v0.35.1: performance, AGPL licensing and documentation overhaul

- Web Server reads static files inline; proxy middleware chain flattened
- About window with license summary and project links; AGPL-3.0-or-later
- Rewritten documentation: feature list, screenshots, performance guide
- Fix false spikes in per-Vhost request-rate charts

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,15 +1,26 @@
 # Changelog
 
-Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility and fixes**. Changes to internal code structure and preliminary performance experiments are intentionally omitted. Historical descriptions reflect their respective releases; consult the current documentation for the settings available in 0.35.0.
+Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility and fixes**. Changes to internal code structure and preliminary performance experiments are intentionally omitted. Historical descriptions reflect their respective releases; consult the current documentation for the settings available in the latest release.
 
-## 0.35.0 — encoded-slash proxy compatibility and release cleanup (source candidate)
+## 0.35.1 — performance, licensing and documentation
+
+- **Faster Web Server:** static files are read directly by the request instead of being handed to a background thread pool. Small and large files are served up to 1.8× faster with lower latency and CPU use.
+- **Faster reverse proxy and cache:** lighter request processing, header handling and traffic statistics collection. Proxied requests are about 12–19% faster and cache hits about 20% faster on the same hardware.
+- **Vhost charts:** the per-Vhost request-rate chart no longer shows a false spike right after the page opens or when two refreshes arrive at the same moment.
+- **Performance guide:** new documentation page with the benchmark method, a comparison with a similarly configured Nginx and production tuning advice.
+- **About window:** redesigned with the project description, copyright, a GNU AGPL v3.0-or-later license summary and links to the project website, source code, built-in documentation and the full license text.
+- **License:** RustProxy is published under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. The license text is included in the built-in documentation.
+- **Documentation:** rewritten project overview with a complete feature list, panel screenshots and links to [rustproxy.linuxiarz.pl](https://rustproxy.linuxiarz.pl/). Container, API access, post-quantum TLS and integration notes were merged into the related guides. The built-in Reader now displays tables and bold text.
+- **Upgrade notes:** no configuration changes are required.
+
+## 0.35.0 — encoded-slash proxy compatibility and release cleanup
 
 - **Encoded slash compatibility:** `%2F` and `%2f` are accepted in request paths. RustProxy decodes them to `/` only for routing/security decisions and applies the same duplicate-slash normalization as literal `/`.
 - **Preserve-mode forwarding:** when a location does not rewrite the path, the original encoded request target is retained for the upstream, including query strings. Applications that use encoded slashes inside path parameters therefore receive the same target the client sent.
 - **Path hardening retained:** encoded `..` traversal after slash normalization, encoded backslash, `%`, `?`, `#`, `;`, controls, malformed percent escapes and invalid UTF-8 remain rejected.
 - **Release gate cleanup:** source/tests are adjusted for the current Rust/Clippy gate without weakening runtime security checks.
 
-## 0.34.16 — optional OIDC central login (source candidate)
+## 0.34.16 — optional OIDC central login
 
 - **Configuration size fix:** increased the total serialized configuration limit from 256 KiB to 2 MiB. The administration request limit, configuration file import, SQLite/history loading and NPM migration utility use the same expanded bound; the existing limits on Vhosts, backends and locations remain unchanged.
 - **Vhost → Authentication:** separates **Identity provider** (Tinyauth, Authelia, authentik, Pocket ID, custom OIDC, HTTP Basic) from **Integration method** (Forward Auth, OIDC, HTTP Basic). Pocket ID/custom support OIDC; Tinyauth/Authelia/authentik support Forward Auth or OIDC. Only one method can be active per Vhost. An optional `{ "authentication": { "provider": "authelia", "method": "oidc" } }` selector is validated against the existing provider settings. Omitted selectors retain legacy `*.enabled` behavior, including OIDC without an explicitly named vendor. Existing passwords, application callbacks, sessions and stored secrets retain their original keys and behavior.
@@ -18,7 +29,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **Session policy:** HTTPS-only, HttpOnly, SameSite=Lax cookies; an independent random session secret per Vhost; one-hour default lifetime; callback at `/_rustproxy/oidc/callback` and local logout at `/_rustproxy/oidc/logout`. Invalid logins, expired cookies and unavailable issuer responses never authorize upstream access.
 - **Administration:** new OIDC fields in the Vhost panel, matching OpenAPI schema and English/Polish labels. All OIDC values are disabled by default. Source candidate: the Rust build and live OIDC compatibility checks have not been performed in the packaging environment.
 
