fix: give each peer a peerName and a label

[kerbo7]

• Each peer must have a peerName

• Each peer must have a label

• peerName is either set by the user, or if not set by the user it's set to peer.ip_hash. If peer.ip_hash is not set, set peerName to "Unknown IP"

• label is the peerName, or if its a gateway "GW"

in app.js change
const peerName = peer.ip_hash ? state.peerNames[peer.ip_hash] : null;
to

var peerName = 'Unknown IP'
if(peer.ip_hash) peerName = #${peer.ip_hash}
if(peer.ip_hash && state.peerNames[peer.ip_hash]) peerName = state.peerNames[peer.ip_hash];
if (isGateway) peerName = 'GW'


change
const labelContent = d.label || (showInsideLabels ? (d.peerName || #${d.peer.ip_hash || d.id.substring(5, 11)}) : null);
to
const labelContent = d.label || (showInsideLabels ? (d.peerName || #${d.peer.ip_hash || d.id.substring(5, 11)}) : 'Unknown');

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Since the default is to show no labels the label collision can be much more loose.
change

const MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP = 0.08; // ~29 degrees between labels
const MAX_LABELS = 12;

to

const MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP = 0.008;
const MAX_LABELS = 120;

[sanity]

Issue Priority Assessment

Generated: 2026-03-05T15:26:12.063810775+00:00
Issue hash: d4a8e817

Value Assessment

The missing peerName/label fallbacks in app.js and js/topology.js still let some nodes render with no human-readable label, so anyone watching the dashboard sees “Unknown” peers only as empty placeholders, especially when a peer lacks an ip_hash. In app.js:2053 peerName currently defaults to null and later only gateways/you get non-null labels (app.js:2063, 2072), so the tooltip, routing ring, and any derived text fields just show the short peer ID or nothing at all. Similarly, the canvas label fallback in js/topology.js:1113-1120 still returns null once showInsideLabels is false, so even when the UI would otherwise draw a collision-aware radial label for a peer, it now skips it entirely. The requested changes would guarantee every peer gets a consistent label and “Unknown” is used when neither IP hash nor peer name exists, improving readability for operators who rely on this dashboard to monitor large, dynamic Fleenets.

Alignment with the project’s goals is strong because this repository exists to visualize telemetry, and removing anonymous nodes directly improves that visualization. Making sure every peer has a peerName (even if it’s just a hash or “Unknown IP”) means the node ring’s radial layout, the highlight/selection interactions, and any hover/detail panes can meaningfully describe what they’re showing. The constants that govern label collision (MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP/MAX_LABELS in js/topology.js:1107-1113) still use values intended for sparse labeling; relaxing them per the issue would let more labels show without being forced to hide most of them, which ties into the same goal of maximizing situational awareness.

There isn’t evidence that this issue blocks other work: the comment from @sanity on 2026-02-27 notes the change “appears only partially implemented,” which means the rest of the topology and rendering pipeline keeps working even without these tweaks. No core feature or integration hinges on having these fallbacks, so completing this issue just smooths the user experience rather than unlocking something further down a dependency chain.

Urgency is low but not zero. Operators currently see inconsistent labeling and the team already recognized in late February that this still diverges from the desired behavior, so it’s worth prioritizing once bandwidth allows, but there’s no external deadline or deploy blocker tied to it.

Cost Assessment

Scope spans two major rendering paths. In app.js around the peer-drawing block (e.g., const peerName = peer.ip_hash ? peerNames[peer.ip_hash] : null; at app.js:2053), the new fallback now needs to set peerName to #hash or "Unknown IP" before gateway/you overrides kick in, so the selection, tooltip, and click behavior that rely on peerName (e.g., lines 2072–2218) all have to continue working. The label logic in js/topology.js (lines ~1113-1121) also must be updated to show "Unknown" when there is no peer label and to loosen the collision constants, so the canvas rendering pass that batches radial labels and limits them by MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP/MAX_LABELS has to respect the new values.

Technically the work is straightforward string fallback and constant adjustments, but attention is needed because these values are referenced in many small places. The new peer name computation must still play nicely with the tooltip text assembly and the condition that opens the peer-naming prompt (app.js:2072-2134), so we can’t accidentally skip calling showPeerNamingPrompt when a peer has no hash but is “you.” Similarly, state.peerNames is populated in the data handlers later in the file (app.js:3158-3333), so the fallback should only reorder existing checks rather than introduce new dependencies. On the topology side, the labelContent fallback is used inside the radial label pass that also decides priority and shouldShow, so the new "Unknown" string must survive sorting without changing the candidate selection logic.

The risk is low but non-zero. Changing the label defaults and collision constants could make the chart show dozens more labels around the circle, so we should manually verify that the more permissive gap (MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP = 0.008, MAX_LABELS = 120 at js/topology.js:1113-1114) doesn’t create performance hitches with large canvases or completely overlapping text. Adjusting peerName defaults might change which peers get the gateway/you label, so regression testing should confirm that those labels still fall back to 'GW'/'YOU' as intended (app.js:2063-2072) and that the tooltip/selection still behaves the same when a peer has neither a hash nor a name.

Testing effort is mostly manual. Launching the app and inspecting peers that lack ip_hash, that are gateways, and that are “you” will exercise the new fallbacks and ensure the "Unknown IP"/"Unknown" strings appear where expected; the canvas label rendering can be verified by toggling showInsideLabels and counting how many labels render and whether the spacing feels acceptable. No automated tests currently cover these UI label flows, so smoke-testing the topology view after the change is the most practical verification step.

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Generated by issue-prioritizer

[sanity]

Current-state check on main (2026-02-27): this appears only partially implemented.

What’s already present:

• Gateway/you labels fallback to GW / YOU in app.js (app.js:2063, app.js:2072).

What still differs from this issue’s requested changes:

• peerName still defaults to null when no ip_hash, not "Unknown IP" (app.js:2053).
• Canvas label fallback still resolves to null when showInsideLabels is false, not "Unknown" (js/topology.js:1120).
• Collision constants are still the old tight values (MIN_LABEL_ANGLE_GAP = 0.08, MAX_LABELS = 12) rather than the requested looser values (0.008 / 120) (js/topology.js:1113-1114).

So this is not a close candidate yet from current code.