Stop registering with payload autoloaders

The installer no longer adds the daemon to Payload Manager's or
ps5_autoloader's load order. It writes /data/tailscale/tailscale.elf, adds
the home screen icon and starts the daemon; starting it after a reboot is
left to the user. The daemon's status page and Uninstall no longer look at
autoloaders either.

README.md

@@ -7,8 +7,7 @@ Puts a jailbroken PS5 on your [Tailscale](https://tailscale.com) network.
   your other Tailscale devices.
 - **Stream games to the console over Tailscale.** A Moonlight client on the
   PS5 (such as ProsperoLight) can connect to a Sunshine host on your tailnet.
-- **Starts by itself** after each jailbreak if you use a payload autoloader,
-  and adds a home screen icon for its status page.
+- **Home screen icon** that opens its status page.
 
 It runs the real Tailscale client code (v1.104.0) as a single payload.
 
@@ -36,11 +35,8 @@ VPN here. It runs inside one process:
 - A jailbroken PS5 with an ELF loader listening on port 9021
   (for example [elfldr](https://github.com/ps5-payload-dev/elfldr)).
 - A Tailscale account.
-- Optional: a payload autoloader, so Tailscale starts after every jailbreak.
-  [Payload Manager](https://github.com/itsPLK/ps5-payload-manager) and
-  `ps5_autoloader` folders are detected.
 
-Tested on firmware 13.42 with elfldr 0.26 and Payload Manager 0.5.2.
+Tested on firmware 13.42 with elfldr 0.26.
 
 ## Install
 
@@ -59,8 +55,7 @@ Tested on firmware 13.42 with elfldr 0.26 and Payload Manager 0.5.2.
    ```
 
    The installer prints what it does. It:
-   - stores the daemon payload (`tailscale.elf`),
-   - adds it to the end of your autoloader's load order, if it finds one,
+   - stores the daemon payload as `/data/tailscale/tailscale.elf`,
    - adds a **Tailscale** icon to the home screen (media section),
    - starts Tailscale.
 
@@ -73,6 +68,11 @@ The console now has a tailnet address, shown on the status page.
 Sending the installer again upgrades and restarts Tailscale. The login is
 kept.
 
+Tailscale runs until the console restarts. After a restart and jailbreak,
+send `/data/tailscale/tailscale.elf` (or the installer) to the ELF loader
+again. The installer does not change any payload autoloader; if you use one,
+you can add that file to it yourself.
+
 ## Using it
 
 ### Reaching the console
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ The daemon also runs an HTTP proxy on `127.0.0.1:8118` that reaches tailnet
 hosts, for apps that have their own proxy setting. **Do not set it as the
 PS5's system proxy.** The system then sends everything through it, including
 pages on `127.0.0.1`, and it is not running until Tailscale has been loaded.
-On the test console that stopped Payload Manager's page from opening.
+On the test console that stopped another homebrew tool's page from opening.
 
 ## Configuration
 
@@ -184,20 +184,19 @@ Files on the console:
 | `/data/tailscale/state/` | Tailscale's state, including the login. |
 | `/data/tailscale/tailscale.log` | The daemon's log, rotated at 2 MB. |
 | `/data/tailscale/tailscale-debug.log` | Tailscale's detailed log, up to 4 MB plus one older file. |
-| `/data/pldmgr/payloads/Tailscale/tailscale.elf` | The daemon, when Payload Manager is used. |
-| `/data/tailscale/tailscale.elf` | The daemon, when no autoloader was found. |
+| `/data/tailscale/tailscale.elf` | The daemon payload. |
 | `/user/app/TSCL00001/` | The home screen icon. |
 
 ## Uninstall
 
-Press **Uninstall** on the status page. It removes the autoloader entry and
-the daemon payload and stops Tailscale. It asks whether to also log out and
-delete the saved login.
+Press **Uninstall** on the status page. It deletes the daemon payload and
+stops Tailscale. It asks whether to also log out and delete the saved login.
 
 Two things are left to do by hand:
 
 - Delete the home screen icon (Options button, then Delete).
 - Remove the device in the Tailscale admin console.
+- If you added the payload to an autoloader yourself, remove it there.
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
@@ -229,13 +228,12 @@ lowest scheduling priority on at most 4 cores, so it gives way to games.
 ## What has and has not been tested
 
 Tested on the one console: install and upgrade, login with device approval,
-autostart after a reboot through Payload Manager, reaching the console over
+starting again after a reboot with the saved login, reaching the console over
 the tailnet, a ProsperoLight stream from a Sunshine host through the forward,
 the HTTP proxy, the home screen icon.
 
