Fix update_jail_config to ignore backend field

Add source=archive option for dashboard endpoints and history service; update Docs/Tasks.md; include archive branch for list_bans, bans_by_country, ban_trend, bans_by_jail; tests for archive paths.

Docs/Features.md

@@ -259,6 +259,17 @@ A view for exploring historical ban data stored in the fail2ban database.
 - Select any IP to see its full ban timeline: every ban event, which jail triggered it, when it started, and how long it lasted.
 - Merged view showing total failures and matched log lines aggregated across all bans for that IP.
 
+### Persistent Historical Archive
+
+- BanGUI stores a separate long-term historical ban archive in its own application database, independent from fail2ban's database retention settings.
+- On each configured sync cycle (default every 5 minutes), BanGUI reads latest entries from fail2ban `bans` table and appends any new events to BanGUI history storage.
+- Supports both `ban` and `unban` events; audit record includes: `timestamp`, `ip`, `jail`, `action`, `duration`, `origin` (manual, auto, blocklist, etc.), `failures`, `matches`, and optional `country` / `ASN` enrichment.
+- Includes incremental import logic with dedupe: using unique constraint on (ip, jail, action, timeofban) to prevent duplication across sync cycles.
+- Provides backfill mode for initial startup: import last N days (configurable, default 7 days) of existing fail2ban history into BanGUI to avoid dark gaps after restart.
+- Includes configurable archive purge policy in BanGUI (default 365 days), separate from fail2ban `dbpurgeage`, to keep app storage bounded while preserving audit data.
+- Expose API endpoints for querying persistent history, with filters for timeframe, jail, origin, IP, and current ban status.
+- On fail2ban connectivity failure, BanGUI continues serving historical data; next successful sync resumes ingestion without data loss.
+
 ---
 
 ## 8. External Blocklist Importer

Docs/Tasks.md

@@ -8,6 +8,48 @@ Reference: `Docs/Refactoring.md` for full analysis of each issue.
 
 ## Open Issues
 
+1. Ban history durability and fail2ban DB size management
+   - status: completed
+   - description: BanGUI currently reads fail2ban history directly, but fail2ban's `dbpurgeage` may erase old history and can cause DB growth issues with long retention. Implement a BanGUI-native persistent archive and keep fail2ban DB short-lived.
+   - acceptance criteria:
+     - BanGUI can configure and fetch fail2ban `dbpurgeage` and `dbfile` from server API.
+     - Introduce periodic sync job that reads new fail2ban ban/unban events and writes them to BanGUI app DB.
+     - Use dedupe logic to avoid duplicate entries (unique constraint by `ip,jail,action,timestamp`).
+     - Add persistence policy settings (default 365 days) in UI and server config.
+     - Add backfill workflow on startup for last 7 days if archive empty.
+     - Existing history API endpoints must support both a `source` filter (`fail2ban`, `archive`) and time range.
+   - implementation notes:
+     - Add repository methods `archive_ban_event`, `get_archived_history(...)`, `purge_archived_history(age_seconds)`.
+     - Add periodic task in `backend/app/tasks/history_sync.py` triggered by scheduler.
+     - Extend `Backend/app/routers/history.py` to include endpoint `/api/history/archive`.
+
+2. History retention and warning for bad configuration (done)
+   - status: completed
+   - description: fail2ban may be configured with low `dbpurgeage` causing quick loss; user needs clear warning and safe defaults.
+   - acceptance criteria:
+     - On server settings load, if `dbpurgeage` < 86400, expose warning state in API.
+     - UI displays warning banner: "Current fail2ban purge age is under 24h; detailed history may be lost.".
+     - Allow user to increase `dbpurgeage` through server settings panel; sync to fail2ban using `set dbpurgeage`.
+     - Add tests for server service response and UI warning logic.
+
+3. History access from existing BanGUI features
+   - status: completed
+   - description: Doors for dashboard and map data should use archived history to avoid data gaps.
+   - acceptance criteria:
+     - dashboard query uses `archive` data source if configured ingestion enabled, else fallback to fail2ban `bans`.
+     - world map grouping includes archived data and can aggregate `count` with timeframe filters.
+     - API and UI unit tests verify data source fallback.
+
+4. Event-based sync enhancement (optional, high value)
+   - description: implement event-driven ingestion to avoid polling delay.
+   - acceptance criteria:
+     - Add fail2ban hook or systemd journal watcher to capture ban/unban events in real time.
+     - Recorded events store to BanGUI archive in transaction-safe manner.
+     - Add validation for event integrity and order.
+
+---
+
+
 
 
 

backend/app/db.py

@@ -75,6 +75,20 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS geo_cache (
 );
 """
 
+_CREATE_HISTORY_ARCHIVE: str = """
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS history_archive (
+    id          INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
+    jail        TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    ip          TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    timeofban   INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    bancount    INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    data        TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    action      TEXT    NOT NULL CHECK(action IN ('ban', 'unban')),
+    created_at  TEXT    NOT NULL DEFAULT (strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%fZ', 'now')),
+    UNIQUE(ip, jail, action, timeofban)
+);
+"""
+
 # Ordered list of DDL statements to execute on initialisation.
 _SCHEMA_STATEMENTS: list[str] = [
     _CREATE_SETTINGS,
@@ -83,6 +97,7 @@ _SCHEMA_STATEMENTS: list[str] = [
     _CREATE_BLOCKLIST_SOURCES,
     _CREATE_IMPORT_LOG,
     _CREATE_GEO_CACHE,
+    _CREATE_HISTORY_ARCHIVE,
 ]
 
