[tbb-bugs] #21301 [Applications/Tor Browser]: Adjustable parameters for torrc-defaults file path and "Tor files" directory path

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#21301: Adjustable parameters for torrc-defaults file path and "Tor files"
directory path
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 Reporter:  proxybrain                |          Owner:  tbb-team
     Type:  enhancement               |         Status:  needs_information
 Priority:  Medium                    |      Milestone:
Component:  Applications/Tor Browser  |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal                    |     Resolution:
 Keywords:  tbb-usability             |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                            |         Points:
 Reviewer:                            |        Sponsor:
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Comment (by proxybrain):

 Thank you for the helpful suggestions. I was able to use the preferences
 and custom `torrc` (vs. `torrc-defaults`) you suggested to achieve my
 desired configurations. One point of difficulty that took awhile to debug
 was owed to `extensions.torlauncher.tordatadir_path` and
 `extensions.torlauncher.torrc_path` having maximum supported lengths, with
 respect to the tor executable (or so it seems). It was not clear to me why
 I was experiencing repeat failed launches of TBB, until I lucked out in
 noticing a tor log entry re: the path-length. Once I got that sorted out,
 all worked as desired.

 Here's a closely related question:

 Let `firefox` be the TBB executable and `/some/path` be an empty
 directory; these commands produce rather different output in `/some/path`:

 `firefox --profile=/some/path`

 `firefox -CreateProfile "some_name /some/path"`

 How can I generate the same output that results from the first command –
 let's call it the `TBB default profile` – but without starting the TBB
 application ''per se''?

 The `-CreateProfile` option is going the right direction, since it exits
 after writing to disk, but doesn't output the `TBB default profile`.

 My use case: when the TBB executable is invoked by Selenium (+gecko-
 driver) and when Selenium is not supplied with a custom profile, then a
 profile is created for the driven instance that is entirely different from
 the `TBB default profile`, one which does not function properly. Why
 that's the case, I'm not sure. It's possible, of course, to manually
 generate the `TBB default profile` by way of a TBB launch that's aborted
 after the expected files are written to disk. Then one can copy around
 those files and pass them – plus `user.js` – to Selenium as a custom
 profile for the TBB instance/s Selenium will launch. However, that initial
 profile generation adds a bit of a wild hair to the automation process;
 for example, one has to manually keep a manifest of what's in the `TBB
 default profile`, which could change across releases. So, all considered,
 the automation process would be much simpler if it were possible to invoke
 the TBB executable such that it writes the `TBB default profile` to disk,
 at a specified path, and then exits.

 I will be happy to turn this inquiry (feature request?) into a separate
 ticket, but I felt it made sense to ask here first since it's closely
 related to customization of TBB profiles per the preferences you
 recommended.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/21301#comment:5>
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