-Not tested: rest mode, the `ps5_autoloader` and USB autoloader paths,
-Uninstall on a console, other firmware versions, coordination servers other
-than Tailscale's.
+Not tested: rest mode, Uninstall on a console, other firmware versions,
+coordination servers other than Tailscale's.
 
 ## Building
 

docs/BUILDING.md

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ These folders are not in the repository.
 
 ```powershell
 # daemon payload: C launcher + Go program -> out\tailscale.elf
-.\tools\build-payload.ps1 -GoDir tsd -Name tailscale -Version 0.2.1
+.\tools\build-payload.ps1 -GoDir tsd -Name tailscale -Version 0.3.0
 
 # installer -> out\tailscale-installer.elf (embeds out\tailscale.elf)
 .\tools\build-installer.ps1

docs/TECHNICAL.md

@@ -37,10 +37,11 @@ specification.
 - A payload that is sent again stops the running instance (through the
   status page, or failing that by the pid it recorded) and takes over.
 
-**The installer** (`installer/`, C) embeds `tailscale.elf`. It stores it
-where the console's autoloader looks, appends it to the load order, registers
-a home screen app whose `param.json` has a `deeplinkUri` to the status page,
-and starts the daemon by sending it to the ELF loader on `127.0.0.1:9021`.
+**The installer** (`installer/`, C) embeds `tailscale.elf`. It writes it to
+`/data/tailscale/tailscale.elf`, registers a home screen app whose
+`param.json` has a `deeplinkUri` to the status page, and starts the daemon by
+sending it to the ELF loader on `127.0.0.1:9021`. It does not modify any
+payload autoloader.
 
 ## The PS5 as a Go target
 
@@ -136,17 +137,6 @@ Linking `libSceAppInstUtil` alone leaves the payload stopped before it runs.
 It needs `-lSceIpmi -lSceAppInstUtil -lSceUserService -lSceSystemService`, in
 that order, as in the SDK's `install_app` sample.
 
-## Autoloaders
-
-- Payload Manager: load order in `/data/pldmgr/autoload.txt`, one file name
-  per line, `!N` for a delay in milliseconds. It finds a named file anywhere
-  below `/data/pldmgr` and launches it by streaming it to `127.0.0.1:9021`.
-- `ps5_autoloader`: `autoload.txt` in `/data/ps5_autoloader` or the same
-  folder on a USB drive, with the payloads next to it.
-
-The table of autoloaders exists twice, in `installer/main.c` and
-`tsd/autostart.go`.
-
 ## Known problems
 
 - Once, switching the console from Wi-Fi to Ethernet during a Moonlight

installer/main.c

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 /* Tailscale installer payload for jailbroken PS5s.
  *
- * Stores the Tailscale daemon payload on the console, registers it with the
- * payload autoloader if one is set up, adds a home screen icon that opens
- * the status page, and starts the daemon through the ELF loader on this
- * console. Build with tools\build-installer.ps1, which sets DAEMON_ELF and
+ * Stores the Tailscale daemon payload on the console, adds a home screen
+ * icon that opens the status page, and starts the daemon through the ELF
+ * loader on this console. It does not touch any payload autoloader. Build
+ * with tools\build-installer.ps1, which sets DAEMON_ELF and
  * ASSET_DIR and links the system libraries the app installer needs. */
 
 #include <errno.h>
@@ -69,23 +69,6 @@ int sceAppInstUtilInitialize(void);
 int sceAppInstUtilTerminate(void);
 int sceAppInstUtilAppInstallAll(void *);
 
-/* Where payload autoloaders keep their load order, and where the daemon has
- * to be stored for each. Keep in sync with tsd/autostart.go. */
-static const struct autoloader {
-  const char *name;
-  const char *list;        /* load order: one file name per line */
-  const char *payload_dir; /* where the payload goes */
-} autoloaders[] = {
-    /* Payload Manager finds entries by file name anywhere below /data/pldmgr
-     * and keeps each payload in a folder of its own. */
-    {"Payload Manager", "/data/pldmgr/autoload.txt", "/data/pldmgr/payloads/Tailscale"},
-    {"PS5 autoloader", "/data/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/data/ps5_autoloader"},
-    {"PS5 autoloader (usb0)", "/mnt/usb0/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/mnt/usb0/ps5_autoloader"},
-    {"PS5 autoloader (usb1)", "/mnt/usb1/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/mnt/usb1/ps5_autoloader"},
