[tbb-dev] [Tails-dev] future of tor-launcher? - Firefox XPCOM / XUL based add-ons deprecation

[anonym]

anonym:
> Mark Smith:
>> I don't expect WebExtensions to support a standalone app mode, although
>> for your purposes it might be acceptable to start the browser with
>> TOR_CONFIGURE_ONLY=1. I guess there are some differences in terms of how
>> much Firefox code is executed as well as loss of a custom icon though.
> 
> I wasn't aware of that option, but it sounds promising. Thanks!

Wait a minute, *I* implemented this option! :S Indeed, we use it in Tails currently since we want Tor Launcher to only configure the already running system tor instance, (i.e. just skip the "start tor" step). My understanding is that with this option set, when Tor Launcher is run as a browser extension, the browser would still start, which is what we don't want.

Am I misunderstanding what you meant here? It seems like your impression is that setting that option would prevent the browser from starting, achieving something similar to a "XUL standalone application". That said, if the Tor Launcher WebExtension would have such an option (in addition to TOR_CONFIGURE_ONLY), possibly by just hiding the browser window, that would be good enough for Tails. It would be interesting to know if you (or Kathy, who is investigating Tor ticket #17248) think such an option would be possible.

Cheers!