fix(install): run privileged user/ownership setup via sudo when installer is non-root (#753)

[jaylfc]

On a non-root run where have_root_or_sudo succeeds (passwordless sudo, the default on Radxa/Armbian SBC images), ensure_taos_user called useradd and usermod bare without any privilege elevation, and set_data_dir_ownership called chown -R and chmod the same way, silently discarding errors via 2>/dev/null || true. The service unit was still stamped with User=taos, so the first start failed with 217/USER on a fresh box, or reproduced the #723 CHDIR restart loop on a box with a prior root install where the repair chown/chmod never actually ran.

Both functions now compute local sudo_cmd the same way install_linux_systemd_system already does (empty when already root, "sudo" otherwise), and prefix every privileged call with it. The chown -R and parent-walk chmod o+x failures are no longer silenced: if either fails, a visible warn tells the user the service will not start and to re-run with sudo. The chmod 0700/0600 tightening calls also receive the prefix. Closes #753; hardens the #723 scenario.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes

  • Improved privilege handling during installation to ensure proper user and group management.
  • Tightened permissions on data directories and credential files for enhanced security.

• Chores

  • Enhanced error handling and warnings during system setup.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

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Run ID: 4a33f345-08ce-414a-bef1-9c4f746d08bf

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 5fac4b2 and 2c6b110.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• scripts/install-server.sh

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The installer script scripts/install-server.sh improves privilege handling by introducing root-aware sudo_cmd conditionals in two functions: ensure_taos_user now uses sudo_cmd for user creation and group additions; set_data_dir_ownership wraps chown and chmod operations through sudo_cmd with explicit failure warnings and stricter permission constraints.

Changes

Privilege Handling and Permissions Hardening

Layer / File(s)	Summary
User and group management with root-safe execution scripts/install-server.sh	ensure_taos_user defines conditional sudo_cmd and applies it to useradd and two usermod group-add calls, replacing unconditional non-root execution patterns.
Directory ownership and permissions with sudo_cmd scripts/install-server.sh	set_data_dir_ownership routes recursive chown through sudo_cmd with explicit warning behavior; wraps all chmod operations (parent-directory traversal and data/credential-file permission tightening) through sudo_cmd.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~8 minutes

Possibly related issues

• jaylfc/taOS#753: This PR directly implements the root-safe privilege handling fixes by threading $sudo_cmd into ensure_taos_user and set_data_dir_ownership functions and removing silent chown/chmod failures.

Possibly related PRs

• jaylfc/taOS#724: Both PRs modify set_data_dir_ownership to adjust parent-directory permissions; this PR additionally introduces root-safe sudo_cmd wrapping for all privileged operations.
• jaylfc/taOS#677: Both PRs modify ensure_taos_user and set_data_dir_ownership to implement root-safe user/group creation and permission management for non-root controller execution.

Poem

🐰 A script once made assumptions bold,
Running commands without care to hold,
But now with sudo_cmd so wise,
Each privilege check the script denies,
Safe and sound, the service glides! 🔐

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: adding sudo handling to privileged operations in the installer when run as a non-root user, which directly matches the changeset's core objective.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches

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• Create stacked PR
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🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/install-sudo-cmd-helpers

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