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Job Logger

Job Logger is a security-focused Dockerized Python web application for quickly recording Autotask time entries or customer-visible ticket notes from a phone or web browser, reviewing or directly submitting recorded jobs, and sending accepted records to Autotask.

End users can use USER_MANUAL.md for a full walkthrough of sign-in, password reset, Work in Progress, Review, Config, and common app messages.

Architecture

  • FastAPI serves the application.
  • Nginx fronts the FastAPI web interface inside Docker.
  • Jinja templates render the mobile capture page, desktop review page, user manager, config page, and diagnostics.
  • PostgreSQL stores managed web users, jobs, review fields, submission attempts, per-user preferences, sanitized login attempts, and audit events.
  • Alembic manages database migrations.
  • Cloudflare Tunnel publishes the app without opening an inbound firewall port.
  • Cloudflare Access can protect the public hostname before the app login page.
  • Optional self-service password reset uses SMTP mail and can use Cloudflare Turnstile human verification.
  • Configurable providers support mock or live speech-to-text and Autotask modes.

Cloudflare documents Tunnel as an outbound cloudflared connector and Access as the control point for self-hosted applications:

Autotask REST API references used by this app:

Local Setup

  1. Create an environment file:

    cp .env.example .env

  2. Set APP_USERNAME and APP_PASSWORD in .env. This config account is the super admin for diagnostics and user management; it does not create work entries because it has no Autotask resource ID.

  3. Replace APP_SECRET_KEY and POSTGRES_PASSWORD with long random values. Docker Compose fails closed if these secrets are missing, and production startup rejects the documented replace-with-* placeholders.

  4. Set LOG_LEVEL to DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, or ERROR to control stdout and stderr log verbosity. Docker defaults to INFO; use docker compose logs app or the runtime log collector for history. Set DEV_BUILD=true only for dev deployments that should show the authenticated Help button in yellow, show DEV on the Help page, and suppress Pushover health notifications.

  5. Start the stack:

    docker compose up -d --build

    .env.example enables COMPOSE_PROFILES=local-db,bundled-edge, so this starts the bundled PostgreSQL, nginx, and cloudflared containers. For a remote PostgreSQL server, remove local-db and provide DATABASE_URL. For an external nginx and cloudflared deployment, remove bundled-edge.

    If you do not have a tunnel token yet, run only local services first:

    docker compose up -d --build app db nginx

  6. Open the local troubleshooting URL at:

    http://127.0.0.1:11030

  7. Sign in with the config super-admin account, open /users, and create at least one web user with full name, username, password, and Autotask resource ID. The users page shows managed accounts in a table with per-row edit and enable/disable controls as compact icons, including any email address captured from Autotask Resource lookup, last successful login time, and a green or red Device sign-in key icon showing whether the account has any registered passkeys. The table also shows whether a managed user has Admin access to Diagnostics, but it does not display internal Autotask resource ID or role ID values. Row actions can send a password reset email, resend the welcome email, edit, enable/disable, or delete an account. Delete fully removes users that have no jobs. Users with linked jobs are hidden, signed out, and restored with their job history when a new user is added with the same Autotask resource ID. The add-user form suggests a username from the name, such as jblow for Joe Blow, and add/edit forms can search Autotask Resources so you can select the matching Last, First resource and fill its ID. The same form can load active service-desk roles for that resource, show role names when Autotask role metadata is readable, and save the selected numeric role ID as an optional default fallback for tickets that do not return usable role data. Add/edit forms also include a default-off Admin checkbox that grants that managed user full /debug Diagnostics access only. When Autotask returns an email for the selected resource, Job Logger saves it with that web-user account. Managed-user passwords must be at least 8 characters and include lowercase, uppercase, number, and symbol characters. Passwords created or reset by the config super admin are temporary; the managed user must choose a new password on the next sign-in before using the rest of the app. The first web user you create takes ownership of any existing unowned jobs from earlier single-user installs.

  8. Managed web users can open /config to choose their visual theme and how finished Work in Progress entries are submitted. Dark is the default, and changes save and apply immediately without a Save button. Light and dark themes apply to mobile and web pages for that login only. The Submit from Work in Progress workflow option is not a workflow availability toggle. It is off by default; when enabled, ending work submits the completed time entry or ticket note to Autotask immediately instead of requiring Review first. The same page includes an explicit Change password action with two matching password fields and the password requirements shown in the password card; password changes are not autosaved. When a temporary password is required, Config shows only the password-change step until the password is changed. Managed users can also add passkeys after signing in normally once. The config super-admin account has no user settings and always uses dark mode.

Branch And Deployment Flow

main is the production branch. Production deployments should pull from main only after changes have already been tested and intentionally merged.

dev is the integration and testing branch. It was created as a copy of the current main branch and is intended for a separate dev instance where changes can be tested before they are merged back to main.

For a dev deployment, use a separate checkout or working tree on the server:

git clone --branch dev https://github.com/cosmicc/job-logger.git job-logger-dev

Keep the dev instance isolated from production:

  • Use a separate .env with its own APP_SECRET_KEY, database password, Cloudflare tunnel token, public hostname, and WebAuthn origin.
  • Use a separate Cloudflare Tunnel and public hostname for dev testing.
  • Use a separate Docker Compose project name, PostgreSQL volume or remote database, and backup directory so dev cannot overwrite production data.
  • Use a different HTTP_PORT, such as 11031, if production and dev run on the same Docker host.
  • Set DEV_BUILD=true in the dev .env so the authenticated header clearly marks the instance as dev and Pushover health notifications stay disabled even if PUSHOVER_ENABLED=true is present in the shared environment.
  • Set APP_ENV=development only for an isolated dev instance. Production keeps APP_ENV=production. Keep CLOUDFLARE_ACCESS_REQUIRED=true for internet-facing deployments once the matching Cloudflare Access application is configured.
  • Use real Autotask credentials only when the dev workflow intentionally needs live Autotask testing. Keep AUTOTASK_PROVIDER=mock for isolated UI or workflow-only checks.

Example same-host dev startup:

COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=job_logger_dev \
HTTP_PORT=11031 \
DEV_BUILD=true \
docker compose up -d --build

Do not merge dev into main until the dev instance has passed the intended validation and a production release is ready.

Cloudflare Tunnel

The Compose sample starts Nginx and cloudflared by default through the bundled-edge profile. This keeps the single-host production path simple: the app, Nginx reverse proxy, tunnel connector, and optional local PostgreSQL container can come up with one docker compose up -d --build command. Remove bundled-edge from COMPOSE_PROFILES when an external nginx and cloudflared deployment handles the public edge.

  1. Create a Cloudflare Tunnel in the Zero Trust dashboard.

  2. Add a public hostname that routes to this Docker service URL:

    http://127.0.0.1:11030

    The Compose-managed cloudflared service uses host networking, so 127.0.0.1 is the stable address from the connector to the localhost Nginx port.

  3. Create a Cloudflare Access self-hosted application for that hostname.

  4. Put the tunnel token in .env as CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN when using the bundled cloudflared service. If this token is missing or invalid, Cloudflare will return a 502 and cloudflared will repeatedly restart.

  5. Prefer CLOUDFLARE_ACCESS_REQUIRED=true for production when the matching Cloudflare Access application is configured. Docker Compose defaults this setting to true, but APP_ENV=production no longer refuses startup solely because the optional Access header gate is disabled. Secure session cookies are still required in production.

  6. Set APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL to the same public HTTPS origin before enabling account emails, because password reset and welcome emails use that value for absolute links. Keep /forgot-password and /reset-password/... behind the same Cloudflare Access application as the login page.

  7. Set WEBAUTHN_ORIGIN to the public HTTPS origin that phones see in the browser, such as https://logger.example.com, before using passkeys through Cloudflare Tunnel. Use this setting whenever the app needs the browser-facing public URL. The bundled nginx origin also preserves Cloudflare's forwarded HTTPS scheme for WebAuthn, but this explicit setting is the safest production pin. Set WEBAUTHN_RP_ID to the same hostname if the app cannot reliably derive the public host from forwarded headers.

  8. Start the full stack:

    docker compose up -d --build

    After changing HTTP_PORT or the nginx proxy config, recreate the app-facing services so Docker applies the new container environment and rendered nginx config:

    docker compose up -d --build --force-recreate app nginx cloudflared

Nginx is the web front end for this deployment. Public mobile and review traffic should enter through the Cloudflare Tunnel hostname, reach the host-exposed Nginx endpoint on 127.0.0.1:11030 from the Compose-managed connector by default, and then proxy to FastAPI at http://app:8000.