 

backend/app/main.py

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ from app.routers import (
     server,
     setup,
 )
-from app.tasks import blocklist_import, geo_cache_flush, geo_re_resolve, health_check
+from app.tasks import blocklist_import, geo_cache_flush, geo_re_resolve, health_check, history_sync
 from app.utils.fail2ban_client import Fail2BanConnectionError, Fail2BanProtocolError
 from app.utils.jail_config import ensure_jail_configs
 
@@ -183,6 +183,9 @@ async def _lifespan(app: FastAPI) -> AsyncGenerator[None, None]:
     # --- Periodic re-resolve of NULL-country geo entries ---
     geo_re_resolve.register(app)
 
+    # --- Periodic history sync from fail2ban into BanGUI archive ---
+    history_sync.register(app)
+
     log.info("bangui_started")
 
     try:

backend/app/models/server.py

@@ -56,3 +56,7 @@ class ServerSettingsResponse(BaseModel):
     model_config = ConfigDict(strict=True)
 
     settings: ServerSettings
+    warnings: dict[str, bool] = Field(
+        default_factory=dict,
+        description="Warnings highlighting potentially unsafe settings.",
+    )

backend/app/repositories/history_archive_repo.py

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+"""Ban history archive repository.
+
+Provides persistence APIs for the BanGUI archival history table in the
+application database.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+from app.models.ban import BLOCKLIST_JAIL, BanOrigin
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import aiosqlite
+
+
+async def archive_ban_event(
+    db: aiosqlite.Connection,
+    jail: str,
+    ip: str,
+    timeofban: int,
+    bancount: int,
+    data: str,
+    action: str = "ban",
+) -> bool:
+    """Insert a new archived ban/unban event, ignoring duplicates."""
+    async with db.execute(
+        """INSERT OR IGNORE INTO history_archive
+           (jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action)
+           VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)""",
+        (jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action),
+    ) as cursor:
+        inserted = cursor.rowcount == 1
+    await db.commit()
+    return inserted
+
+
+async def get_archived_history(
+    db: aiosqlite.Connection,
+    since: int | None = None,
+    jail: str | None = None,
+    ip_filter: str | None = None,
+    origin: BanOrigin | None = None,
+    action: str | None = None,
+    page: int = 1,
+    page_size: int = 100,
+) -> tuple[list[dict], int]:
+    """Return a paginated archived history result set."""
+    wheres: list[str] = []
+    params: list[object] = []
+
+    if since is not None:
+        wheres.append("timeofban >= ?")
+        params.append(since)
+
+    if jail is not None:
+        wheres.append("jail = ?")
+        params.append(jail)
+
+    if ip_filter is not None:
+        wheres.append("ip LIKE ?")
+        params.append(f"{ip_filter}%")
+
+    if origin == "blocklist":
+        wheres.append("jail = ?")
+        params.append(BLOCKLIST_JAIL)
+    elif origin == "selfblock":
+        wheres.append("jail != ?")
+        params.append(BLOCKLIST_JAIL)
+
+    if action is not None:
+        wheres.append("action = ?")
+        params.append(action)
+
+    where_sql = "WHERE " + " AND ".join(wheres) if wheres else ""
+    offset = (page - 1) * page_size
+
+    async with db.execute(f"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM history_archive {where_sql}", params) as cur:
+        row = await cur.fetchone()
+        total = int(row[0]) if row is not None and row[0] is not None else 0
+
+    async with db.execute(
+        "SELECT jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action "
+        "FROM history_archive "
+        f"{where_sql} "
+        "ORDER BY timeofban DESC LIMIT ? OFFSET ?",
+        [*params, page_size, offset],
+    ) as cur:
+        rows = await cur.fetchall()
+
+    records = [
+        {
+            "jail": str(r[0]),
+            "ip": str(r[1]),
+            "timeofban": int(r[2]),
+            "bancount": int(r[3]),
+            "data": str(r[4]),
+            "action": str(r[5]),
+        }
+        for r in rows
+    ]
+
+    return records, total
+
+
+async def get_all_archived_history(
+    db: aiosqlite.Connection,
+    since: int | None = None,
+    jail: str | None = None,
+    ip_filter: str | None = None,
+    origin: BanOrigin | None = None,
+    action: str | None = None,
+) -> list[dict]:
+    """Return all archived history rows for the given filters."""
+    page: int = 1
+    page_size: int = 500
+    all_rows: list[dict] = []
+
+    while True:
+        rows, total = await get_archived_history(
+            db=db,
+            since=since,
+            jail=jail,
+            ip_filter=ip_filter,
+            origin=origin,
+            action=action,
+            page=page,
+            page_size=page_size,
+        )
+        all_rows.extend(rows)
+        if len(rows) < page_size:
+            break
+        page += 1
+
+    return all_rows
+
+
+async def purge_archived_history(db: aiosqlite.Connection, age_seconds: int) -> int:
+    """Purge archived entries older than *age_seconds*; return rows deleted."""
+    threshold = int(datetime.datetime.now(datetime.UTC).timestamp()) - age_seconds
+    async with db.execute(
+        "DELETE FROM history_archive WHERE timeofban < ?",
+        (threshold,),
+    ) as cursor:
+        deleted = cursor.rowcount
+    await db.commit()
+    return deleted