-    {"PS5 autoloader (usb2)", "/mnt/usb2/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/mnt/usb2/ps5_autoloader"},
-    {"PS5 autoloader (usb3)", "/mnt/usb3/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/mnt/usb3/ps5_autoloader"},
-};
-
 typedef struct notify_request {
   char useless1[45];
   char message[3075];
@@ -122,7 +105,7 @@ write_all(int fd, const uint8_t *data, size_t size) {
 }
 
 /* Write a file through a temporary name so a failed write never leaves a
- * truncated payload where the autoloader would pick it up. */
+ * truncated payload behind. */
 static int
 write_file(const char *path, const uint8_t *data, size_t size) {
   char tmp[512];
@@ -159,71 +142,6 @@ install_daemon(const char *dir) {
   return 0;
 }
 
-/* Report whether the load order already lists the daemon on a line of its own. */
-static int
-autoload_lists_daemon(const char *text) {
-  size_t namelen = strlen(DAEMON_NAME);
-
-  for (const char *line = text; line && *line;) {
-    const char *end = strchr(line, '\n');
-    size_t len = end ? (size_t)(end - line) : strlen(line);
-    while (len > 0 && (line[len - 1] == '\r' || line[len - 1] == ' ' || line[len - 1] == '\t')) {
-      len--;
-    }
-    if (len == namelen && !strncmp(line, DAEMON_NAME, namelen)) {
-      return 1;
-    }
-    line = end ? end + 1 : 0;
-  }
-  return 0;
-}
-
-/* If this autoloader is set up on the console, store the daemon for it and
- * add it to the end of the load order. Returns 1 if registered, 0 if the
- * autoloader is not present, -1 on error. */
-static int
-register_autoload(const struct autoloader *al) {
-  struct stat st;
-  char *text;
-  size_t got;
-  FILE *f;
-
-  if (stat(al->list, &st)) {
-    return 0;
-  }
-  printf("%s:\n", al->name);
-  if (install_daemon(al->payload_dir)) {
-    return -1;
-  }
-
-  if (!(f = fopen(al->list, "rb"))) {
-    printf("  could not read %s: %s\n", al->list, strerror(errno));
-    return -1;
-  }
-  text = calloc(1, st.st_size + 1);
-  got = fread(text, 1, st.st_size, f);
-  fclose(f);
-  text[got] = 0;
-
-  if (autoload_lists_daemon(text)) {
-    printf("  %s already lists %s\n", al->list, DAEMON_NAME);
-  } else {
-    if (!(f = fopen(al->list, "ab"))) {
-      printf("  could not update %s: %s\n", al->list, strerror(errno));
-      free(text);
-      return -1;
-    }
-    if (got > 0 && text[got - 1] != '\n') {
-      fputc('\n', f);
-    }
-    fputs(DAEMON_NAME "\n", f);
-    fclose(f);
-    printf("  added %s to the end of %s\n", DAEMON_NAME, al->list);
-  }
-  free(text);
-  return 1;
-}
-
 /* Report whether the file at path already has exactly these contents. */
 static int
 file_matches(const char *path, const uint8_t *data, size_t size) {
@@ -346,7 +264,6 @@ int
 main(void) {
   pid_t pid = getpid();
   intptr_t rootvnode;
-  int registered = 0;
 
   setvbuf(stdout, 0, _IONBF, 0);
 
@@ -368,23 +285,11 @@ main(void) {
 #endif
 
   printf("Tailscale for PS5 installer\n\n");
-  mkdir(DATA_DIR, 0755);
 
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < sizeof(autoloaders) / sizeof(autoloaders[0]); i++) {
-    if (register_autoload(&autoloaders[i]) > 0) {
-      registered++;
-    }
-  }
-  if (!registered) {
-    /* No autoloader: keep the payload where the user can find it. */
-    printf("No payload autoloader found on this console.\n");
-    if (install_daemon(DATA_DIR)) {
-      notify("Tailscale install failed:\ncould not write to %s", DATA_DIR);
-      return 1;
-    }
-    printf("  Tailscale will not start by itself after a reboot.\n"
-           "  Send %s/%s to the ELF loader to start it.\n",
-           DATA_DIR, DAEMON_NAME);
+  printf("Daemon payload:\n");
+  if (install_daemon(DATA_DIR)) {
+    notify("Tailscale install failed:\ncould not write to %s", DATA_DIR);
+    return 1;
   }
 
   printf("Home screen icon:\n");
@@ -397,6 +302,9 @@ main(void) {
     return 1;
   }
 
-  printf("\nDone. The status page is on port 8090 of this console.\n");
+  printf("\nDone. The status page is on port 8090 of this console.\n"
+         "Tailscale runs until the console restarts. To start it again, send\n"
+         "%s/%s to the ELF loader.\n",
+         DATA_DIR, DAEMON_NAME);
   return 0;
 }

tsd/autostart.go

@@ -1,114 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"errors"
-	"io/fs"
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