The app container is exposed only to the private Compose network. The local troubleshooting URL reaches Nginx on 127.0.0.1, not the app container directly.

Nginx always binds HTTP_PORT on 127.0.0.1 so the Compose-managed tunnel can reach the origin through host networking without exposing the port on the LAN. If HTTP_PORT=2082, set the Cloudflare Tunnel service route to http://127.0.0.1:2082.

HTTP_PORT is the configurable localhost-facing port. All other service ports are fixed internally and are not intended to be changed via environment:

  • Nginx listens on container port 80.
  • App listens on container port 8000.
  • PostgreSQL stays internal to Compose on container port 5432.

Compose Deployment Modes

The default .env.example uses COMPOSE_PROFILES=local-db,bundled-edge, which starts the bundled PostgreSQL, nginx, and cloudflared services.

Use these profile combinations for standalone Compose:

  • COMPOSE_PROFILES=local-db,bundled-edge: bundled PostgreSQL and bundled nginx/cloudflared.
  • COMPOSE_PROFILES=bundled-edge: remote PostgreSQL with bundled nginx/cloudflared.
  • COMPOSE_PROFILES=local-db: bundled PostgreSQL with external nginx/cloudflared.
  • COMPOSE_PROFILES=: remote PostgreSQL with external nginx/cloudflared.

When deploying from Portainer, keep the stack environment field or uploaded environment file to plain KEY=value lines only. Do not paste markdown headings, bullet text, or explanatory comments into Portainer's environment editor, and do not upload .env.example directly without stripping comment lines first. If redeploy fails before pulling images with an error like failed to read /data/compose/1/stack.env: line 1: key cannot contain a space, line 1 of the generated Portainer stack.env contains text that is not a valid environment variable name. Remove that prose or convert it to a valid key such as AI_HELP_INSTRUCTIONS=Answer Job Logger support questions for end users. on one line.

For a remote PostgreSQL server, provide:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql+psycopg://job_logger:<password>@postgres.example.com:5432/job_logger

If a managed PostgreSQL provider supplies a postgresql:// or postgres:// URL, Job Logger normalizes it to the installed psycopg 3 driver before app startup and migrations create database engines.

Keep the remote database private to trusted networks or TLS-protected connections. The app uses pooled connections with pool_pre_ping, bounded timeouts, and configurable DATABASE_POOL_* settings so remote connections are reused without growing unbounded.

If the database is temporarily unavailable, the web container still starts and DB-backed pages show an app-styled Service Temporarily Unavailable page with automatic retry to the login page. The page intentionally does not expose database, network, or code details.

Docker Swarm Deployment

Swarm has separate production and dev contracts. Both are image-based, expect PostgreSQL outside the stack, and pull the private app and Nginx packages published by GitHub Actions:

Environment Stack file Stack name App / Nginx Storage root Tunnel origin
Production docker-stack.yml job_logger jlapp / jlnginx /mnt/swarm-storage/job-logger http://jlnginx:${HTTP_PORT}
Dev docker-stack.dev.yml job_logger_dev jldapp / jldnginx /mnt/swarm-storage/job-logger-dev http://jldnginx:${HTTP_PORT}

Production should pin a version published from main:

export JOB_LOGGER_APP_IMAGE=ghcr.io/cosmicc/job-logger-app:1.3.1
export JOB_LOGGER_NGINX_IMAGE=ghcr.io/cosmicc/job-logger-nginx:1.3.1
export JOB_LOGGER_SWARM_STORAGE_PATH=/mnt/swarm-storage/job-logger
export DATABASE_URL=postgresql+psycopg://job_logger:<password>@postgres.example.com:5432/job_logger
export CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN=<token>
export HTTP_PORT=80
docker stack deploy --with-registry-auth -c docker-stack.yml job_logger

Dev uses the dev image tags and its own storage root:

export JOB_LOGGER_APP_IMAGE=ghcr.io/cosmicc/job-logger-app:dev
export JOB_LOGGER_NGINX_IMAGE=ghcr.io/cosmicc/job-logger-nginx:dev
export JOB_LOGGER_SWARM_STORAGE_PATH=/mnt/swarm-storage/job-logger-dev
export DATABASE_URL=postgresql+psycopg://job_logger_dev:<password>@postgres.example.com:5432/job_logger_dev
export CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN=<dev-token>
export HTTP_PORT=80
docker stack deploy --with-registry-auth -c docker-stack.dev.yml job_logger_dev

Log in to GHCR on the Swarm manager that performs the deployment and keep --with-registry-auth on the deploy command so workers receive pull credentials, or configure the private registry credentials in Portainer. The image workflow publishes dev and commit-SHA tags from dev; main publishes latest, the source-controlled version, and a commit-SHA tag. Keep the dev and production stack environments separate, including DATABASE_URL, APP_SECRET_KEY, tunnel token, public URL, and WebAuthn settings.

HTTP_PORT is the private Nginx listener inside each stack overlay and defaults to 80. Set the matching Cloudflare Tunnel origin to http://jldnginx:80 for dev or http://jlnginx:80 for production. If you change HTTP_PORT, change the corresponding tunnel origin port too. The port is intentionally not published through the Swarm routing mesh. Both stacks run two cloudflared replicas with at most one per node, so at least two eligible nodes are required.

Before deployment, mount both selected NFS roots on every eligible node and ensure each has these existing writable subdirectories:

backups/
models/faster-whisper/

No deployment-time chown or chmod step is required for this preconfigured share. Swarm binds only automatic backups and local faster-whisper model files to NFS so they survive task rescheduling. Application data remains in the remote PostgreSQL database selected by DATABASE_URL. App, Nginx, and cloudflared operational logs go only to stdout/stderr and remain available through the Docker logging driver.

The standalone docker-compose.yml remains the path for single-host installs. If you intentionally replace the bundled Swarm Nginx service, use docs/external-nginx-job-logger.conf as the maintained production starting point and proxy to http://jlapp:8000; use jldapp for dev.

If the local troubleshooting URL is changed to a different port, update only:

HTTP_PORT=<your-host-port>

If cloudflared is not running in this Compose stack, it will not be able to resolve the Docker service name nginx. In that separate-deployment case, point the tunnel at the actual host-reachable nginx URL.

Nginx is the public web edge and intentionally blocks API-style, generated schema/documentation, and health-check paths such as /api, /openapi.json, /docs, /redoc, /nginx-health, and /health/*. The Docker health checks use private container networking instead of public URLs. Proxy-generated common web errors use app-styled web service pages instead of the stock server page. Missing app pages and other browser-facing app errors also render a Job Logger error page with a Back to Login or Back to Work button based on the current app session. JSON clients that request JSON keep the normal JSON error body.

The nginx container is built from docker/nginx/Dockerfile with this app's proxy template baked in. If blocked public paths do not return this app-styled web service error page, the running container may not be using this project's image/config and should be rebuilt.

The normal Nginx startup log ends with Configuration complete; ready for start up and start worker process. If the log later says signal 3 (SIGQUIT) received, shutting down, Docker or Compose asked Nginx to stop gracefully; that line is not an Nginx configuration failure by itself.

PostgreSQL Healthcheck Troubleshooting

If a first-time or cold Docker/Portainer deploy fails with a message like dependency failed to start: container job-logger-dev-db-1 is unhealthy, check the PostgreSQL container before removing any volumes:

docker ps -a --filter name=job-logger-dev-db-1
docker logs --tail=120 job-logger-dev-db-1
docker inspect --format '{{.State.Health.Status}}' job-logger-dev-db-1

The database service healthcheck has a startup grace period, and Compose starts the app after the database container is started rather than aborting the stack on the DB health status. The app entrypoint waits briefly for real database connectivity and runs migrations when it can. If the database remains unavailable, the web process stays up in temporary-service mode and retries normal startup work before serving DB-backed pages again. If the DB container remains unhealthy, treat it as a real database startup problem. The most common causes are a stale dev stack volume with different PostgreSQL credentials, a damaged/incompatible data directory, or an environment mismatch in the deployed stack.

For disposable dev stacks only, the fastest reset is to remove the failed dev stack and its dev PostgreSQL volume, then redeploy with the intended .env. Do not remove the production postgres_data volume unless the stored job history is intentionally being discarded or a current backup has been verified.