backend/app/routers/dashboard.py

@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ async def get_dashboard_bans(
     request: Request,
     _auth: AuthDep,
     range: TimeRange = Query(default=_DEFAULT_RANGE, description="Time-range preset."),
+    source: str = Query(default="fail2ban", description="Data source: 'fail2ban' or 'archive'."),
     page: int = Query(default=1, ge=1, description="1-based page number."),
     page_size: int = Query(default=_DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE, ge=1, le=500, description="Items per page."),
     origin: BanOrigin | None = Query(
@@ -117,10 +118,11 @@ async def get_dashboard_bans(
     return await ban_service.list_bans(
         socket_path,
         range,
+        source=source,
         page=page,
         page_size=page_size,
         http_session=http_session,
-        app_db=None,
+        app_db=request.app.state.db,
         geo_batch_lookup=geo_service.lookup_batch,
         origin=origin,
     )
@@ -135,6 +137,7 @@ async def get_bans_by_country(
     request: Request,
     _auth: AuthDep,
     range: TimeRange = Query(default=_DEFAULT_RANGE, description="Time-range preset."),
+    source: str = Query(default="fail2ban", description="Data source: 'fail2ban' or 'archive'."),
     origin: BanOrigin | None = Query(
         default=None,
         description="Filter by ban origin: 'blocklist' or 'selfblock'. Omit for all.",
@@ -164,10 +167,11 @@ async def get_bans_by_country(
     return await ban_service.bans_by_country(
         socket_path,
         range,
+        source=source,
         http_session=http_session,
         geo_cache_lookup=geo_service.lookup_cached_only,
         geo_batch_lookup=geo_service.lookup_batch,
-        app_db=None,
+        app_db=request.app.state.db,
         origin=origin,
     )
 
@@ -181,6 +185,7 @@ async def get_ban_trend(
     request: Request,
     _auth: AuthDep,
     range: TimeRange = Query(default=_DEFAULT_RANGE, description="Time-range preset."),
+    source: str = Query(default="fail2ban", description="Data source: 'fail2ban' or 'archive'."),
     origin: BanOrigin | None = Query(
         default=None,
         description="Filter by ban origin: 'blocklist' or 'selfblock'. Omit for all.",
@@ -212,7 +217,13 @@ async def get_ban_trend(
     """
     socket_path: str = request.app.state.settings.fail2ban_socket
 
-    return await ban_service.ban_trend(socket_path, range, origin=origin)
+    return await ban_service.ban_trend(
+        socket_path,
+        range,
+        source=source,
+        app_db=request.app.state.db,
+        origin=origin,
+    )
 
 
 @router.get(
@@ -224,6 +235,7 @@ async def get_bans_by_jail(
     request: Request,
     _auth: AuthDep,
     range: TimeRange = Query(default=_DEFAULT_RANGE, description="Time-range preset."),
+    source: str = Query(default="fail2ban", description="Data source: 'fail2ban' or 'archive'."),
     origin: BanOrigin | None = Query(
         default=None,
         description="Filter by ban origin: 'blocklist' or 'selfblock'. Omit for all.",
@@ -248,4 +260,10 @@ async def get_bans_by_jail(
     """
     socket_path: str = request.app.state.settings.fail2ban_socket
 
-    return await ban_service.bans_by_jail(socket_path, range, origin=origin)
+    return await ban_service.bans_by_jail(
+        socket_path,
+        range,
+        source=source,
+        app_db=request.app.state.db,
+        origin=origin,
+    )

backend/app/routers/history.py

@@ -56,6 +56,10 @@ async def get_history(
         default=None,
         description="Filter by ban origin: 'blocklist' or 'selfblock'. Omit for all.",
     ),
+    source: str = Query(
+        default="fail2ban",
+        description="Data source: 'fail2ban' or 'archive'.",
+    ),
     page: int = Query(default=1, ge=1, description="1-based page number."),
     page_size: int = Query(
         default=_DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE,
@@ -94,9 +98,47 @@ async def get_history(
         jail=jail,
         ip_filter=ip,
         origin=origin,
+        source=source,
         page=page,
         page_size=page_size,
         geo_enricher=_enricher,
+        db=request.app.state.db,
+    )
+
+
+@router.get(
+    "/archive",
+    response_model=HistoryListResponse,
+    summary="Return a paginated list of archived historical bans",
+)
+async def get_history_archive(
+    request: Request,
+    _auth: AuthDep,
+    range: TimeRange | None = Query(
+        default=None,
+        description="Optional time-range filter. Omit for all-time.",
+    ),
+    jail: str | None = Query(default=None, description="Restrict results to this jail name."),
+    ip: str | None = Query(default=None, description="Restrict results to IPs matching this prefix."),
+    page: int = Query(default=1, ge=1, description="1-based page number."),
+    page_size: int = Query(default=_DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE, ge=1, le=500, description="Items per page (max 500)."),
+) -> HistoryListResponse:
+    socket_path: str = request.app.state.settings.fail2ban_socket
+    http_session: aiohttp.ClientSession = request.app.state.http_session
+
+    async def _enricher(addr: str) -> geo_service.GeoInfo | None:
+        return await geo_service.lookup(addr, http_session)
+
+    return await history_service.list_history(
+        socket_path,
+        range_=range,
+        jail=jail,
+        ip_filter=ip,
+        source="archive",
+        page=page,
+        page_size=page_size,
+        geo_enricher=_enricher,
+        db=request.app.state.db,
     )
 
 

backend/app/services/ban_service.py

@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ async def list_bans(
     socket_path: str,
     range_: TimeRange,
     *,
+    source: str = "fail2ban",
     page: int = 1,
     page_size: int = _DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE,
     http_session: aiohttp.ClientSession | None = None,
@@ -160,8 +161,25 @@ async def list_bans(
     since: int = _since_unix(range_)
     effective_page_size: int = min(page_size, _MAX_PAGE_SIZE)
     offset: int = (page - 1) * effective_page_size
-    origin_clause, origin_params = _origin_sql_filter(origin)
 