-)
-
-// The installer registers the daemon with whichever payload autoloader the
-// console uses: it copies the payload where the autoloader looks for files
-// and adds its file name to the autoloader's load order (one payload per
-// line, "!N" lines are delays). This file is the daemon's side of that:
-// reporting the registration and undoing it. Keep the table in sync with
-// installer/main.c.
-
-const daemonFileName = "tailscale.elf"
-
-// An autoloader is one place a payload autoloader keeps its load order.
-type autoloader struct {
-	name       string // for messages
-	list       string // the load order file
-	payloadDir string // where the daemon payload is stored for it
-}
-
-var autoloaders = func() []autoloader {
-	al := []autoloader{
-		// Payload Manager finds entries by file name anywhere below
-		// /data/pldmgr and keeps each payload in a folder of its own.
-		{"Payload Manager", "/data/pldmgr/autoload.txt", "/data/pldmgr/payloads/Tailscale"},
-		{"PS5 autoloader", "/data/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt", "/data/ps5_autoloader"},
-	}
-	for _, usb := range []string{"usb0", "usb1", "usb2", "usb3"} {
-		dir := "/mnt/" + usb + "/ps5_autoloader"
-		al = append(al, autoloader{"PS5 autoloader (" + usb + ")", dir + "/autoload.txt", dir})
-	}
-	return al
-}()
-
-// autostartNames returns the autoloaders whose load order includes the daemon.
-func autostartNames() []string {
-	names := []string{}
-	for _, al := range autoloaders {
-		b, err := os.ReadFile(al.list)
-		if err != nil {
-			continue
-		}
-		if _, found := removeAutoloadEntry(string(b), daemonFileName); found {
-			names = append(names, al.name)
-		}
-	}
-	return names
-}
-
-// removeAutoloadEntry returns text without the lines that name the payload,
-// and whether there were any. Everything else, including line endings, is
-// kept as it was.
-func removeAutoloadEntry(text, name string) (string, bool) {
-	var out strings.Builder
-	found := false
-	for len(text) > 0 {
-		line := text
-		if i := strings.IndexByte(text, '\n'); i >= 0 {
-			line = text[:i+1]
-		}
-		text = text[len(line):]
-		if strings.TrimSpace(line) == name {
-			found = true
-			continue
-		}
-		out.WriteString(line)
-	}
-	return out.String(), found
-}
-
-// uninstall removes the daemon from every autoloader and deletes the
-// installed payload. With purge it also deletes the Tailscale state and
-// config, which forgets the login. The running process is not affected.
-func uninstall(purge bool, logf func(string, ...any)) error {
-	var errs []error
-	remove := func(path string) {
-		if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
-			errs = append(errs, err)
-		}
-	}
-	for _, al := range autoloaders {
-		b, err := os.ReadFile(al.list)
-		if err != nil {
-			continue
-		}
-		if text, found := removeAutoloadEntry(string(b), daemonFileName); found {
-			if err := os.WriteFile(al.list, []byte(text), 0o644); err != nil {
-				errs = append(errs, err)
-				continue
-			}
-			logf("removed %s from %s", daemonFileName, al.list)
-		}
-		remove(filepath.Join(al.payloadDir, daemonFileName))
-		if filepath.Base(al.payloadDir) == "Tailscale" {
-			// A folder the installer created just for this payload.
-			os.Remove(al.payloadDir)
-		}
-	}
-	remove(filepath.Join(dataDir, daemonFileName))
-	if purge {
-		for _, name := range []string{"state", "config.json", ".cache"} {
-			if err := os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(dataDir, name)); err != nil {
-				errs = append(errs, err)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return errors.Join(errs...)
-}

tsd/forward_test.go

@@ -6,27 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 )
 
-func TestRemoveAutoloadEntry(t *testing.T) {
-	tests := []struct {
-		name, in, want string
-		found          bool
-	}{
-		{"absent", "kstuff.elf\n!500\nftpsrv.elf\n", "kstuff.elf\n!500\nftpsrv.elf\n", false},
-		{"last line", "kstuff.elf\ntailscale.elf\n", "kstuff.elf\n", true},
-		{"no trailing newline", "kstuff.elf\ntailscale.elf", "kstuff.elf\n", true},
-		{"middle, CRLF kept", "a.elf\r\ntailscale.elf\r\nb.elf\r\n", "a.elf\r\nb.elf\r\n", true},
-		{"listed twice", "tailscale.elf\na.elf\n tailscale.elf \n", "a.elf\n", true},