PostgreSQL Password Troubleshooting

The PostgreSQL Docker image only applies POSTGRES_PASSWORD when the database volume is first initialized. If .env is changed later while keeping the same postgres_data volume, the app can show the temporary service page while retrying the database, or PostgreSQL can log password authentication failed for user "job_logger".

Do not delete the database volume to fix a password mismatch unless the stored job history is intentionally being discarded. Instead, update the existing PostgreSQL role password to match the current container environment:

docker compose exec -T db sh -c 'psql -U "$POSTGRES_USER" -d "$POSTGRES_DB" -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -v database_user="$POSTGRES_USER" -v database_password="$POSTGRES_PASSWORD"' <<'SQL'
ALTER ROLE :"database_user" WITH PASSWORD :'database_password';
SQL

Then recreate the app container so migrations and FastAPI reconnect with the current credentials:

docker compose up -d --build --force-recreate app nginx

Tunnel 502 Troubleshooting

A Cloudflare 502 means the request reached Cloudflare and the tunnel connector, but cloudflared could not reach the origin service configured for the public hostname.

Check these items first:

  • Confirm .env exists and contains a real CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL_TOKEN.

  • Confirm the Cloudflare tunnel origin (what your Cloudflare connector is configured to reach) is http://127.0.0.1:11030 by default, or http://127.0.0.1:<your-http-port> when you changed HTTP_PORT.

  • Confirm the public web path reaches the app login from the Docker host:

    curl -i http://127.0.0.1:11030/login

  • Confirm the public health/API paths stay blocked at Nginx. These should return HTTP 404 with the app-styled web service error page:

    curl -i http://127.0.0.1:11030/health/live
curl -i http://127.0.0.1:11030/openapi.json

  • Confirm Nginx is reachable through the same origin address used by Cloudflare:

    curl -i http://127.0.0.1:11030/login

  • Confirm the app is healthy from inside the app container:

    docker compose exec app python -c "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://127.0.0.1:8000/health/live', timeout=3).read()"

  • Review tunnel connector logs:

    docker compose logs --tail=100 cloudflared

  • Confirm app-level host filtering is not rejecting the Cloudflare hostname:

    docker compose logs --tail=120 app | rg "Invalid host header|Invalid Host header|Cloudflare Access"

  • Run the bundled tunnel diagnostic script:

    scripts/diagnose_tunnel.sh

The work-entry home route is /home. The app also redirects /mobile and /moble to /home to preserve old bookmarks and avoid a common typo after the tunnel is working.

Mobile App Mode

Job Logger includes progressive web app metadata so a phone can install it from the browser and launch it without the normal browser toolbar.

Use the Cloudflare HTTPS hostname on the phone, sign in, open the browser menu, and choose the platform's install action such as Add to Home Screen or Install App. After launching from that home-screen icon, the app uses standalone display mode, the managed web user's saved page theme, safe-area padding for phone status bars, and disabled page overscroll/bounce behavior. The authenticated top navigation remains visible while scrolling on both phone-sized and full-browser pages.

Managed users can configure driving navigation on /config. Supported choices are None, Device Default, Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps. Enabling navigation requires a private Home address. Work then shows compact Home and Office buttons, and selected ticket context in Work in Progress and Review can show Navigate to Destination. Device Default uses the Android geo: handler, Apple Maps on iPhone/iPad, and a browser map on desktop. Navigation controls and automatic On-Site service-call directions are enabled on phones and tablets by default. Desktop browsers require the separate default-off Allow navigation on full web version option. Starting a verified On-Site service call opens directions only after the local job commits; Remote service calls never launch directions automatically.

Set NAVIGATION_OFFICE_ADDRESS to provide the optional deployment-wide Office destination. A user may save a private office override, or leave it blank to use the global value. Customer destinations are resolved transiently from the service-call location, ticket location, primary company location, then company main address in Autotask; they are not copied into local job or audit records.

The service worker is intentionally network-only. It supports standalone app launch behavior but does not cache authenticated pages, job data, Autotask responses, transcription data, raw audio, or diagnostics. Static CSS and JavaScript links include a content-derived version value so browser and installed-app shells fetch changed assets after deploy without requiring an application version bump. Favicon and Apple touch icon links use the same content-derived version value. The installed-app icon comes from the web manifest and uses the icon-format Job Logger artwork through dedicated install-icon filenames so the dark app-icon background fills the mobile home-screen icon frame. The manifest intentionally advertises non-maskable icons because launcher maskable cropping can over-zoom this artwork. Mobile operating systems may update that icon after the manifest and icon URL/content change, but some installed PWA shells keep the original home-screen icon until the app is removed and installed again.

Authentication And Device Sign-In

Local app sessions expire after APP_SESSION_TIMEOUT_HOURS, defaulting to 12. The value is measured in hours and is used for both the signed session cookie lifetime and server-side login timestamp checks. After it expires, users must sign in again. The config super admin can also use Diagnostics to log out all managed web users without ending the current super-admin session. Disabled managed web-user accounts are signed out on their next request and, after the correct password is submitted, the login screen says the account is disabled. Set ADMIN_CONTACT_EMAIL to show a contact address in disabled-account messages. The Add user page can also send a checked-by-default welcome email when the new user has a stored email address and account email delivery is configured. The welcome email calls the app Autotask Job Logger and includes the app link, username, temporary-password instructions, mobile install steps, and support contact, but not the temporary password. The per-user password reset email action can send a reset link from the Users page even when the public Forgot password? self-service flow is disabled.

The config super-admin account still signs in with APP_USERNAME and APP_PASSWORD only. Managed web users can sign in with their username/password or with registered device sign-in. The app labels this feature Device sign-in because the underlying passkey can use a phone, browser profile, security key, fingerprint, Face ID, PIN, pattern, or another local unlock method. Device sign-in can be set up from /config after a normal password login. On phone-sized layouts, the /home page prompts managed users without a registered credential only once after each successful login, while /config always keeps setup available. Job Logger stores only the public credential ID, public key, signature counter, and device metadata. The phone, browser, or passkey provider keeps the private key and performs the local unlock prompt.

Device sign-in is intentionally a fallback-friendly option. If the browser does not support passkeys, the device cancels, or signature verification fails, the normal username/password login form remains available above the Device sign-in button.

On /config, Device sign-in is the final card after Navigation and Workflow. The login page also has a default-off This is a public device checkbox for password sign-in. When selected, Job Logger signs the user out after 15 minutes of inactivity and hides new Device sign-in setup prompts for that session. The checkbox appears below Forgot password?, keeps its extra description in a hover hint, and disables the Device sign-in button until it is unchecked.

Self-service password reset is disabled by default. When PASSWORD_RESET_ENABLED=true, configure APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL, mail delivery settings, and optional Cloudflare Turnstile settings first. The same public URL and mail delivery settings are used for optional new-user welcome emails. Production startup fails closed if the public URL or mail dependencies are missing for enabled password reset, and it also requires Turnstile keys when TURNSTILE_ENABLED=true. Reset requests are non-enumerating, send email only when exactly one enabled managed user has the submitted email address, store only HMAC token hashes, expire links after 24 hours by default, invalidate old managed-user sessions after a successful reset, and keep reset routes behind Cloudflare Access when configured. Three consecutive emails that do not resolve to exactly one enabled account locally lock that trusted request IP and, when Cloudflare blocking is configured, add it to the app-managed Cloudflare block list. A matching enabled account resets that consecutive-failure counter. Browser responses remain non-enumerating.

Password reset settings:

  • PASSWORD_RESET_ENABLED, default false
  • PASSWORD_RESET_TOKEN_TTL_HOURS, default 24
  • PASSWORD_RESET_FAILED_ATTEMPTS_BLOCK_THRESHOLD, default 3
  • APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL, such as https://logger.example.com
  • MAIL_ENABLED, MAIL_FROM_EMAIL, MAIL_FROM_NAME, and MAIL_MODE. MAIL_MODE=smtp uses MAIL_SMTP_HOST, MAIL_SMTP_PORT, MAIL_SMTP_USERNAME, MAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD, MAIL_SMTP_STARTTLS, MAIL_SMTP_SSL, and MAIL_SMTP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS. MAIL_MODE=smtp2go sends through SMTP2GO's API using MAIL_SMTP2GO_API_KEY.
  • TURNSTILE_ENABLED, TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY, TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY, TURNSTILE_VERIFY_URL, and TURNSTILE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS. Set TURNSTILE_ENABLED=false to run password reset without the human-verification widget.