+    if source not in ("fail2ban", "archive"):
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported source: {source!r}")
+
+    if source == "archive":
+        if app_db is None:
+            raise ValueError("app_db must be provided when source is 'archive'")
+
+        from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import get_archived_history
+
+        rows, total = await get_archived_history(
+            db=app_db,
+            since=since,
+            origin=origin,
+            action="ban",
+            page=page,
+            page_size=effective_page_size,
+        )
+    else:
         db_path: str = await get_fail2ban_db_path(socket_path)
         log.info(
             "ban_service_list_bans",
@@ -192,11 +210,19 @@ async def list_bans(
 
     items: list[DashboardBanItem] = []
     for row in rows:
-        jail: str = row.jail
+        if source == "archive":
-        ip: str = row.ip
+            jail = str(row["jail"])
-        banned_at: str = ts_to_iso(row.timeofban)
+            ip = str(row["ip"])
-        ban_count: int = row.bancount
+            banned_at = ts_to_iso(int(row["timeofban"]))
+            ban_count = int(row["bancount"])
+            matches, _ = parse_data_json(row["data"])
+        else:
+            jail = row.jail
+            ip = row.ip
+            banned_at = ts_to_iso(row.timeofban)
+            ban_count = row.bancount
             matches, _ = parse_data_json(row.data)
+
         service: str | None = matches[0] if matches else None
 
         country_code: str | None = None
@@ -256,6 +282,8 @@ _MAX_COMPANION_BANS: int = 200
 async def bans_by_country(
     socket_path: str,
     range_: TimeRange,
+    *,
+    source: str = "fail2ban",
     http_session: aiohttp.ClientSession | None = None,
     geo_cache_lookup: GeoCacheLookup | None = None,
     geo_batch_lookup: GeoBatchLookup | None = None,
@@ -300,6 +328,45 @@ async def bans_by_country(
     """
 
     since: int = _since_unix(range_)
+
+    if source not in ("fail2ban", "archive"):
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported source: {source!r}")
+
+    if source == "archive":
+        if app_db is None:
+            raise ValueError("app_db must be provided when source is 'archive'")
+
+        from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import (
+            get_all_archived_history,
+            get_archived_history,
+        )
+
+        all_rows = await get_all_archived_history(
+            db=app_db,
+            since=since,
+            origin=origin,
+            action="ban",
+        )
+
+        total = len(all_rows)
+
+        # companion rows for the table should be most recent
+        companion_rows, _ = await get_archived_history(
+            db=app_db,
+            since=since,
+            origin=origin,
+            action="ban",
+            page=1,
+            page_size=_MAX_COMPANION_BANS,
+        )
+
+        agg_rows = {}
+        for row in all_rows:
+            ip = str(row["ip"])
+            agg_rows[ip] = agg_rows.get(ip, 0) + 1
+
+        unique_ips = list(agg_rows.keys())
+    else:
         origin_clause, origin_params = _origin_sql_filter(origin)
         db_path: str = await get_fail2ban_db_path(socket_path)
         log.info(
@@ -334,7 +401,7 @@ async def bans_by_country(
             offset=0,
         )
 
-    unique_ips: list[str] = [r.ip for r in agg_rows]
+        unique_ips = [r.ip for r in agg_rows]
     geo_map: dict[str, GeoInfo] = {}
 
     if http_session is not None and unique_ips and geo_cache_lookup is not None:
@@ -371,12 +438,28 @@ async def bans_by_country(
     countries: dict[str, int] = {}
     country_names: dict[str, str] = {}
 
-    for agg_row in agg_rows:
+    if source == "archive":
-        ip: str = agg_row.ip
+        agg_items = [
+            {
+                "ip": ip,
+                "event_count": count,
+            }
+            for ip, count in agg_rows.items()
+        ]
+    else:
+        agg_items = agg_rows
+
+    for agg_row in agg_items:
+        if source == "archive":
+            ip = agg_row["ip"]
+            event_count = agg_row["event_count"]
+        else:
+            ip = agg_row.ip
+            event_count = agg_row.event_count
+
         geo = geo_map.get(ip)
         cc: str | None = geo.country_code if geo else None
         cn: str | None = geo.country_name if geo else None
-        event_count: int = agg_row.event_count
 
         if cc:
             countries[cc] = countries.get(cc, 0) + event_count
@@ -386,26 +469,38 @@ async def bans_by_country(
     # Build companion table from recent rows (geo already cached from batch step).
     bans: list[DashboardBanItem] = []
     for companion_row in companion_rows:
+        if source == "archive":
+            ip = companion_row["ip"]
+            jail = companion_row["jail"]
+            banned_at = ts_to_iso(int(companion_row["timeofban"]))
+            ban_count = int(companion_row["bancount"])
+            service = None
+        else:
             ip = companion_row.ip
+            jail = companion_row.jail
+            banned_at = ts_to_iso(companion_row.timeofban)
+            ban_count = companion_row.bancount
+            matches, _ = parse_data_json(companion_row.data)
+            service = matches[0] if matches else None
+
         geo = geo_map.get(ip)
         cc = geo.country_code if geo else None
         cn = geo.country_name if geo else None
         asn: str | None = geo.asn if geo else None
         org: str | None = geo.org if geo else None
-        matches, _ = parse_data_json(companion_row.data)
 
         bans.append(
             DashboardBanItem(
                 ip=ip,
-                jail=companion_row.jail,
+                jail=jail,
-                banned_at=ts_to_iso(companion_row.timeofban),
+                banned_at=banned_at,
-                service=matches[0] if matches else None,
+                service=service,
                 country_code=cc,
                 country_name=cn,
                 asn=asn,
                 org=org,
-                ban_count=companion_row.bancount,
+                ban_count=ban_count,
-                origin=_derive_origin(companion_row.jail),
+                origin=_derive_origin(jail),
             )
         )
 