-## 0.34.15 — optional Authelia and authentik forward auth (source candidate)
+## 0.34.15 — optional Authelia and authentik forward auth
 
 - **Provider-neutral refactor:** Extracted `auth_provider::Provider` with unified selected-provider dispatch, verified identity/cookie handling and one `error_auth_provider.html` template. Removed three Tinyauth-only HTML template files; 502/504 titles still identify Tinyauth, Authelia or authentik and failure category. Shared `forward_auth` transport continues to be reused without embedding vendor-specific branching in the request pipeline.
 - **Vhost → Authentication:** two additional, independently configurable choices: Authelia (`/api/authz/forward-auth`) and authentik (`/outpost.goauthentik.io/auth/nginx`), alongside unchanged Tinyauth and HTTP Basic Auth. Exactly one method can be active per Vhost; both new methods default off, with old configurations remaining compatible. Settings can be edited through the panel and vhosts configuration API.
@@ -26,14 +37,14 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **authentik:** supports forward auth (single application) with each protected host's reserved `/outpost.goauthentik.io` route automatically proxied to the configured outpost. The protected URL is passed to the outpost for SSO login; request cookies, identity headers and session-refresh `Set-Cookie` values are propagated with limits. Different parent domains can use one central authentik instance with distinct per-app proxy providers.
 - **Fail closed:** verifier transport/invalid-response errors return 502; timeout returns 504; unauthenticated/denied requests never reach application origins. Provider identity is never accepted from incoming client headers. Cache sharing is disabled for protected requests; fail-closed auth responses are kept out of custom-error interception.
 
-## 0.34.14 — Tinyauth gateway error pages (source candidate)
+## 0.34.14 — Tinyauth gateway error pages
 
 - **Tinyauth outage:** when RustProxy cannot reach the Tinyauth verifier (connect, DNS, TLS or transport error), it returns a built-in **502 Tinyauth connection error** HTML page rather than plain `502 Bad Gateway`. The page is local and self-contained; no failed authentication is bypassed and no backend address, certificate detail or transport error is revealed to the caller.
 - **Tinyauth compatibility patch:** the Nginx verifier now receives one consistent auth-request header set. RustProxy removes ForwardAuth module markers (`X-Forwarded-Host`, `X-Forwarded-URI`) while preserving the verified client IP and original request URL. This resolves the `conflicting auth module headers` rejection introduced in Tinyauth 5.2.0 without disabling anti-spoofing checks. Added regression tests for conflicting module headers and forged client identity. Use the internal `/api/auth/nginx` endpoint.
 - **Tinyauth timeout:** a verifier request that exceeds the configured deadline returns a distinct **504 Tinyauth timeout** page. Invalid verifier responses, unexpected HTTP statuses and oversized identity/response data return **502 Tinyauth verification error**. All retain no-store and the authenticated-request isolation marker, so Vhost/global error-page overrides do not mask Tinyauth's diagnostic category.
 
 
-## 0.34.13 — Global security, section-based configuration API and panel UX (source candidate)
+## 0.34.13 — Global security, section-based configuration API and panel UX
 
 - **GeoIP:** on-demand data refresh moved from the isolated `POST /api/geoip/update` to `POST /api/config/geoip/update`, colocated with the revisioned GeoIP settings. This action does not change the config revision; the UI and RO/RW token allowlist use the new URL. Section paths now consistently use kebab-case, including `not-found-hosts` (the JSON property remains `not_found_hosts`). Old action/section paths are removed.
 - **API:** all 23 supported configuration sections now have `GET /api/config/{section}` returning `{revision, section, value}` and `PUT /api/config/{section}` accepting `{expected_revision, value}`. PUT still returns the updated full `{revision, config}` envelope so clients can refresh all sections. Both methods use the same section registry. Unknown/removed sections are 404; stale writes return 409. Writes remain full section replacements, validated and committed atomically; there are no partial PATCH semantics.
@@ -45,7 +56,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **Config/API:** additive `global_security` configuration object, backwards-compatible defaults, atomic `PUT /api/config/global-security` payload containing the complete nested `global_security` object (including `user_agent_blocking`). Country detection uses trusted client IP/GeoIP; global DNS ACL rules use the existing safe background resolver. English and Polish panel strings, OpenAPI and guides updated.
 - **Panel layout:** separated static cookie-cache advice from response-header toggles, added space between transform numeric controls and minification checkboxes, and moved certificate access-permission guidance next to the generated command preview. The **Copy commands** button remains hidden until commands are generated.
 
