception:
+
-        logger.warning("Could not detect host IP, falling back to 172.17.0.1")
+    logger.warning("HOST_IP not set in environment — please add HOST_IP=<your-server-ip> to .env")
-        return "172.17.0.1"
+    return "127.0.0.1"
 
 
 async def _npm_login(client: httpx.AsyncClient, api_url: str, email: str, password: str) -> str:
@@ -164,7 +161,7 @@ async def create_proxy_host(
     }
 
     try:
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=NPM_TIMEOUT) as client:
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=180) as client:  # Long timeout for LE cert
             # Step 1: Login to NPM
             token = await _npm_login(client, api_url, npm_email, npm_password)
             headers = {
@@ -208,6 +205,9 @@ async def _request_ssl(
 ) -> None:
     """Request a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for a proxy host.
 
+    Let's Encrypt validation can take up to 120 seconds, so we use
+    a longer timeout for certificate requests.
+
     Args:
         client: httpx client (already authenticated).
         api_url: NPM API base URL.
@@ -227,20 +227,28 @@ async def _request_ssl(
         },
     }
     try:
+        logger.info("Requesting Let's Encrypt certificate for %s ...", domain)
         resp = await client.post(
-            f"{api_url}/nginx/certificates", json=ssl_payload, headers=headers
+            f"{api_url}/nginx/certificates",
+            json=ssl_payload,
+            headers=headers,
+            timeout=120,  # LE validation can be slow
         )
         if resp.status_code in (200, 201):
             cert_id = resp.json().get("id")
-            # Assign certificate to proxy host
+            logger.info("Certificate created (id=%s), assigning to proxy host %s", cert_id, proxy_id)
-            await client.put(
+            assign_resp = await client.put(
                 f"{api_url}/nginx/proxy-hosts/{proxy_id}",
                 json={"certificate_id": cert_id},
                 headers=headers,
             )
-            logger.info("SSL certificate %s assigned to proxy host %s", cert_id, proxy_id)
+            if assign_resp.status_code in (200, 201):
+                logger.info("SSL certificate %s assigned to proxy host %s", cert_id, proxy_id)
+            else:
+                logger.warning("Failed to assign cert to proxy host: %s %s",
+                               assign_resp.status_code, assign_resp.text[:200])
         else:
-            logger.warning("SSL request returned %s: %s", resp.status_code, resp.text[:200])
+            logger.warning("SSL cert request returned %s: %s", resp.status_code, resp.text[:500])
     except Exception as exc:
         logger.warning("SSL certificate request failed: %s", exc)
 

docker-compose.yml

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ services:
       - LOG_LEVEL=${LOG_LEVEL:-INFO}
       - DATA_DIR=${DATA_DIR:-/opt/netbird-instances}
       - DOCKER_NETWORK=${DOCKER_NETWORK:-npm-network}
+      - HOST_IP=${HOST_IP:-}
     networks:
       - npm-network
     healthcheck:

install.sh

@@ -338,6 +338,10 @@ echo "Generating encryption keys..."
 SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
 echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Encryption keys generated${NC}"
 
+# Detect host IP for NPM forwarding
+HOST_IP=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')
+echo -e "Host IP: ${CYAN}${HOST_IP}${NC}"
+
 # Create MINIMAL .env — only container-level vars needed by docker-compose.yml
 # All application config goes into the DATABASE, not here!
 echo "Creating minimal container environment..."
@@ -350,6 +354,7 @@ DATA_DIR=$DATA_DIR
 DOCKER_NETWORK=$DOCKER_NETWORK
 LOG_LEVEL=INFO
 WEB_UI_PORT=8000
+HOST_IP=$HOST_IP
 ENVEOF
 
 chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/.env"
@@ -482,8 +487,9 @@ if [ -n "$MSP_DOMAIN" ]; then
         if [ -n "$PROXY_ID" ] && [ "$PROXY_ID" != "None" ] && [ "$PROXY_ID" != "" ]; then
             echo -e "${GREEN}✓ NPM proxy host created (ID: ${PROXY_ID})${NC}"
 
-            # Step 3: Request Let's Encrypt certificate
+            # Step 3: Request Let's Encrypt certificate (can take up to 120s)
-            CERT_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "${NPM_API_URL}/nginx/certificates" \
+            echo -e "${CYAN}Requesting Let's Encrypt certificate (this may take a minute)...${NC}"
+            CERT_RESULT=$(curl -s --max-time 120 -X POST "${NPM_API_URL}/nginx/certificates" \
                 -H "Authorization: Bearer ${NPM_TOKEN}" \
                 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
                 -d "{