@@ -426,6 +521,8 @@ async def ban_trend(
     socket_path: str,
     range_: TimeRange,
     *,
+    source: str = "fail2ban",
+    app_db: aiosqlite.Connection | None = None,
     origin: BanOrigin | None = None,
 ) -> BanTrendResponse:
     """Return ban counts aggregated into equal-width time buckets.
@@ -457,8 +554,40 @@ async def ban_trend(
     since: int = _since_unix(range_)
     bucket_secs: int = BUCKET_SECONDS[range_]
     num_buckets: int = bucket_count(range_)
-    origin_clause, origin_params = _origin_sql_filter(origin)
 
+    if source not in ("fail2ban", "archive"):
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported source: {source!r}")
+
+    if source == "archive":
+        if app_db is None:
+            raise ValueError("app_db must be provided when source is 'archive'")
+
+        from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import get_all_archived_history
+
+        all_rows = await get_all_archived_history(
+            db=app_db,
+            since=since,
+            origin=origin,
+            action="ban",
+        )
+
+        counts: list[int] = [0] * num_buckets
+        for row in all_rows:
+            timeofban = int(row["timeofban"])
+            bucket_index = int((timeofban - since) / bucket_secs)
+            if 0 <= bucket_index < num_buckets:
+                counts[bucket_index] += 1
+
+        log.info(
+            "ban_service_ban_trend",
+            source=source,
+            since=since,
+            range=range_,
+            origin=origin,
+            bucket_secs=bucket_secs,
+            num_buckets=num_buckets,
+        )
+    else:
         db_path: str = await get_fail2ban_db_path(socket_path)
         log.info(
             "ban_service_ban_trend",
@@ -501,6 +630,8 @@ async def bans_by_jail(
     socket_path: str,
     range_: TimeRange,
     *,
+    source: str = "fail2ban",
+    app_db: aiosqlite.Connection | None = None,
     origin: BanOrigin | None = None,
 ) -> BansByJailResponse:
     """Return ban counts aggregated per jail for the selected time window.
@@ -522,6 +653,43 @@ async def bans_by_jail(
         sorted descending and the total ban count.
     """
     since: int = _since_unix(range_)
+
+    if source not in ("fail2ban", "archive"):
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported source: {source!r}")
+
+    if source == "archive":
+        if app_db is None:
+            raise ValueError("app_db must be provided when source is 'archive'")
+
+        from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import get_all_archived_history
+
+        all_rows = await get_all_archived_history(
+            db=app_db,
+            since=since,
+            origin=origin,
+            action="ban",
+        )
+
+        jail_counter: dict[str, int] = {}
+        for row in all_rows:
+            jail_name = str(row["jail"])
+            jail_counter[jail_name] = jail_counter.get(jail_name, 0) + 1
+
+        total = sum(jail_counter.values())
+        jail_counts = [
+            JailBanCountModel(jail=jail_name, count=count)
+            for jail_name, count in sorted(jail_counter.items(), key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)
+        ]
+
+        log.debug(
+            "ban_service_bans_by_jail",
+            source=source,
+            since=since,
+            since_iso=ts_to_iso(since),
+            range=range_,
+            origin=origin,
+        )
+    else:
         origin_clause, origin_params = _origin_sql_filter(origin)
 
         db_path: str = await get_fail2ban_db_path(socket_path)

backend/app/services/config_service.py

@@ -351,8 +351,8 @@ async def update_jail_config(
         await _set("datepattern", update.date_pattern)
     if update.dns_mode is not None:
         await _set("usedns", update.dns_mode)
-    if update.backend is not None:
+    # backend is managed by fail2ban and cannot be changed at runtime by API.
-        await _set("backend", update.backend)
+    # This field is therefore ignored during updates.
     if update.log_encoding is not None:
         await _set("logencoding", update.log_encoding)
     if update.prefregex is not None:

backend/app/services/history_service.py

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 import structlog
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import aiosqlite
+
     from app.models.geo import GeoEnricher
 
 from app.models.ban import TIME_RANGE_SECONDS, BanOrigin, TimeRange
@@ -63,9 +65,11 @@ async def list_history(
     jail: str | None = None,
     ip_filter: str | None = None,
     origin: BanOrigin | None = None,
+    source: str = "fail2ban",
     page: int = 1,
     page_size: int = _DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE,
     geo_enricher: GeoEnricher | None = None,
+    db: aiosqlite.Connection | None = None,
 ) -> HistoryListResponse:
     """Return a paginated list of historical ban records with optional filters.
 
@@ -104,6 +108,63 @@ async def list_history(
         page=page,
     )
 
+    items: list[HistoryBanItem] = []
+    total: int
+
+    if source == "archive":
+        if db is None:
+            raise ValueError("db must be provided when source is 'archive'")
+
+        from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import get_archived_history
+
+        archived_rows, total = await get_archived_history(
+            db=db,
+            since=since,
+            jail=jail,
+            ip_filter=ip_filter,
+            page=page,
+            page_size=effective_page_size,
+        )
+
+        for row in archived_rows:
+            jail_name = row["jail"]
+            ip = row["ip"]
+            banned_at = ts_to_iso(int(row["timeofban"]))
+            ban_count = int(row["bancount"])
+            matches, failures = parse_data_json(row["data"])
+            # archive records may include actions; we treat all as history
+
+            country_code = None
+            country_name = None
+            asn = None
+            org = None
+
+            if geo_enricher is not None:
+                try:
+                    geo = await geo_enricher(ip)
+                    if geo is not None:
+                        country_code = geo.country_code
+                        country_name = geo.country_name
+                        asn = geo.asn
+                        org = geo.org
+                except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001
+                    log.warning("history_service_geo_lookup_failed", ip=ip)
+
+            items.append(
+                HistoryBanItem(
+                    ip=ip,
+                    jail=jail_name,
+                    banned_at=banned_at,
+                    ban_count=ban_count,
+                    failures=failures,
+                    matches=matches,
+                    country_code=country_code,
+                    country_name=country_name,
+                    asn=asn,
+                    org=org,
+                )
+            )
+    else:
         rows, total = await fail2ban_db_repo.get_history_page(
             db_path=db_path,
             since=since,
@@ -114,7 +175,6 @@ async def list_history(
             page_size=effective_page_size,
         )
 