Set these passkey variables for production when needed:

  • WEBAUTHN_RP_NAME, the label shown by the browser, defaults to Job Logger.
  • WEBAUTHN_RP_ID, optional relying-party domain override, such as logger.example.com.
  • WEBAUTHN_ORIGIN, optional expected browser origin, such as https://logger.example.com. Set this for Cloudflare Tunnel deployments as an explicit production pin; nginx also preserves the forwarded HTTPS scheme so the app can derive the correct origin when this is unset.

Application Version And Changelog

Job Logger uses source-controlled semantic versioning. The runtime version is defined in job_logger/version.py, mirrored in pyproject.toml and the root VERSION file, and is currently v1.4.0. Version history starts at v1.0.0.

Authenticated pages show a Help button in the shared header. /help starts with Ask AI for help, shows Operational Status, then shows the current version card with a little space between each card, Released: MM.DD.YYYY when that version has a release date, and a version changelog button that opens concise release notes in an overlay. When monitored app health is degraded, the top-bar alert opens the Operational Status card directly and uses yellow for warning or red for critical. The Help card uses the same colors and green when all monitored checks are operational. /changelog remains available as an authenticated fallback page and uses WEB_CHANGELOG.md as its source. The changelog shows version numbers without brackets, uses MM.DD.YYYY dates for released versions, and lists short user-facing changes for each version. Source entries in WEB_CHANGELOG.md use applicable non-empty Added, Changed, and Fixed subsections like the detailed changelog. CHANGELOG.md remains the detailed source changelog for operators and agents. WEB_CHANGELOG.md is only for user-facing changes; keep diagnostics, debug-page, super-admin-only, operator-only, and agent-facing notes in CHANGELOG.md only. The Help and changelog views use the same authenticated session, dark/light theme variables, and responsive layout system as the rest of the app. When Docker/runtime DEV_BUILD=true, the authenticated Help button is yellow on desktop and phone layouts, and /help shows the current version with DEV, such as v1.4.0 DEV.

Provider Modes

Speech To Text

TRANSCRIPTION_PROVIDER=faster_whisper uses the local faster-whisper package to transcribe job notes inside the Docker app container. Use TRANSCRIPTION_PROVIDER=faster_whisper_remote to send the same browser audio to a trusted remote faster-whisper API while keeping local transcription available as an option.

Set these variables for local transcription:

  • FASTER_WHISPER_MODEL
  • FASTER_WHISPER_DEVICE
  • FASTER_WHISPER_COMPUTE_TYPE
  • FASTER_WHISPER_DOWNLOAD_ROOT
  • FASTER_WHISPER_LOCAL_FILES_ONLY
  • FASTER_WHISPER_LANGUAGE
  • FASTER_WHISPER_BEAM_SIZE
  • FASTER_WHISPER_CPU_THREADS
  • FASTER_WHISPER_MEMORY_LIMIT
  • FASTER_WHISPER_INITIAL_PROMPT

The Docker Compose stack stores faster-whisper model files in the faster_whisper_models volume mounted at /models/faster-whisper. This keeps the model local and avoids redownloading it on every container restart. Docker Swarm stores the same path under the selected production or dev storage root in models/faster-whisper/, so rescheduled app tasks can reuse the model cache on any node. Set FASTER_WHISPER_LOCAL_FILES_ONLY=true after the model exists locally if the container should not attempt any model download. FASTER_WHISPER_CPU_THREADS defaults to 8 and is passed directly to faster-whisper's local model loader. FASTER_WHISPER_MEMORY_LIMIT defaults to 8g and controls the Docker Compose memory limit for the app container, where local transcription runs. FASTER_WHISPER_INITIAL_PROMPT is passed to faster-whisper as an initial formatting prompt. The default prompt asks the model to render spoken punctuation words such as comma, period, and question mark as punctuation marks instead of spelling those words. Set it blank in .env to disable that formatting hint. For reliable local transcription, run the Docker stack on a server with at least 8 CPU cores and 10 GB of RAM so the app container can use its default 8-thread, 8 GB faster-whisper allocation while leaving memory for PostgreSQL, Nginx, and the host operating system.

For remote faster-whisper, set:

  • FASTER_WHISPER_REMOTE_URL
  • FASTER_WHISPER_REMOTE_API_KEY when the remote service requires a bearer token.
  • FASTER_WHISPER_REMOTE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS

Job Logger posts multipart form data to FASTER_WHISPER_REMOTE_URL with an audio file field plus optional model, language, beam_size, and initial_prompt fields. The remote service should return JSON with a text field containing the transcript. HTTP remote URLs must stay on loopback or private-network hosts; public remote transcription endpoints must use HTTPS.

TRANSCRIPTION_PROVIDER=mock proves the transcription path without loading a local model. TRANSCRIPTION_PROVIDER=disabled rejects transcription attempts.

The active-job and review-detail recorder streams MediaRecorder chunks to WebSocket /jobs/{job_id}/description/audio/stream. The first WebSocket message carries metadata and the CSRF token, then binary audio chunks are sent as soon as the browser produces them. The server starts a best-effort interim transcription from the first buffered chunk. The Record button uses an orange treatment and sits beside AI Cleanup when cleanup is enabled on Work in Progress and review detail. It becomes a Stop recording button while browser capture is active. Stopping capture lets the browser flush the final chunk, sends WebSocket finish, returns the button to its idle label, keeps that disabled button in the shared loading state, and shows clear text progress: Sending data to server..., then Converting audio to text..., then Conversion complete. after the final saved transcript is returned. Status lines do not show spinners; the active button shows the spinner. A bounded error response is shown instead if the stream or provider fails. Review recording is available only before the job has been submitted to Autotask.

Raw audio is not stored by default. The app keeps the streamed recording in memory only, sends buffered bytes to the local provider through a temporary file, deletes that temporary file, and stores only the returned text and safe status. The existing MAX_AUDIO_UPLOAD_BYTES setting also limits streamed recordings.

AI Summary Cleanup

AI summary cleanup is separate from speech-to-text. It sends the current editable summary text to the configured AI provider through the Job Logger server, then replaces the summary textarea with the cleaned text returned by that provider.

The feature is disabled by default. Configure it in Docker or .env:

  • AI_CLEANUP_ENABLED=true
  • AI_CLEANUP_PROVIDER=gemini, grok, ollama, or lm_studio
  • AI_CLEANUP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, default 20
  • AI_CLEANUP_MAX_INPUT_CHARS, default 12000
  • AI_CLEANUP_INSTRUCTIONS

Job Logger sends AI_CLEANUP_INSTRUCTIONS through the provider's instruction channel, such as the system message or local-provider system field. The visible summary prompt contains the cleanup task, minimal job context, and the summary text without duplicating those configured instructions.

For Gemini free-tier cleanup, configure:

  • GEMINI_API_KEY
  • GEMINI_CLEANUP_MODEL, default gemini-3.5-flash
  • GEMINI_API_BASE, default https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/

Gemini cleanup uses the same OpenAI-compatible GEMINI_API_BASE endpoint setting as AI Help while keeping GEMINI_CLEANUP_MODEL and AI_CLEANUP_INSTRUCTIONS separate from the Help model and support prompt.

For GroqCloud free/start-plan cleanup, configure:

  • GROQ_API_KEY
  • GROQ_CLEANUP_MODEL, default llama-3.1-8b-instant
  • GROQ_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL, default https://api.groq.com/openai/v1

The provider value grok uses GroqCloud. GROK_API_KEY, GROK_CLEANUP_MODEL, and GROK_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL are accepted as compatibility fallbacks, but the GROQ_* names match Groq's official docs.

For Ollama cleanup on loopback or a private LAN, configure:

  • OLLAMA_CLEANUP_MODEL, default llama3.1
  • OLLAMA_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL, default http://127.0.0.1:11434/api for non-Docker runs

For Docker Compose, .env.example and docker-compose.yml default the Ollama URL to http://host.docker.internal:11434/api so the app container can reach an Ollama process running on the same host. The selected model must already be available to that Ollama server. To use an Ollama server elsewhere on the private network, set the base URL to that server's private IP and API path, for example OLLAMA_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL=http://172.25.1.99:11234/api. Job Logger appends /generate to that base URL. If Job Logger is running in Docker, the Ollama server must listen on an interface reachable from the app container; keep firewall rules tight and do not expose the model server publicly.

