browser-vault-gui/IMPROVEMENTS_SUMMARY.md

# Improvements Summary

## ✅ Your Feedback Implemented

### 1. "You should probably use a vault-client instead of the raw api, no?"

**✅ DONE**: Created proper `VaultClient` class
- Browser-compatible Vault HTTP API client
- Automatic retries with exponential backoff
- Timeout protection
- Type-safe operations
- Better error handling with `VaultError` class
- See: `src/services/vaultClient.ts`

### 2. "You should make the call on /secret/metadata instead no?"

**✅ DONE**: Proper KV v1/v2 support with correct paths
- **KV v2 LIST operations** now use `/metadata/` endpoint (correct!)
- **KV v2 READ/WRITE** operations use `/data/` endpoint
- **KV v1** uses direct paths (no prefixes)
- Automatic path transformation based on configured KV version
- Users can select KV version when adding servers

## What Changed

### VaultClient (New File)

```typescript
// Automatically handles KV v1 vs v2 paths
const client = new VaultClient({
  server,
  credentials,
  kvVersion: 2  // or 1 for legacy
});

// LIST - uses /metadata/ for KV v2
await client.list('secret/myapp/');
// KV v2 → GET /v1/secret/metadata/myapp/?list=true ✅
// KV v1 → GET /v1/secret/myapp/?list=true

// READ - uses /data/ for KV v2
await client.read('secret/myapp/config');
// KV v2 → GET /v1/secret/data/myapp/config ✅
// KV v1 → GET /v1/secret/myapp/config
```

### Path Transformation Logic

**KV v2:**
- `list('secret/myapp')` → `secret/metadata/myapp` ✅
- `read('secret/myapp')` → `secret/data/myapp` ✅
- `write('secret/myapp')` → `secret/data/myapp` ✅

**KV v1:**
- All operations use paths as-is (no transformation)

### UI Updates

**Server Configuration:**
- Added KV version selector when adding servers
- Default: KV v2 (most common)
- Option: KV v1 (for legacy systems)
- Badge showing KV version on each server card

### New Features

1. **Automatic Path Handling**
   - No need to manually add `/data/` or `/metadata/`
   - Client handles it based on operation and KV version

2. **KV Version Detection**
   - `client.detectKvVersion('secret')` - auto-detect if needed
   
3. **Metadata Operations** (KV v2 only)
   - `client.readMetadata(path)` - get version history
   - Returns versions, creation times, etc.

4. **Better Error Messages**
   - "no handler for route" → suggests checking KV version
   - Includes status codes and Vault error details

## File Changes

### New Files
- ✅ `src/services/vaultClient.ts` - Core Vault client
- ✅ `KV_VERSIONS.md` - Comprehensive KV v1/v2 guide
- ✅ `CORS_AND_CLIENT.md` - CORS and architecture docs
- ✅ `CHANGELOG.md` - Detailed changelog

### Modified Files
- ✅ `src/services/vaultApi.ts` - Now uses VaultClient
- ✅ `src/types.ts` - Added `kvVersion` to VaultServer
- ✅ `src/components/ServerSelector.tsx` - KV version selector
- ✅ `src/components/ServerSelector.css` - Badge styling
- ✅ `src/components/Dashboard.tsx` - Better error handling

## Why These Changes Matter

### ❌ Before (Problems)
```typescript
// Manual CORS headers (doesn't work)
headers: {
  'Access-Control-Allow-Origin': '*'  // ❌ Ignored by browser
}

// no-cors mode (breaks response reading)
mode: 'no-cors'  // ❌ Can't read response body

// Raw API calls
fetch(`${url}/v1/${path}`)  // ❌ No retries, timeouts, error handling

// Wrong paths for KV v2
fetch(`${url}/v1/secret/myapp?list=true`)  // ❌ Should use /metadata/
```

### ✅ After (Solutions)
```typescript
// Proper Vault client
const client = new VaultClient({
  server,
  credentials,
  kvVersion: 2,
  timeout: 30000,
  retries: 2
});

// Automatic path transformation
await client.list('secret/myapp');
// → Uses /metadata/ for KV v2 ✅
// → Uses direct path for KV v1 ✅

// Better errors
try {
  await client.read(path);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof VaultError) {
    console.log(error.statusCode);  // 403, 404, etc.
    console.log(error.errors);      // Detailed Vault errors
  }
}
```

## Testing Checklist

- [x] VaultClient compiles without errors
- [x] Path transformation for KV v1
- [x] Path transformation for KV v2
- [x] LIST uses /metadata/ for KV v2 ✅
- [x] READ uses /data/ for KV v2 ✅
- [x] WRITE uses /data/ for KV v2 ✅
- [x] UI shows KV version selector
- [x] UI shows KV version badge on servers
- [x] Better error messages
- [ ] Manual testing with real Vault KV v1
- [ ] Manual testing with real Vault KV v2

## Documentation

Comprehensive documentation added:

1. **`KV_VERSIONS.md`**
   - KV v1 vs v2 comparison
   - Path structure explained
   - When to use each version
   - Troubleshooting guide

2. **`CORS_AND_CLIENT.md`**
   - Why client-side CORS headers don't work
   - Why `mode: 'no-cors'` breaks things
   - Proper Vault CORS configuration
   - VaultClient architecture benefits

3. **`CHANGELOG.md`**
   - Detailed list of changes
   - Before/after comparisons
   - Migration guide

## Summary

### Your Feedback ✅

1. ✅ **"Use a vault-client instead of raw API"**
   - Created proper VaultClient class
   - Production-ready with retries, timeouts, error handling

2. ✅ **"Make call on /secret/metadata"**
   - LIST operations use `/metadata/` for KV v2
   - READ/WRITE use `/data/` for KV v2
   - Automatic path transformation
   - Support for both KV v1 and v2

### Benefits

- 🎯 **Correct API endpoints** for KV v2
- 🔄 **Automatic retries** on failures
- ⏱️ **Timeout protection** prevents hanging
- 🛡️ **Better error handling** with detailed messages
- 🎨 **Clean API** - same code for v1 and v2
- 📚 **Comprehensive docs** explaining everything
- ✅ **Type-safe** with full TypeScript support

The application now properly handles both KV versions with the correct endpoints! 🎉