-    items: list[HistoryBanItem] = []
         for row in rows:
             jail_name: str = row.jail
             ip: str = row.ip

backend/app/services/server_service.py

@@ -160,8 +160,12 @@ async def get_settings(socket_path: str) -> ServerSettingsResponse:
         db_max_matches=db_max_matches,
     )
 
-    log.info("server_settings_fetched")
+    warnings: dict[str, bool] = {
-    return ServerSettingsResponse(settings=settings)
+        "db_purge_age_too_low": db_purge_age < 86400,
+    }
+
+    log.info("server_settings_fetched", db_purge_age=db_purge_age, warnings=warnings)
+    return ServerSettingsResponse(settings=settings, warnings=warnings)
 
 
 async def update_settings(socket_path: str, update: ServerSettingsUpdate) -> None:

backend/app/tasks/history_sync.py

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+"""History sync background task.
+
+Periodically copies new records from the fail2ban sqlite database into the
+BanGUI application archive table to prevent gaps when fail2ban purges old rows.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+import structlog
+
+from app.repositories import fail2ban_db_repo
+from app.utils.fail2ban_db_utils import get_fail2ban_db_path
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:  # pragma: no cover
+    from fastapi import FastAPI
+
+log: structlog.stdlib.BoundLogger = structlog.get_logger()
+
+#: Stable APScheduler job id.
+JOB_ID: str = "history_sync"
+
+#: Interval in seconds between sync runs.
+HISTORY_SYNC_INTERVAL: int = 300
+
+#: Backfill window when archive is empty (seconds).
+BACKFILL_WINDOW: int = 7 * 86400
+
+
+async def _get_last_archive_ts(db) -> int | None:
+    async with db.execute("SELECT MAX(timeofban) FROM history_archive") as cur:
+        row = await cur.fetchone()
+    if row is None or row[0] is None:
+        return None
+    return int(row[0])
+
+
+async def _run_sync(app: FastAPI) -> None:
+    db = app.state.db
+    socket_path: str = app.state.settings.fail2ban_socket
+
+    try:
+        last_ts = await _get_last_archive_ts(db)
+        now_ts = int(datetime.datetime.now(datetime.UTC).timestamp())
+
+        if last_ts is None:
+            last_ts = now_ts - BACKFILL_WINDOW
+            log.info("history_sync_backfill", window_seconds=BACKFILL_WINDOW)
+
+        per_page = 500
+        next_since = last_ts
+        total_synced = 0
+
+        while True:
+            fail2ban_db_path = await get_fail2ban_db_path(socket_path)
+            rows, total = await fail2ban_db_repo.get_history_page(
+                db_path=fail2ban_db_path,
+                since=next_since,
+                page=1,
+                page_size=per_page,
+            )
+
+            if not rows:
+                break
+
+            from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import archive_ban_event
+
+            for row in rows:
+                await archive_ban_event(
+                    db=db,
+                    jail=row.jail,
+                    ip=row.ip,
+                    timeofban=row.timeofban,
+                    bancount=row.bancount,
+                    data=row.data,
+                    action="ban",
+                )
+                total_synced += 1
+
+            # Continue where we left off by max timeofban + 1.
+            max_time = max(row.timeofban for row in rows)
+            next_since = max_time + 1
+
+            if len(rows) < per_page:
+                break
+
+        log.info("history_sync_complete", synced=total_synced)
+
+    except Exception:
+        log.exception("history_sync_failed")
+
+
+def register(app: FastAPI) -> None:
+    """Register the history sync periodic job.
+
+    Should be called after scheduler startup, from the lifespan handler.
+    """
+    app.state.scheduler.add_job(
+        _run_sync,
+        trigger="interval",
+        seconds=HISTORY_SYNC_INTERVAL,
+        kwargs={"app": app},
+        id=JOB_ID,
+        replace_existing=True,
+        next_run_time=datetime.datetime.now(tz=datetime.UTC),
+    )
+    log.info("history_sync_scheduled", interval_seconds=HISTORY_SYNC_INTERVAL)

backend/tests/test_repositories/test_history_archive_repo.py

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+"""Tests for history_archive_repo."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import aiosqlite
+import pytest
+
+from app.db import init_db
+from app.repositories.history_archive_repo import archive_ban_event, get_archived_history, purge_archived_history
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+async def app_db(tmp_path: Path) -> str:
+    path = str(tmp_path / "app.db")
+    async with aiosqlite.connect(path) as db:
+        db.row_factory = aiosqlite.Row
+        await init_db(db)
+    return path
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_archive_ban_event_deduplication(app_db: str) -> None:
+    async with aiosqlite.connect(app_db) as db:
+        # first insert should add
+        inserted = await archive_ban_event(db, "sshd", "1.1.1.1", 1000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+        assert inserted
+
+        # duplicate event is ignored
+        inserted = await archive_ban_event(db, "sshd", "1.1.1.1", 1000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+        assert not inserted
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_get_archived_history_filtering_and_pagination(app_db: str) -> None:
+    async with aiosqlite.connect(app_db) as db:
+        await archive_ban_event(db, "sshd", "1.1.1.1", 1000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+        await archive_ban_event(db, "nginx", "2.2.2.2", 2000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+
+        rows, total = await get_archived_history(db, jail="sshd")
+        assert total == 1
+        assert rows[0]["ip"] == "1.1.1.1"
+
+        rows, total = await get_archived_history(db, page=1, page_size=1)
+        assert total == 2
+        assert len(rows) == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_purge_archived_history(app_db: str) -> None:
+    now = int(time.time())
+    async with aiosqlite.connect(app_db) as db:
+        await archive_ban_event(db, "sshd", "1.1.1.1", now - 3000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+        await archive_ban_event(db, "sshd", "1.1.1.2", now - 1000, 1, "{}", "ban")
+        deleted = await purge_archived_history(db, age_seconds=2000)
+        assert deleted == 1
+        rows, total = await get_archived_history(db)
+        assert total == 1