For LM Studio cleanup on loopback or a private LAN, configure:

  • LM_STUDIO_CLEANUP_MODEL, default local-model
  • LM_STUDIO_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL, default http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1 for non-Docker runs
  • LM_STUDIO_API_KEY, optional, only if the local LM Studio server requires it

For Docker Compose, .env.example and docker-compose.yml default the LM Studio URL to http://host.docker.internal:1234/v1. Set LM_STUDIO_CLEANUP_MODEL to the model identifier shown by LM Studio for the loaded model. To use an LM Studio server elsewhere on the private network, set the base URL to that server's private IP and OpenAI-compatible /v1 path, for example LM_STUDIO_CLEANUP_API_BASE_URL=http://172.25.1.99:11234/v1. Job Logger appends /chat/completions to that base URL. If Job Logger is running in Docker, the LM Studio server must be reachable from the app container; keep firewall rules tight and do not expose the model server publicly.

Ollama and LM Studio cleanup URLs are intentionally restricted to loopback, Docker host aliases, or private-network IP ranges such as 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x, and 192.168.x.x. Public URLs and arbitrary public hostnames are rejected.

When enabled, active mobile jobs and review detail show AI Cleanup with the summary box. On active mobile jobs, Record and AI Cleanup share one row; on unsubmitted review detail, recording and cleanup remain available with the review layout. Cleaned text replaces the textarea and mobile saves it through the existing active-summary save endpoint. Cleanup progress, success, and failure details use the same plain-text status line as audio recording; the AI Cleanup button itself shows the shared spinner while cleanup is in progress, and cleanup waits until audio recording/transcription is finished. On review detail, the cleaned text replaces the textarea; non-submitted jobs autosave as usual, while submitted jobs still require Submit changes to patch the existing Autotask record. After a successful cleanup, the button changes to Revert cleanup and can restore the pre-cleanup notes after page reload or navigation. Submitted Review entries can keep a pending cleaned draft across reloads, but Autotask is still updated only through Submit changes. The app stores the pre-cleanup notes on the job only for that explicit revert workflow and clears them after revert or successful Autotask finalization. It also clears stale revert text after AI_CLEANUP_REVERT_RETENTION_HOURS, which defaults to 24.

AI cleanup requests require the local authenticated session and CSRF token. The server sends bounded summary text plus minimal job context to the selected provider and records only metadata such as provider, model, source, and text lengths in the audit log. Do not put Gemini or Groq keys, private-network provider API keys, private cleanup instructions, or customer summary text in source control.

Provider setup and data-handling docs:

AI Help

The Help page is available to every signed-in user. It starts with Ask AI for help, but the question-answer assistant is disabled until configured. The page also shows operational status and the current version card with the version changelog overlay button.

Set these variables to enable one-question help answers:

  • AI_HELP_ENABLED=true
  • AI_HELP_PROVIDER=gemini
  • GEMINI_API_KEY, the Google AI Studio API key
  • GEMINI_MODEL, default gemini-3.5-flash
  • GEMINI_API_BASE, default https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/
  • AI_HELP_MAX_TOKENS, default 800
  • AI_HELP_TEMPERATURE, default 0.2
  • AI_HELP_INSTRUCTIONS, the server-side support prompt sent before the user's question

Job Logger calls Gemini's OpenAI-compatible chat-completions API from the server. Set GEMINI_API_BASE to the OpenAI-compatible base URL above; Job Logger appends /chat/completions when needed and also accepts a full .../chat/completions endpoint without appending it twice. The browser never sees the API key. Each answer is stateless: the app does not store help questions or answers in the database. The assistant uses bounded context from USER_MANUAL.md, WEB_CHANGELOG.md, AGENTS.md, agent skill files, and selected app source to answer end-user support questions. It refuses source code, deployment, secret, credential, and internal configuration questions. Keep AI_HELP_INSTRUCTIONS focused on how the assistant should answer end-user Job Logger support questions, and do not put secrets or private deployment values in it. If Gemini rejects the credentials, confirm the running container was recreated with the current key and that the Google AI Studio key has Gemini API access. Set LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG temporarily while troubleshooting AI Help. The app logs sanitized AI Help request metadata to the console, including a trace id, provider/model, question length, context source count, Gemini HTTP status, provider error code when available, and timing. /help/ask failures that return 400 also log a route-level error with the trace id, status code, error class, and bounded detail. It does not log Gemini API keys, full questions, source context, prompts, or answers. The Help page also shows a general operational-status card. Ordinary managed users see only whether monitored app health is operational or degraded; Diagnostics-authorized users see the specific monitored issue details.

Autotask

Autotask is mandatory for normal production use because the app uses Autotask Companies, CompanyLocations, and Tickets for verified ticket and navigation context. Production must run with AUTOTASK_PROVIDER=autotask. The mock provider is only for tests or isolated development.

AUTOTASK_PROVIDER=autotask enables live REST API calls. Set:

  • AUTOTASK_BASE_URL
  • AUTOTASK_USERNAME
  • AUTOTASK_SECRET
  • AUTOTASK_API_INTEGRATION_CODE

Job Logger limits concurrent live Autotask REST calls so browser lookups, diagnostics, and submissions do not push the tenant past Autotask's thread threshold. AUTOTASK_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS defaults to 2 and must be 1, 2, or 3. Keep the default unless you know no other Job Logger instance or Autotask integration is sharing the same tenant/API user. Requests wait up to AUTOTASK_REQUEST_SLOT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, defaulting to 30, for a slot. PostgreSQL-backed deployments also coordinate this limiter across app processes that share the same database.

Do not set a global AUTOTASK_RESOURCE_ID. Each managed web user has a required Autotask resource ID on /users; Job Logger uses that user-specific resource ID for service-call lookup and for TimeEntries.resourceID when that user submits work. Job Logger does not send Autotask's optional ImpersonationResourceId header, so Docker and .env files must not define a global impersonation resource.

Do not set static role or billing-code IDs. When a reviewed job is submitted, Job Logger re-queries the selected ticket and uses that ticket's assignedResourceroleID for TimeEntries.roleID when available. If the ticket does not return an assigned role, Job Logger first checks whether the submitting web user is a secondary resource on that ticket and uses that ticket-specific TicketSecondaryResources.roleID. If no matching secondary resource role exists, it uses the ticket's assignedResourceID to resolve that resource's default or single active ResourceServiceDeskRoles.roleID, then uses the submitting web user's configured default service-desk role when one has been selected on /users, then falls back to the submitting web user's default or single active service-desk role. The time entry still uses the submitting managed user's Autotask resource ID as TimeEntries.resourceID. Billing code / Work Type is also ticket-driven: Job Logger omits TimeEntries.billingCodeID so Autotask inherits the selected ticket's billingCodeID on create without requiring separate Allocation Code edit permission.

The super-admin /users page can query Autotask Resources through the server while adding or editing a web user. Resource names are displayed in Autotask's Last, First format in a dropdown-style picker, and choosing one fills the required resource ID field. If Autotask returns an email address for the chosen resource, the email is saved with the managed web-user account and displayed in the Users table for future user-scoped features. The form can also load active ResourceServiceDeskRoles for the selected resource, query Roles.name for human-readable labels when allowed, and save one optional default service-desk role ID. That configured role is used only as a time-entry fallback after ticket-assigned role sources fail. If the optional Roles lookup is not permitted, the picker still works with numeric role labels. Each table row also shows the stored email, default role ID metadata, and the last successful managed-user login time or Never. The browser never receives Autotask credentials and cannot query Autotask directly.

Autotask ticket status picklist IDs vary by tenant. Job Logger uses the selected local app status to patch Tickets.status during time-entry submission and submitted Submit changes resubmission, so the Autotask API user must be allowed to update ticket workflow status. Configure all status IDs:

  • AUTOTASK_STATUS_IN_PROGRESS_ID
  • AUTOTASK_STATUS_WAITING_CUSTOMER_ID
  • AUTOTASK_STATUS_WAITING_PARTS_ID
  • AUTOTASK_STATUS_FOLLOW_UP_ID
  • AUTOTASK_STATUS_COMPLETE_ID

Open-ticket and service-call selection do not use the Autotask Tickets endpoint for status changes; they only default the local editable ticket status to In progress. Autotask ticket status writes wait until the complete time entry or ticket note is submitted, or until an already submitted record is explicitly edited.