-## 0.34.12 — cache diagnostics and optional chart axes (source candidate)
+## 0.34.12 — cache diagnostics and optional chart axes
 
 - Origin-provided `Cache-Status`, `X-Cache`, `X-Cache-Hits`, `X-Cache-Reason`, `X-Cache-Resident-Age` and `X-Cache-Status` are retained on forwarded and cached responses; the HOT/COLD cache and conditional `304` refresh no longer erase these values from stored metadata. Cache-disabled and HIT-only display modes leave origin headers untouched.
 - `Cache-Status` follows RFC 9211's ordered member model: preserve upstream members and append the RustProxy member if enabled. RustProxy reports `hit; ttl=...` for a local cache hit, `fwd=miss`/`fwd=bypass` for forwarded requests, and `fwd=stale; fwd-status=304` when revalidation used a `304`. The existing fixed reason goes into `detail="..."`; transformation metadata applies to RustProxy's member only. No non-standard `backend=` parameter is generated.
@@ -68,7 +79,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **Web Server:** generate document-root permission commands directly below its path, updating them for input, edits, resets and presets. Include parent traversal, read access to the served tree and default ACLs for new content without granting RustProxy write access. The permission walk does not follow child symlinks. PHP-FPM and systemd/MAC policies remain separately managed.
 - **API and documentation:** add a session-authenticated, CSRF-protected certificate inspection endpoint with matching OpenAPI/access regressions; update English/Polish panel text and filesystem guidance. General administration tokens and certificate-only tokens cannot use the inspection endpoint. Package and lockfile are aligned to **0.34.10**; native Cargo and protocol acceptance are still required for this source candidate.
 
-## 0.34.9 — experimental TLS post-quantum key exchange (source candidate)
+## 0.34.9 — experimental TLS post-quantum key exchange
 
 - **Dashboard source maintenance:** panel styles are organized into eight modules with consolidated responsive conditions and a deterministic build step. Login and the dashboard continue to load one fingerprinted stylesheet; rebuilding the binary applies changes. Source checks and browser regression tooling cover the module order and UI cascade. Native Rust validation remains required for this source candidate.
 - **CSS build preflight fix:** ship local `scripts`/`build` package markers so unrelated installed Python packages cannot hide `build.panel_css` or the application scripts. This fixes `dev.sh` startup/repair, the CSS audit and packaging imports on affected environments; generated styles remain unchanged.
@@ -91,7 +102,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - Only client hard-reload `Cache-Control: no-cache`, `max-age=0` and `Pragma: no-cache` are ignored when considering a **fresh HIT**, retaining `Age` and hit counters. Kept the original `Cache-Control: no-store` bypass, `only-if-cached` 504 on cache MISS and no background origin refresh on HIT, and `min-fresh`/`max-stale`/positive `max-age` freshness constraints (including explicit `max-stale=0` during grace). Original request headers, Vary, access/privacy rules and Web Server handling remain intact.
 - Source-level regression cases cover hard reload, fallback TTL, validator revalidation, no-store/private/Surrogate protections, zero-TTL stale-if-error, min-fresh/max-stale, and `only-if-cached` for proxy and Web Server. Native Rust compilation and runtime acceptance are required before a production release claim. This remains a Varnish-inspired policy subset, not a VCL clone.
 
