Install to /cache/rayhunter-data for tplink, add --data-dir parameter by untitaker · Pull Request #886 · EFForg/rayhunter

untitaker · 2026-02-14T18:47:52Z

This fixes several space-related issues at once. Ref #865

We have observed the following phenomenon on TP-Link, Orbic and Moxee:

Filling /data bricks the device (broken wifi, broken rndis, broken
display)
Filling /cache does not (it only bricks rayhunter if it's installed
there, and it might break firmware updates)

Therefore it would make sense to store the entire rayhunter installation
in /cache.

This is a great idea for TP-Link and Moxee, because /cache is
significantly larger than /data. However, on Orbic, /data is
significantly larger than /cache!

This PR refactors orbic-network and tplink to use a shared codepath for
setting up the data directory. A symlink is created at /data/rayhunter,
and what it points to is device-specific:

Orbic will have its data at /data/rayhunter-data
Moxee will have its data at /cache/rayhunter-data (you have to use installer moxee though)
TP-Link will have its data at /cache/rayhunter-data when there's no SD
card, and /media/whatever when there is one.

In all cases, existing data is migrated to the new location. The user
can switch back and forth between two values of --data-dir and the data
will be moved over every time.

This PR has one huge wart, and that is that the USB installer for Orbic
remains untouched. The annoying reason for this is that the
DeviceConnection trait is insufficient to reflect all the different
kinds of shells you can have over USB: adb with fakeroot, and serial
with real root. I think it's not possible to create the right
directories with rootshell -c.

I'm thinking of spawning a telnet server over serial, so that we can
just do telnet again, but this is for another time.

This fixes several space-related issues at once. We have observed the following phenomenon on TP-Link, Orbic and Moxee: - Filling /data bricks the device (broken wifi, broken rndis, broken display) - Filling /cache does not (it only bricks rayhunter if it's installed there, and it might break firmware updates) Therefore it would make sense to store the entire rayhunter installation in /cache. This is a great idea for TP-Link and Moxee, because /cache is significantly larger than /data. However, on Orbic, /data is significantly larger than /cache! This PR refactors orbic-network and tplink to use a shared codepath for setting up the data directory. A symlink is created at /data/rayhunter, and what it points to is device-specific: - Orbic will have its data at `/data/rayhunter-data` - There is a new alias `installer moxee` that overrides this to `/cache/rayhunter-data` - TP-Link will have its data at /cache/rayhunter-data when there's no SD card, and /media/whatever when there is one. In all cases, existing data is migrated to the new location. The user can switch back and forth between two values of --data-dir and the data will be moved over every time. This PR has one huge wart, and that is that the USB installer for Orbic remains untouched. The annoying reason for this is that the DeviceConnection trait is insufficient to reflect all the different kinds of shells you can have over USB: adb with fakeroot, and serial with real root. I think it's not possible to create the right directories with 'rootshell -c'. I'm thinking of spawning a telnet server over serial, so that we can just do telnet again, but this is for another time.

BeigeBox · 2026-02-14T19:13:43Z

Looks good to me, no concerns

amyipdev · 2026-02-18T00:25:19Z

Is additional testing necessary? I've got 2 unbricked Moxees I can test on

untitaker · 2026-02-18T00:31:43Z

I've tested that the installer works on tplink orbit and moxee, and I think I did a test to manually fill the cache partition too.

wgreenberg · 2026-02-20T22:15:47Z

installer/src/connection.rs

+    let result = output
+        .lines()
+        .find_map(|line| line.trim().strip_prefix("RL:"))
+        .unwrap_or("")


is this not an error case?

wgreenberg · 2026-02-20T22:20:22Z

installer/src/connection.rs

+/// - If `/data/rayhunter` is a symlink to a different location, moves from the old target
+/// - If `/data/rayhunter` doesn't exist, just creates the symlink
+/// - If `/data/rayhunter` is a symlink to `data_dir`, does nothing
+pub async fn setup_data_directory<C: DeviceConnection>(conn: &mut C, data_dir: &str) -> Result<()> {


it seems this only results in a new directory at data_dir if there was old data that needed migrating. should it not do a mkdir -p {data_dir} otherwise?

Isn't that's what's on line 139?

wgreenberg · 2026-02-20T22:23:42Z

installer/src/lib.rs

    /// Overwrite config.toml even if it already exists on the device.
    #[arg(long)]
    reset_config: bool,
+


is this right? why are we migrating data_dir by default on Orbics?

it was easier to make /data/rayhunter a symlink to some other directory in all cases than to special-case the orbic where /data/rayhunter is currently a dir. that's why the layout for orbic would end up with a symlink from /data/rayhunter to /data/rayhunter-data even though it's not really necessary

wgreenberg · 2026-02-20T22:28:16Z

installer/src/lib.rs

+    /// Override the data directory path. Defaults to /cache/rayhunter-data (or SD card path when
+    /// SD card is used). Must not be /data/rayhunter.


i think including a small snippet explaining why would help illustrate why this parameter exists:

Suggested change

/// Override the data directory path. Defaults to /cache/rayhunter-data (or SD card path when

/// SD card is used). Must not be /data/rayhunter.

/// Override the data directory path. Defaults to /cache/rayhunter-data (or SD card path when

/// SD card is used). Must not be /data/rayhunter, which lives on a storage partition that's

/// too small for normal Rayhunter operation.

wgreenberg · 2026-02-20T22:29:08Z

installer/src/orbic_network.rs

 }

-async fn setup_rayhunter(admin_ip: &str, reset_config: bool) -> Result<()> {
+async fn setup_rayhunter(admin_ip: &str, reset_config: bool, data_dir: &str) -> Result<()> {


i feel like this should be an optional arg, and we don't call setup_data_directory if it's None

BeigeBox · 2026-02-21T03:07:42Z

installer/src/connection.rs


+/// Check if a directory exists using a DeviceConnection
+pub async fn dir_exists<C: DeviceConnection>(conn: &mut C, path: &str) -> bool {
+    conn.run_command(&format!("test -d {path} && echo exists || echo missing"))


The helpers (setup_data_directory, readlink, dir_exists, is_symlink) interpolate paths directly into shell commands format!("mv {old_source} {data_dir}").

A --data-dir path containing spaces would break here.

untitaker force-pushed the cache-rayhunter branch from 3f85ed0 to 7f692af Compare February 14, 2026 18:48

untitaker changed the title ~~Install to /cache/rayhunter-data for tplink and orbic~~ Install to /cache/rayhunter-data for tplink, add --data-dir parameter Feb 14, 2026

untitaker force-pushed the cache-rayhunter branch 3 times, most recently from da21bf1 to f34e103 Compare February 14, 2026 18:57

untitaker force-pushed the cache-rayhunter branch from f34e103 to b7e4293 Compare February 14, 2026 19:00

untitaker marked this pull request as ready for review February 14, 2026 19:00

untitaker mentioned this pull request Feb 14, 2026

Add support for ZTE MF920V #872

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Install to /cache/rayhunter-data for tplink, add --data-dir parameter#886

Install to /cache/rayhunter-data for tplink, add --data-dir parameter#886
untitaker wants to merge 1 commit intomainfrom
cache-rayhunter

untitaker commented Feb 14, 2026 •

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		/// Override the data directory path. Defaults to /cache/rayhunter-data (or SD card path when
		/// SD card is used). Must not be /data/rayhunter.

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untitaker commented Feb 14, 2026 •

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