Managed web users can enable Submit from Work in Progress on /config. This option is not a general workflow enable/disable setting. It only controls whether ending a completed Work in Progress entry sends it directly to Autotask or sends it to Review first. The option is off by default so existing accounts keep the review-first workflow. When enabled, the active Work in Progress finish button changes to Submit to Autotask for time entries or Submit note for ticket notes and uses the same idempotent Autotask submission service as Review acceptance. Direct time-entry submission still requires the selected ticket number, ticket status, rounded end time, verified Autotask client, and summary notes. Direct ticket-note submission requires the selected ticket, ticket status, note title, and note description. If those local fields are missing, the job stays active so the technician can correct it. If Autotask itself rejects the submission, the job moves to the failed submission review state with the safe error message and can be retried from Review.

The mobile page can search Autotask companies while entering the client name. Selecting a company stores the verified display name and Autotask company ID with the job so open-ticket lookup targets the exact selected company. Typed client text that was not selected from Autotask search results is rejected and not saved. During active work, that selected Autotask client can still be changed until a ticket is selected, so the technician can switch clients and load the new client's open tickets. After ticket selection, the client is shown as read-only for the job so the client name cannot drift away from the selected ticket. Ticket numbers are populated from open-ticket selection instead of manual entry. If an active job is opened from Review before any client has been selected, Review detail shows the same authenticated Autotask company search and saves the first verified client/company choice before ticket lookup. Typing in that Review client search does not trigger review autosave or summary-note warnings.

Autotask company search results and selected-company metadata are cached in-process for two hours because company names rarely change. Empty company search results are not treated as authoritative cache hits, so a company missing from cache can still be queried from Autotask. Ticket status picklist labels and other Autotask lookup data remain on a 15-minute cache. Recently displayed open-ticket selection lists are cached server-side for two minutes so selecting a ticket that was just shown does not re-query Autotask on the critical tap path. The initial /home page and blank Start Work route do not run an Autotask contactability check. Live company and ticket queries request MaxRecords=500 and follow Autotask pagination links so larger tenants are not limited to the first page of results. Pagination is bounded and fails safely instead of silently showing partial customer or ticket lists. For POST query pagination, Job Logger follows nextPageUrl with POST and the original query body because Autotask rejects GET follow-up calls for those resources.

The mobile and review pages can query open Autotask tickets from the selected job's stored Autotask company ID and verified client name. If no tickets have been loaded, the whole Open tickets panel is clickable and keyboard-activatable. On mobile, that panel saves the current verified active-job client selection before loading open tickets. On Review, an empty-client active job can first save a selected Autotask company through /review/{job_id}/client; after that, the normal open ticket lookup uses the stored company selection. Saved clients do not auto-load tickets when the Work in Progress card renders; click the panel to load them. Both mobile and review ticket lookup show the spinner loading state while Autotask data is being fetched or a selected ticket is being saved. Open-ticket choices show the ticket number, title, Autotask creation date as Start, dueDateTime as Due by, ticket status, company name, and detected Remote, On-Site, or Not specified work-location label from the ticket title and description. Remote/On-Site choices use the same color treatment as service-call cards on both Work in Progress and Review. Selecting a returned ticket fills the mobile job's hidden ticket number, stores the selected ticket title for the review detail heading, stores the bounded ticket description for read-only context, and automatically saves the active-job changes or review ticket selection. The mobile Work in Progress card shows the selected ticket number, ticket name, ticket status, and ticket description context after selection. If Autotask returns no ticket description, Work in Progress and Review still show the ticket description card with a clear no-description message. Selection does not update Autotask ticket status. It stores verified local ticket metadata and defaults the editable local ticket status to In progress; the first Autotask write waits until the full time entry is submitted or an already submitted entry is explicitly edited/deleted. After an open ticket is selected, the stored client name becomes read-only for that job everywhere, including Work in Progress and Review. After an authenticated lookup, Work in Progress and Review show Ticket notes and Past time entries buttons when the selected ticket has usable history, or disabled No Notes and No past entries buttons when none is available. Service Desk Notification ticket notes, notes with titles that start with Workflow Rule, and notes with titles that start with Some actions did not occur are treated as system noise and filtered out. Notes are shown newest first with two-line title cards. Past time entries list the resource, local start/stop time, and hours, and selecting one shows its summary of work. Home, Office, and Navigate to Destination use the shared subtle blue navigation treatment. On phones, Navigate to Destination uses its own full-width row, while Ticket notes and Past time entries share a separate compact row in the selected ticket context. Navigate to Destination sits immediately above Entry type and is shown only for time entries; selecting Ticket note hides it. Long ticket descriptions stay inside a scrollable read-only box instead of expanding the mobile page indefinitely; phone-sized layouts cap that visible box at about 12 lines, and wider layouts cap it at about 25 lines. On the review page, the stored ticket number, ticket description, and client name are read-only identity/context fields; review save and submit use the stored values instead of trusting form posts. Once a job has a ticket number, the open-ticket picker is hidden for that job.

When an active job slot is available, the mobile start panel also lists Autotask service calls assigned to the logged-in web user's Autotask resource ID for the selected local date. The mobile page renders first with a loading state and no synchronous Autotask calls. After the window load event, the browser fetches /home/service-calls so slow Autotask service-call lookups show progress instead of delaying the whole start screen. The compact date navigator can move to the previous or next day, and tapping the displayed day opens the app's calendar chooser with Today, Cancel, and Set controls. Today, yesterday, and tomorrow are labeled like Today (Saturday); other dates show the full month, ordinal day, and weekday, such as June 19th (Friday), without the year. Each service-call choice shows the client name, the detected Remote or On-Site value from the service-call details text, its scheduled local date, the local start/end time range such as 4:00pm-5:00pm, and the associated ticket title. Remote and On-Site cards use stronger distinct accent colors and badges so scheduled call type is easy to scan without wasting mobile screen space. Service-call options are filtered by local Job Logger history for the current managed user: if that user already has a job for the same ticket number with the editable local ticket status set to Complete or Follow up, the service call is hidden even when that time entry has not yet been submitted to Autotask. The start endpoint applies the same filter before accepting a submitted service-call ID. Tapping a service call starts an active job with the server-verified ticket number, ticket title, bounded ticket description, client name, company ID, and detected work-location mode. It defaults the local editable ticket status to In progress without updating Autotask. The browser submits only the service-call ticket association ID, selected date, and CSRF token; the server re-checks that date's resource-specific service-call list before creating the job. If service-call lookup fails because permissions are missing, the blank Start Work path remains available.

Service-call lookup requires the Autotask API user to read ServiceCalls, ServiceCallTickets, and ServiceCallTicketResources, in addition to the Companies and Tickets permissions already required by the app.

