Current KASM State

[illuminati1618]

KASM Integration Documentation

KASM is a cloud desktop/workspace platform that provides students with browser-accessible Ubuntu development environments. In this system, KASM is hosted at https://kasm.opencodingsociety.com and is integrated with the Flask backend so that workspace accounts are automatically provisioned and managed alongside the main user database.

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How KASM Fits Into the System

When a student registers through the Flask API, their account is created in the application database and a corresponding KASM workspace account is created via the KASM REST API. This means students get a cloud Ubuntu environment automatically — no manual setup required on the instructor side.

The Spring backend tracks a kasmServerNeeded boolean flag per user (on the Person entity), which signals whether that user should receive a KASM workspace during provisioning.

Student registers (Flask)
        ↓
Flask creates DB user
        ↓
KasmUser.post() called
        ↓
KASM API → create workspace account
        ↓
(optional) KasmUser.post_groups() → assign to class group

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Configuration

KASM credentials are set via environment variables read in flask-tracking/init.py:

Variable	Description
KASM_SERVER	Base URL of the KASM server (default: https://kasm.opencodingsociety.com)
KASM_API_KEY	API key for authenticating with KASM
KASM_API_KEY_SECRET	Secret for the API key

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Key Files

File	Role
flask-tracking/model/kasm.py	Core KASM API client — all user lifecycle operations
flask-tracking/main.py	Flask routes that expose KASM management endpoints
spring-tracking/.../Person.java	kasmServerNeeded flag on the user entity
pages-tracking/scripts/kasm_api_funcs.py	Standalone script for querying KASM sessions/activity
pages-tracking/_posts/.../2025-04-15-tools_setup-kasm.md	Student-facing KASM setup guide

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Flask KASM Model (model/kasm.py)

Two classes handle KASM operations:

KasmUtils — low-level API wrapper

Static methods that map directly to KASM API endpoints:

• get_config() — reads and validates credentials from environment
• authenticate(config) — verifies credentials against the KASM server
• get_users(config) — lists all KASM users
• get_user_id(users, uid) — finds a user by username
• create_user() — creates a new workspace account
• update_user_password() — resets a user's password
• update_user_name() — updates display name fields
• get_user_details() — fetches user info from KASM
• delete_user() — removes a workspace account
• update_user_group() — assigns a user to a KASM group
• get_groups() — lists all KASM groups

KasmUser — high-level lifecycle interface

Wraps KasmUtils into idempotent operations tied to the application's user model:

• post() — creates the KASM user if they don't exist; updates credentials if they do
• post_groups() — assigns the user to one or more KASM groups (used to organize by class/section)
• delete() — removes the user from KASM

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Flask Routes

Method	Route	Description
GET	/kasm_users	Renders the admin UI showing all KASM users
DELETE	/delete_user/<user_id>	Removes a user from KASM

All KASM user deletions and updates are captured by the log filtering rules in tracking-database-automator/filter.py (patterns /delete_user/ and /update_user/) so they appear in the security audit logs.

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KASM Group Assignment

After creating a user, KasmUser.post_groups() can assign them to a KASM group. Groups map to classes or sections (e.g., APCSP, CSA), giving instructors a way to apply workspace policies or resource limits per cohort.

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Monitoring & Audit Trail

The tracking-database-automator captures all KASM-related activity:

• Any DELETE /delete_user/... or PUT /update_user/... request hitting Flask is filtered as a security-relevant event and written to logs/important/
• This gives an audit trail of all KASM account changes alongside the rest of the system's security log