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Run Tor Browser in pseudo flatpak

segfault requested to merge 10422-tor-browser-in-flatpak into stable

Testing

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When we talk about a file/folder being "writable in the Tor Browser context" below we mean that they are both shared with read-write access from the host context into the flatpak context and are have read-write access through the Tor Browser AppArmor profile, so ~/Tor Browser and the XDG directories (~/Downloads, ~/Documents, etc). And, similarly, "readable in the Tor Browser context" means the file/folder is readable in both (flatpak, Apparmor) ways, which includes a few more places, primarily under /usr (e.g. were the documentation lives).

Legend:

  • Delta is "✨"
  • Regressions are "❗".
  • Status quo is everything else.

FileChooser portal

  • Download a file...
    • To a folder that is writable in the Tor Browser context: works perfectly, and opening a file chooser again should start in the previous target directory
    • ✨ To a folder that is non-writable in the Tor Browser context: works, but opening a file chooser again will start in /run/user/1000/doc/${some_number} (bad UX)
  • Open file after download, by clicking on the "Downloads" button, then on file name
    • folder that is writable in the Tor Browser context: works
    • ✨ folder that is non-writable in the Tor Browser context: works
  • Open folder after download, by clicking on the "Downloads" button, then on the folder icon
    • folder that is writable in the Tor Browser context: works
    • ✨ folder that is non-writable in the Tor Browser context: works
  • Print page to a PDF file
    • To a folder that is writable in the Tor Browser context: works perfectly, and opening a file chooser again should start in the previous target directory
    • ✨ To a folder that is non-writable in the Tor Browser context: works, but opening a file chooser again will start in /run/user/1000/doc/${some_number} (bad UX)
  • Save Page As...
    • To a folder that is writable in the Tor Browser context: works perfectly
    • ✨ To a folder that is non-writable in the Tor Browser context: should fail, but "Retry" in the Download widget should succeed although the _files folder silently fails to be created (bad UX)
      • why "should fail". Do you mean it will fail?
  • File → Open File...
    • To a folder that is readable in the Tor Browser context...
      • ❗ Inside /usr (also /etc and /proc but they are less relevant): "Access to the file was denied", and the URL is /run/user/1000/doc/${some_number}/foo.html. Note that this is a true regression introduced in this MR due to the FileChooser portal and how it treats /usr (and the others) in a special way. Details: !1025 (comment 254087) (bad UX)
      • Anywhere else (e.g. $HOME): works perfectly
    • ✨ To a folder that is non-readable in the Tor Browser context: works, the URL is /run/user/1000/doc/${some_number}/foo.html, but any files it references (like a _files folder) are absent (bad UX)
  • Opening a file by dragging it from Nautilus to Tor Browser...
    • To a folder that is readable in the Tor Browser context: works perfectly
    • ✨ To a folder that is non-readable in the Tor Browser context: "File not found" (bad UX)

Settings portal

File forwarding

  • Opening a HTML document in Nautilus should open it in Tor Browser
    • If the file is readable in the Tor Browser context: the URL is the path to the file, and images etc from a _files folder are included
    • ✨ If the file is non-readable in the Tor Browser context: the URL is /run/user/1000/doc/${some_number}/foo.html, but any files it references (like a _files folder) are absent (bad UX)

No regressions elsewhere

  • Browsing local documentation opened with the (obsolete) tails-documentation script
  • Browsing local documentation opened from 1 of our custom programs that links to it
  • HTML Drag and Drop API, like https://share.riseup.net
  • Sandbox: go to about:support and check that everything is true in the Sandbox section (especially User Namespaces). Also there should not be a warning banner when starting saying "Some of Tor Browser's security features may offer less protection on your current operating system".
  • Hardware accelerated rendering
  • Video and sound
  • There is a spinner when starting
  • Printer support
  • Persistent bookmarks
  • Screen reader
  • Screen keyboard
  • IBus, CJK input
  • Localization
  • Install add-on
  • Control port stuff (circuit list, new circuit for this site, new identity)

No improvement

  • Hardware accelerated video. Broken even without this MR (#20801)
  • Microphone and webcam. Disabled in upstream Tor Browser, see the "MediaDevices API" section in the design doc
    • When a webpage is accessing the microphone there is an orange overlay floating icon
Edited by anonym

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