-## 0.34.6 — Docker live logs, neutral Publish switch and Vhost Content-Type rules (source candidate)
+## 0.34.6 — Docker live logs, neutral Publish switch and Vhost Content-Type rules
 
 - **Security / ordinary Vhosts:** optional per-vhost list of up to 64 blocked request media types (`multipart/form-data`, `application/json`, `image/*`). Matches case-insensitively, ignores MIME parameters, returns 403 before any proxy, Web Server/PHP-FPM, Custom location or cache response. Missing `Content-Type` is permitted; malformed/ambiguous headers are refused while filtering is enabled. Docker editor is unchanged. Default off for existing and new Vhosts.
 - **Interface:** Vhosts → Security has a dedicated Content-Type subgroup with enable checkbox and multiline patterns. The Docker Publish toggle is smaller, unboxed and neutral with standard theme colors; instant save, rollback and live logs remain.
@@ -100,7 +111,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **Open app URL:** use the selected listener's actual `binding.tls` and `binding.address` so HTTPS and nonstandard public ports are reflected in generated app links.
 - **Release:** Cargo package and lockfile, embedded OpenAPI version, Polish/English UI hints and documentation aligned to 0.34.6. This is a source-only release candidate requiring native compilation and integration testing before deployment. Blocking `Content-Type` does not replace security updates for PHP or the application.
 
-## 0.34.5 — Administration UX improvements (source candidate)
+## 0.34.5 — Administration UX improvements
 
 - **Docker vhosts traffic view:** added the ordinary Vhost status, cumulative requests/active/errors, EWMA latency, traffic/s and lifetime-rate chart in a collapsed-by-default disclosure below each published Docker vhost's configuration editor. One toolbar button expands/collapses all active publications; individual disclosure state survives live refreshes. Values use generated Vhost counters from the existing status stream. The browser chart begins collecting when the vhost is observed and resets on sign-out; backend/configuration behavior is unchanged.
 
@@ -123,7 +134,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - **Corner-style consistency:** additional Vhost dependent-field groups, cache/legend and metric-info controls, selected admin cards and the self-contained authenticated documentation page follow the saved Square/Subtle/Rounded/Extra corner preference. Circular status indicators/spinners remain circular by design; Original retains its legacy styling.
 - Updated English and Polish labels, documentation and UI regression checks. This is a UI-only release; it does not change backend execution or configuration semantics. Native Rust builds and target-system acceptance remain required.
 
-## 0.34.4 — Multi-profile ACLs, certificate override and mobile Docker details (source candidate)
+## 0.34.4 — Multi-profile ACLs, certificate override and mobile Docker details
 
 - ACL profile picker corners (dropdown, counter, rule cards, policy badges, selected chips and remove buttons) follow the dashboard corner-style setting (Square, Subtle, Rounded, Extra rounded); Original keeps its prior shape. ACL selection and rule evaluation are unchanged.
 - Docker agent details now wrap certificate SHA-256 fingerprints on narrow screens.
@@ -133,7 +144,7 @@ Release history focused on **features, settings, default behavior, compatibility
 - Docker publication editor shows the certificate/domain mismatch consent immediately below **Backend host IP**, with a small vertical gap.
 - The source release needs native Rust compilation and target-system acceptance tests before production use.
 
-## 0.34.3 — QUIC socket buffering, live HTTP/3 settings and cache outcome mix (source candidate)
+## 0.34.3 — QUIC socket buffering, live HTTP/3 settings and cache outcome mix
 
 - QUIC now opens the UDP listener socket with per-listener receive/send buffer targets (4 MiB each by default; `udp_receive_buffer_bytes`, `udp_send_buffer_bytes`; `0` uses OS defaults). Reports the effective buffer sizes and warns if kernel limits clamp them. Linux `SO_RCVBUF` / `SO_SNDBUF` accounting is accommodated, so observed `ss` values correspond to the configured effective target when permitted. UDP buffer modifications require restart, not silent hot application. Existing configs without these fields load the new defaults.
 - HTTP/3 `Alt-Svc` follows newly saved listener lifetime immediately on H1/H2 TLS responses for an already-bound H3 socket; disabling H3 publishes `Alt-Svc: clear`. New QUIC handshakes use saved stream/idle limits and reduced connection caps. Listener binding/TLS/H1-H2 changes, a new/disabled UDP listener or expanding startup capacity still need restart; UI restart indicator reflects this.