The shared page data is styled through app.css, then viewport-specific phone.css or desktop.css loads automatically with media queries so phones and desktop browsers get appropriately sized layouts. In a full browser view, the /home Home screen lays out Start Work beside the service-call list, and Work in Progress puts job details beside notes and finish actions for easier scanning. Active Work in Progress cards show an editable Job date calendar with (Today), (Yesterday), or (Tomorrow) inside the date box when applicable, and changing it saves the selected local work date before Review or submission. Other dates show only the selected date. Active cards also use distinct slot shading so two active jobs are easier to distinguish. When two jobs are active, the most recently started job appears above the earlier job. Work in Progress and Review start/end time fields open a 15-minute time dropdown centered on the currently selected time while still allowing the -15 and +15 step buttons. Full-browser Work in Progress and Review detail cards group Entry type with Work type, Ticket status with Job date, and Start time with End time, with duration centered beneath the time row. Paired full-browser Review detail cards split their rows evenly, while full-width detail rows stay full width. Work in Progress also keeps Client name and Ticket name together on one row once a ticket is selected, then shows Ticket number full width with ticket-history buttons under the number. Ticket description stays full width. The full-browser active-card finish/delete row sits directly below the Record and AI Cleanup row with recording and cleanup status text below all action buttons. On phone-sized Review detail, Record and AI Cleanup status text also stays below the Review action buttons. Phone-sized authenticated layouts hide the brand mark and desktop logout button. Managed web users see Work and Review left-aligned, then Help, Config, optional Diagnostics, and logout right-aligned. The Work icon links to /home and uses the same work-entry symbol as the full-browser Work nav button. The config super admin sees Users and Review on the left, with Help, Diagnostics, and logout on the right. Phone nav icons use one larger shared size inside the compact buttons. The mobile logout icon submits the normal CSRF-protected /logout form. Full-width /home, review, debug, and other non-mobile pages keep the explicit desktop logout button. Mobile submit actions show a loading overlay once the tap is accepted so slow redirects or Autotask lookups do not look like ignored buttons; rounded start/stop -15 and +15 adjustments skip the full-page overlay so those small time changes feel immediate. Work in Progress and Review detail show the rounded duration centered under the start/end time controls. The value updates as those times change. Each Work in Progress card can switch between Time entry and Ticket note before Autotask submission. Ticket note mode changes Job date to Note Date, hides the start/end time controls while remembering their values, hides the duration, keeps Work type visible as a disabled greyed-out Remote/On-Site card, shows a centered required note-title field above the note description, and changes the finish/delete labels to note wording. Shared switch pills use green for Time entry or Remote selections and orange for Ticket note or On-Site selections. Both time entries and notes include an Append to resolution checkbox, checked by default. In active mobile Work in Progress cards, End Work, End Note, or the direct-submit variant shares a row with the destructive delete action to keep the active-card controls compact, with save, recording, and AI Cleanup status messages directly below the action buttons. Active jobs selected on Review detail also show the matching end/delete labels, and the button returns to that review detail after the job is ended. The app also queries Tickets by ticketNumber, creates either a TimeEntries row or a customer-visible TicketNotes row, and records every attempt in submission_attempts.

After a job is successfully submitted to Autotask, ticket and client identity stay read-only, and the entry type can no longer be changed. The selected review detail allows job date, start time, end time, summary notes, work location, append-to-resolution, and ticket status edits for time entries through Submit changes, which patches the existing TimeEntries row instead of creating a duplicate entry. For ticket notes, Submit changes updates the existing TicketNotes row with note title, note description, append-to-resolution, and ticket status. Submit changes also patches Tickets.status to match the selected Job Logger status, including temporarily moving a previously Complete ticket to In progress before the external record patch when Autotask requires that sequence. Phone-sized workflow cards use the same scan order on Review and Work in Progress: Entry type, Work type, Ticket status, Job date, Start time, End time, then duration. The selected Review detail then shows Ticket number and its ticket-history buttons before Ticket description. The selected detail keeps the external Autotask record ID hidden because it is only needed internally for updates and deletion. The same submitted detail also has Delete From Autotask, which deletes the existing Autotask record and returns the local job to review without removing the local job record. If Autotask refuses the delete, the job remains submitted and the safe failure message is shown in review. The selected detail then shows a dialog that can purge the local Job Logger review entry only; that fallback warns that the Autotask record may still exist. Save, accept/resend, retry, ticket selection, entry-type conversion, and local delete cleanup remain blocked for submitted jobs. The local delete action may remove active or other unsubmitted local jobs from the selected review detail when the logged-in managed web user owns the job.

The selected job's audit timeline is collapsed by default and can be expanded from the review detail when troubleshooting or checking history. Automatic summary-note autosaves are not shown there; the timeline focuses on explicit job workflow, transcription, review decisions, submission, and cleanup actions. Successful Autotask submissions appear as their own job activity.

The mobile Work in Progress card stores a work-location mode of Remote or On-Site for time entries, defaulting to Remote. This mode does not appear in the mobile summary text. The review list shows each time entry's Remote or On-Site mode and shows Ticket note for notes. Review detail keeps the Remote/On-Site Work type card visible but disabled for Ticket notes, and allows the choice to be changed only for time entries. Changing it updates the visible Autotask-bound summary prefix, such as Remote. Replaced firewall or On-Site. Replaced firewall, so the prefix can be corrected before submission or Submit changes. Ticket-note descriptions remain unprefixed. The server parses time-entry prefixes back into the stored work-location mode and keeps local note storage unprefixed.

Ticket TimeEntries payloads use the selected ticket's assignedResourceroleID for roleID when available. If Autotask returns the ticket without that assigned role, Job Logger first checks TicketSecondaryResources for the submitting web user's ticket-specific role, then uses Tickets.assignedResourceID to resolve that resource's default or single active service-desk role, then uses the submitting web user's configured default service-desk role from /users when present, then falls back to the submitting web user's default or single active ResourceServiceDeskRoles.roleID. Payloads intentionally omit billingCodeID / Allocation Code values; Autotask inherits the selected ticket's Work Type on create, which avoids requiring the API resource to have Allocation Code edit permission for ticket time entries. Existing AUTOTASK_ROLE_ID and AUTOTASK_BILLING_CODE_ID values in older .env files are ignored by the app.

Do not configure a global Autotask impersonation resource. Job Logger uses the logged-in or owning managed web user's saved Autotask resource ID in user-scoped payloads and service-call filters, but live calls do not send the optional Autotask ImpersonationResourceId header. Super-admin Resource setup and debug connectivity checks run without a managed-user context.

The /debug page is available to the config super admin and to managed web users marked Admin on /users. Managed admins get the same Diagnostics buttons and options, but no /users access, no super-admin review scope, and no extra job workflow permissions. Non-admin managed users do not see the Diag menu item, and direct /debug/* requests from those sessions return 403. It shows the source-controlled application version and includes Test Autotask API and Log out web users buttons. The logout button forces all managed web users to sign in again while leaving the config super admin signed in; a managed admin who clicks it is included because that account is a managed web user. The authenticated desktop navigation labels this route as Diag, while the page title remains Diagnostics. All authenticated pages also include a Help button that opens /help; the Help page opens release notes with version changelog. The Diagnostics Autotask check verifies required workflow configuration and the live Companies/Tickets API calls used by the app. The Test Autotask API button is manual and always runs a fresh live check. It is not used by the initial mobile page or blank Start Work route. When cached app health is degraded, every signed-in user sees an exclamation status button in the top bar that opens /help#operational-status. It is yellow for warning and red for critical, while specific Diagnostics details remain limited to Diagnostics-authorized users. It appears for conditions such as low disk space, unavailable database connectivity, high database query latency, high database connection pool pressure, active local login protection or app-managed Cloudflare IP blocks, or a cached Autotask API failure. Autotask failures from any managed user, managed Admin user, or config super admin keep the button visible until the same type of Autotask operation succeeds again. Successful unrelated Autotask requests do not clear another active failure. The top of Diagnostics also shows a yellow warning banner or red critical banner while any monitored app-health issue is active.

The same /debug page also shows compact, paginated successful-login, failed-login, Cloudflare blocked-IP, and Autotask submission-attempt windows. Successful-login, failed-login, and Autotask submission-attempt lists show 7 rows per page without vertical table scrollbars, while Cloudflare blocked IPs show 10 rows per page. Successful and failed local app login attempts are stored as sanitized login_attempts database rows. The Diagnostics tables and downloads include timestamp, client IP, proxy header details, username, user agent, request path, host/proxy metadata, account kind, authentication method, failure reason, and password-present/length metadata for failures. Nginx replaces incoming forwarded client headers with one sanitized client IP before proxying to the app. Diagnostics show that client IP plus the supporting proxy metadata, while local lockout and Cloudflare blocking use the trusted enforcement IP instead of display-only request headers. On phone layouts, wide Diagnostics tables scroll horizontally so row details and actions remain reachable without squeezing every column into the viewport. Successful-login rows use a yellow account chip for the config super admin, a green chip for managed web users, and colored Password or Passkey method pills. The raw submitted password is never stored or displayed. The /debug/logs/login-failures and /debug/logs/login-successes endpoints generate sanitized JSONL downloads from the database for authenticated diagnostics. Password reset audit events store only safe metadata such as hashed submitted email identifiers, user IDs when a unique enabled account was matched, reset row IDs, delivery status, and rate-limit results. They never store raw reset tokens, full reset URLs, submitted passwords, SMTP secrets, Turnstile secrets, cookies, or authorization headers.