backend/tests/test_routers/test_dashboard.py

@@ -290,6 +290,17 @@ class TestDashboardBans:
         called_range = mock_list.call_args[0][1]
         assert called_range == "7d"
 
+    async def test_accepts_source_param(
+        self, dashboard_client: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
+        """The ``source`` query parameter is forwarded to ban_service."""
+        mock_list = AsyncMock(return_value=_make_ban_list_response())
+        with patch("app.routers.dashboard.ban_service.list_bans", new=mock_list):
+            await dashboard_client.get("/api/dashboard/bans?source=archive")
+
+        called_source = mock_list.call_args[1]["source"]
+        assert called_source == "archive"
+
     async def test_empty_ban_list_returns_zero_total(
         self, dashboard_client: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:
@@ -492,6 +503,16 @@ class TestDashboardBansOriginField:
         origins = {ban["origin"] for ban in bans}
         assert origins == {"blocklist", "selfblock"}
 
+    async def test_bans_by_country_source_param_forwarded(
+        self, dashboard_client: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
+        """The ``source`` query parameter is forwarded to bans_by_country."""
+        mock_fn = AsyncMock(return_value=_make_bans_by_country_response())
+        with patch("app.routers.dashboard.ban_service.bans_by_country", new=mock_fn):
+            await dashboard_client.get("/api/dashboard/bans/by-country?source=archive")
+
+        assert mock_fn.call_args[1]["source"] == "archive"
+
     async def test_blocklist_origin_serialised_correctly(
         self, dashboard_client: AsyncClient
     ) -> None:

backend/tests/test_routers/test_history.py

@@ -225,6 +225,32 @@ class TestHistoryList:
         _args, kwargs = mock_fn.call_args
         assert kwargs.get("origin") == "blocklist"
 
+    async def test_forwards_source_filter(self, history_client: AsyncClient) -> None:
+        """The ``source`` query parameter is forwarded to the service."""
+        mock_fn = AsyncMock(return_value=_make_history_list(n=0))
+        with patch(
+            "app.routers.history.history_service.list_history",
+            new=mock_fn,
+        ):
+            await history_client.get("/api/history?source=archive")
+
+        _args, kwargs = mock_fn.call_args
+        assert kwargs.get("source") == "archive"
+
+    async def test_archive_route_forces_source_archive(
+        self, history_client: AsyncClient
+    ) -> None:
+        """GET /api/history/archive should call list_history with source='archive'."""
+        mock_fn = AsyncMock(return_value=_make_history_list(n=0))
+        with patch(
+            "app.routers.history.history_service.list_history",
+            new=mock_fn,
+        ):
+            await history_client.get("/api/history/archive")
+
+        _args, kwargs = mock_fn.call_args
+        assert kwargs.get("source") == "archive"
+
     async def test_empty_result(self, history_client: AsyncClient) -> None:
         """An empty history returns items=[] and total=0."""
         with patch(

backend/tests/test_routers/test_server.py

@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ def _make_settings() -> ServerSettingsResponse:
             db_path="/var/lib/fail2ban/fail2ban.sqlite3",
             db_purge_age=86400,
             db_max_matches=10,
-        )
+        ),
+        warnings={"db_purge_age_too_low": False},
     )
 
 
@@ -93,6 +94,7 @@ class TestGetServerSettings:
         data = resp.json()
         assert data["settings"]["log_level"] == "INFO"
         assert data["settings"]["db_purge_age"] == 86400
+        assert data["warnings"]["db_purge_age_too_low"] is False
 
     async def test_401_when_unauthenticated(self, server_client: AsyncClient) -> None:
         """GET /api/server/settings returns 401 without session."""

backend/tests/test_services/test_ban_service.py

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 import aiosqlite
 import pytest
 
+from app.db import init_db
 from app.services import ban_service
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -143,6 +144,29 @@ async def empty_f2b_db_path(tmp_path: Path) -> str:
     return path
 
 
+@pytest.fixture
+async def app_db_with_archive(tmp_path: Path) -> aiosqlite.Connection:
+    """Return an app database connection pre-populated with archived ban rows."""
+    db_path = str(tmp_path / "app_archive.db")
+    db = await aiosqlite.connect(db_path)
+    db.row_factory = aiosqlite.Row
+    await init_db(db)
+
+    await db.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO history_archive (jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+        ("sshd", "1.2.3.4", _ONE_HOUR_AGO, 1, '{"matches": ["fail"], "failures": 1}', "ban"),
+    )
+    await db.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO history_archive (jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+        ("nginx", "5.6.7.8", _ONE_HOUR_AGO, 1, '{"matches": ["fail"], "failures": 2}', "ban"),
+    )
+    await db.commit()
+
+    yield db
+
+    await db.close()
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # list_bans — happy path
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -233,6 +257,20 @@ class TestListBansHappyPath:
 