-		{"similar names stay", "# tailscale.elf\nmy-tailscale.elf\ntailscale.elf.bak\n", "# tailscale.elf\nmy-tailscale.elf\ntailscale.elf.bak\n", false},
-		{"empty", "", "", false},
-	}
-	for _, tt := range tests {
-		got, found := removeAutoloadEntry(tt.in, daemonFileName)
-		if got != tt.want || found != tt.found {
-			t.Errorf("%s: got %q, %v; want %q, %v", tt.name, got, found, tt.want, tt.found)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // pipe must pass a half-close through: the ELF loader protocol and FTP data
 // connections both rely on the reader seeing EOF while the other direction
 // stays open.

tsd/status.html

@@ -161,7 +161,6 @@ async function refresh() {
   if (s.ips.length) row(dl, 'Tailnet address', s.ips.join(', '), true);
   if (s.tailnet) row(dl, 'Tailnet', s.tailnet);
   if (s.proxy) row(dl, 'HTTP proxy', s.proxy, true);
-  row(dl, 'Starts with the console', s.autostart.length ? 'Yes, via ' + s.autostart.join(', ') : 'No');
 
   const health = $('health');
   health.replaceChildren(...(s.health || []).map(h => { const li = document.createElement('li'); li.textContent = h; return li; }));
@@ -240,7 +239,7 @@ $('btn-sunshine').onclick = async () => {
   $('sunshine-select').dataset.signature = '';
 };
 $('btn-uninstall').onclick = () => {
-  if (!confirm('Remove Tailscale from this PS5? It will stop now and no longer start with the console.')) return;
+  if (!confirm('Remove Tailscale from this PS5? It stops now and its payload is deleted.')) return;
   const purge = confirm('Also log out and delete the saved login?\n\nOK: delete everything.\nCancel: keep the login, so reinstalling reconnects without logging in again.');
   act('/api/uninstall' + (purge ? '?purge=1' : ''));
 };

tsd/uninstall.go

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+// daemonFileName is the name the installer stores the daemon payload under,
+// in the data directory.
+const daemonFileName = "tailscale.elf"
+
+// uninstall deletes the installed daemon payload. With purge it also deletes
+// the Tailscale state and config, which forgets the login. The running
+// process is not affected.
+func uninstall(purge bool) error {
+	var errs []error
+	if err := os.Remove(filepath.Join(dataDir, daemonFileName)); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
+		errs = append(errs, err)
+	}
+	if purge {
+		for _, name := range []string{"state", "config.json", ".cache"} {
+			if err := os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(dataDir, name)); err != nil {
+				errs = append(errs, err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return errors.Join(errs...)
+}

tsd/web.go

@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@ type statusInfo struct {
 	Health   []string   `json:"health,omitempty"`
 	Peers    []peerInfo `json:"peers"`
 	Proxy    string     `json:"proxy,omitempty"`
-	// Autostart lists the autoloaders that start the daemon.
-	Autostart []string `json:"autostart"`
 	// SunshineHost and Forwards describe the local forwards.
 	SunshineHost string   `json:"sunshineHost"`
 	Forwards     []string `json:"forwards"`
@@ -141,7 +139,6 @@ func (d *daemon) handleStatus(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	}
 	info.SunshineHost = d.cfg.SunshineHost
 	d.mu.Unlock()
-	info.Autostart = autostartNames()
 	info.Forwards = []string{}
 	for _, r := range d.fwd.rules() {
 		info.Forwards = append(info.Forwards, r.String())
@@ -299,9 +296,9 @@ func (d *daemon) stop() {
 	d.quitOnce.Do(func() { close(d.quit) })
 }
 
-// handleUninstall removes the autostart entry and the installed payload, then
-// stops. With ?purge=1 it first logs the console out of the tailnet and
-// deletes the saved state as well.
+// handleUninstall removes the installed payload, then stops. With ?purge=1 it
+// first logs the console out of the tailnet and deletes the saved state as
+// well.
 func (d *daemon) handleUninstall(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	purge := r.URL.Query().Get("purge") == "1"
 	if purge && d.lc != nil {
@@ -309,7 +306,7 @@ func (d *daemon) handleUninstall(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			d.logf("uninstall: logout: %v", err)
 		}
 	}
-	if err := uninstall(purge, d.logf); err != nil {
+	if err := uninstall(purge); err != nil {
 		d.logf("uninstall: %v", err)
 		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return