Failed-login rows can be hidden from the /debug table by setting a hidden timestamp on the database row. When CLOUDFLARE_IP_BLOCKING_ENABLED=true and CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN plus CLOUDFLARE_ZONE_ID are configured, /debug can create and remove app-managed Cloudflare zone IP Access Rules for failed-login client IPs. Diagnostics can also add a manual Cloudflare IP block with a reason. Failed-login row blocks, manual blocks, and automatic blocks are stored locally with their reason and use only app-managed Cloudflare rules. Job Logger automatically creates a Cloudflare block after CLOUDFLARE_AUTO_BLOCK_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS consecutive failed local logins from the same trusted enforcement IP and submitted username, defaulting to 5. The same threshold locally blocks further password or Device sign-in verification for LOGIN_LOCAL_LOCKOUT_MINUTES, defaulting to 15. A successful password or Device sign-in login for that IP and username resets the counter to zero first. Forgot-password protection separately counts syntactically valid emails that do not resolve to exactly one enabled managed account. At PASSWORD_RESET_FAILED_ATTEMPTS_BLOCK_THRESHOLD, defaulting to 3, the same trusted IP enters local lockout and optional Cloudflare blocking. A unique enabled-account match resets that IP counter without changing the generic browser response. CLOUDFLARE_IP_BLOCK_ALLOWLIST accepts trusted IPs or CIDRs separated by commas or whitespace so home/admin addresses are never app-blocked.

The /debug page also includes a Disk space card for the app-visible root filesystem and AUTOMATIC_BACKUP_DIR. Paths with exactly matching used and total space are combined into one row because they are reporting the same underlying storage. Disk alerts use free space only: warning below APP_HEALTH_DISK_WARNING_FREE_MB, defaulting to 1000 MB, and critical below APP_HEALTH_DISK_CRITICAL_FREE_MB, defaulting to 250 MB. Used percentage stays visible for context but never triggers an alert. Monitor PostgreSQL storage separately unless it is also exposed to the app container. If a monitored mount such as the Swarm backup NFS path becomes temporarily unreadable, Diagnostics reports Storage unavailable as critical and omits unknown usage values. Normal pages remain usable while the mount is repaired; automatic backups keep retrying on their normal hourly schedule and cannot be relied on until storage recovers.

Diagnostics includes a Database card with safe connectivity status, query latency, backend/driver, migration revision, and connection-pool counters. It intentionally hides connection strings, hosts, usernames, passwords, and raw database errors.

Job Logger can send best-effort Pushover notifications to an administrator when monitored app health first degrades, when the active degraded issue set changes, and when all monitored checks are restored. Enable this with PUSHOVER_ENABLED=true, PUSHOVER_USER_KEY, and PUSHOVER_APP_KEY. When DEV_BUILD=true, Job Logger suppresses Pushover notifications regardless of PUSHOVER_ENABLED so dev/test deployments do not alert as production. The monitor runs inside the app process at APP_HEALTH_MONITOR_INTERVAL_SECONDS and uses the same disk, cached Autotask, database status, database latency, database connection-pool pressure, and login protection signals shown by Diagnostics. It does not replace an external uptime monitor: if the host, container, network path, or app process is fully down, the app cannot send its own Pushover message. Use an external monitor against /health/live for full unavailability alerts.

App, Nginx, and cloudflared operational logs go only to stdout/stderr in both Compose and Swarm. Use docker compose logs app, docker service logs job_logger_jlapp, docker service logs job_logger_dev_jldapp, or the configured container log driver for history. LOG_LEVEL controls app stdout/stderr verbosity and must be one of DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, or ERROR.

The app also creates automatic full-database backups at startup and then every hour when AUTOMATIC_BACKUPS_ENABLED=true, which is the default. Docker Compose stores them in ${AUTOMATIC_BACKUP_DIR:-/data/backups}, backed by the automatic_backups Docker volume. Docker Swarm stores them in backups/ under the selected production or dev storage root. Retention keeps the newest 6 hourly backups plus one daily backup for today and one for each of the prior 2 days; expired automatic backups are purged after each successful automatic backup. Diagnostics labels retained automatic backups as Startup or Hourly when that creation metadata is available; older retained files may show no source label.

The /debug page also includes Download Full Backup and Restore Full Backup controls. Each retained automatic backup also has a per-file Download button. Backups are sensitive .json.gz files containing all Job Logger database tables, including managed web-user password hashes and email metadata, jobs, sanitized login attempts, submission attempts, and audit events. Store backup files somewhere private because they contain account, customer, ticket, and work-summary history.

To restore, upload a Job Logger full-backup file on /debug and type RESTORE. Restore validates the archive format, required tables, and columns before deleting current app rows. A successful restore replaces the current app database contents with the backup contents, then records a new restore audit event. Backups from v1.0.2 that predate the Submit from Work in Progress preference restore with that new option defaulted off. Backups that predate the managed-user session invalidation column restore with no users forced out by that missing column. Backups that predate ticket-note entry mode restore jobs as time entries with Append to resolution defaulted on and no note title. The default restore upload cap is 250 MB: MAX_BACKUP_RESTORE_BYTES controls app-side validation and NGINX_RESTORE_MAX_BODY_SIZE controls the matching nginx body limit for /debug/restore.

To restore an automatic backup, use the per-backup restore row on /debug and type RESTORE beside the selected file. The same validation, replacement, and post-restore audit behavior used by uploaded full-backup restores applies.

The Docker Compose database uses the named postgres_data volume mounted at /var/lib/postgresql/data inside the PostgreSQL container. That volume persists across normal container rebuilds and recreates. Do not run docker compose down -v, prune volumes, or change the Compose project/stack name unless you have a verified backup and intend to replace or discard the existing data.

The scripts/discover_autotask_ids.py helper also prints a workflow endpoint preflight section. Ticket-status ID discovery can succeed even when the Autotask API user cannot query Companies or Tickets, so use the preflight result and the /debug failed-operation label when diagnosing Autotask HTTP 500 or permission failures. Some Autotask permission denials are returned as HTTP 500 responses, so check the preflight detail before changing credentials.

When Autotask rejects TimeEntries or TicketNotes creation/update, Job Logger surfaces bounded body-level error details when Autotask provides them. This usually identifies the specific missing permission, invalid role, billing code, resource, or required field more clearly than a generic HTTP 500 message. If the error names ticket status updates or Tickets.status, confirm the API user has ticket workflow permissions and that the AUTOTASK_STATUS_*_ID values match the tenant picklist IDs.

Time Handling

All user-facing dates and times use America/Detroit.

User-facing times display in 12-hour am/pm format. Review forms also accept legacy 24-hour submissions so stale browser pages do not fail during deployment.

All database timestamps are stored in UTC.

Review uses one local job date with a start time and end time. Jobs are not allowed to span multiple dates; edits where the end time is not after the start time on the selected date are rejected.

Start time, end time, and resulting duration are rounded to 15-minute intervals. The active mobile end-work path still protects against a zero-minute rounded duration. Work in Progress rounded start and rounded stop use editable 12-hour time fields like Review detail start and end time, plus -15 and +15 controls and a 15-minute dropdown that opens around the currently selected time; the server still rounds, validates, and saves those active-job edits. Work in Progress and Review detail show that rounded duration as centered labels like 15 Minutes, 1 Hour, or 1.25 Hours. Work shows centered compact boxed total time-entry hours worked today and this week. Review shows today and week total cards, lists jobs newest-first, 10 rows per page, and includes day-hours and week-hours columns for each job owner/date. Ticket notes do not add to hour totals because they do not record time. Time entries also enforce work-location minimums: Remote work must be at least 15 rounded minutes, and On-Site work must be at least 1 rounded hour. Ticket notes do not use start and end times, so these minimums do not apply to notes. Review detail shows the active Work in Progress rounded stop preview when an active job is selected, but review save ignores that displayed end time until the user actually ends the job. Ended review edits must explicitly choose a valid later end time on the same job date.

Ticket Numbers

The mobile page starts jobs without ticket or client fields. After work starts, select a client from Autotask company search on the active job card, then choose an open Autotask ticket from the returned list. The ticket number is not manually editable on mobile; the open-ticket selection fills and saves it automatically.

Open in-progress jobs also have a Delete action on the mobile work card. That action discards only the active job before it reaches review history and records an audit event. Reviewed jobs still use the review workflow actions.

Ticket numbers must use the Autotask format TYYYYMMDD.####, for example T20260326.0018.

Testing

Run local checks with:

python -m compileall job_logger tests
pytest
ruff check .
docker compose config

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Kaseya Autotask quick time entry and work ticket management

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