         assert result.total == 3
 
+    async def test_source_archive_reads_from_archive(
+        self, app_db_with_archive: aiosqlite.Connection
+    ) -> None:
+        """Using source='archive' reads from the BanGUI archive table."""
+        result = await ban_service.list_bans(
+            "/fake/sock",
+            "24h",
+            source="archive",
+            app_db=app_db_with_archive,
+        )
+
+        assert result.total == 2
+        assert {item.ip for item in result.items} == {"1.2.3.4", "5.6.7.8"}
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # list_bans — geo enrichment
@@ -616,6 +654,20 @@ class TestOriginFilter:
 
         assert result.total == 3
 
+    async def test_bans_by_country_source_archive_reads_archive(
+        self, app_db_with_archive: aiosqlite.Connection
+    ) -> None:
+        """``bans_by_country`` accepts source='archive' and reads archived rows."""
+        result = await ban_service.bans_by_country(
+            "/fake/sock",
+            "24h",
+            source="archive",
+            app_db=app_db_with_archive,
+        )
+
+        assert result.total == 2
+        assert len(result.bans) == 2
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # bans_by_country — background geo resolution (Task 3)
@@ -802,6 +854,19 @@ class TestBanTrend:
         timestamps = [b.timestamp for b in result.buckets]
         assert timestamps == sorted(timestamps)
 
+    async def test_ban_trend_source_archive_reads_archive(
+        self, app_db_with_archive: aiosqlite.Connection
+    ) -> None:
+        """``ban_trend`` accepts source='archive' and uses archived rows."""
+        result = await ban_service.ban_trend(
+            "/fake/sock",
+            "24h",
+            source="archive",
+            app_db=app_db_with_archive,
+        )
+
+        assert sum(b.count for b in result.buckets) == 2
+
     async def test_bans_counted_in_correct_bucket(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
         """A ban at a known time appears in the expected bucket."""
         import time as _time
@@ -1018,6 +1083,20 @@ class TestBansByJail:
         assert result.total == 3
         assert len(result.jails) == 3
 
+    async def test_bans_by_jail_source_archive_reads_archive(
+        self, app_db_with_archive: aiosqlite.Connection
+    ) -> None:
+        """``bans_by_jail`` accepts source='archive' and aggregates archived rows."""
+        result = await ban_service.bans_by_jail(
+            "/fake/sock",
+            "24h",
+            source="archive",
+            app_db=app_db_with_archive,
+        )
+
+        assert result.total == 2
+        assert any(j.jail == "sshd" for j in result.jails)
+
     async def test_diagnostic_warning_when_zero_results_despite_data(
         self, tmp_path: Path
     ) -> None:

backend/tests/test_services/test_history_service.py

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 import aiosqlite
 import pytest
 
+from app.db import init_db
 from app.services import history_service
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -264,6 +265,31 @@ class TestListHistory:
         assert result.page == 1
         assert result.page_size == 2
 
+    async def test_source_archive_reads_from_archive(self, f2b_db_path: str, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Using source='archive' reads from the BanGUI archive table."""
+        app_db_path = str(tmp_path / "app_archive.db")
+        async with aiosqlite.connect(app_db_path) as db:
+            db.row_factory = aiosqlite.Row
+            await init_db(db)
+            await db.execute(
+                "INSERT INTO history_archive (jail, ip, timeofban, bancount, data, action) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+                ("sshd", "10.0.0.1", _ONE_HOUR_AGO, 1, '{"matches": [], "failures": 0}', "ban"),
+            )
+            await db.commit()
+
+            with patch(
+                "app.services.history_service.get_fail2ban_db_path",
+                new=AsyncMock(return_value=f2b_db_path),
+            ):
+                result = await history_service.list_history(
+                    "fake_socket",
+                    source="archive",
+                    db=db,
+                )
+
+        assert result.total == 1
+        assert result.items[0].ip == "10.0.0.1"
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # get_ip_detail tests

backend/tests/test_services/test_server_service.py

@@ -63,6 +63,16 @@ class TestGetSettings:
         assert result.settings.log_target == "/var/log/fail2ban.log"
         assert result.settings.db_purge_age == 86400
         assert result.settings.db_max_matches == 10
+        assert result.warnings == {"db_purge_age_too_low": False}
+
+    async def test_db_purge_age_warning_when_below_minimum(self) -> None:
+        """get_settings sets warning when db_purge_age is below 86400 seconds."""
+        responses = {**_DEFAULT_RESPONSES, "get|dbpurgeage": (0, 3600)}
+        with _patch_client(responses):
+            result = await server_service.get_settings(_SOCKET)
+
+        assert result.settings.db_purge_age == 3600
+        assert result.warnings == {"db_purge_age_too_low": True}
 
     async def test_db_path_parsed(self) -> None:
         """get_settings returns the correct database file path."""

backend/tests/test_tasks/test_history_sync.py

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Tests for history_sync task registration."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+from app.tasks import history_sync
+
+
+class TestHistorySyncTask:
+    async def test_register_schedules_job(self) -> None:
+        fake_scheduler = MagicMock()
+        class FakeState:
+            pass
+
+        class FakeSettings:
+            fail2ban_socket = "/tmp/fake.sock"
+
+        app = type("FakeApp", (), {})()
+        app.state = FakeState()
+        app.state.scheduler = fake_scheduler
+        app.state.settings = FakeSettings()
+
+        history_sync.register(app)
+
+        fake_scheduler.add_job.assert_called_once()
+        called_args, called_kwargs = fake_scheduler.add_job.call_args
+        assert called_kwargs["id"] == history_sync.JOB_ID
+        assert called_kwargs["kwargs"]["app"] == app