[tor-bugs] #13252 [Tor Browser]: Tor Browser on OS X should not store data into the application bundle

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#13252: Tor Browser on OS X should not store data into the application bundle
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 Reporter:  torosx                |          Owner:  mcs
     Type:  defect                |         Status:  assigned
 Priority:  Medium                |      Milestone:
Component:  Tor Browser           |        Version:
 Severity:  Normal                |     Resolution:
 Keywords:  TorBrowserTeam201603  |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:  #6540                 |         Points:
  Sponsor:                        |
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Changes (by mcs):

 * cc: dcf (added)
 * keywords:  TorBrowserTeam201602 => TorBrowserTeam201603


Comment:

 We have now completed most of the work for this ticket. With our changes,
 all user data is stored in a directory named TorBrowser-Data which is
 created next to the app bundle (the TorBrowser-Data directory does not
 exist initially; it is created by the browser the first time Tor Browser
 is opened). The content of TorBrowser-Data looks like this:
 {{{
   Browser/
     Caches/
     profiles.ini
     qf0enfzt.default/            (user's browser profile)
   Tor/                           (Tor data directory)
     ...
     PluggableTransports/
       profile.meek-http-helper/  (meek browser profile)
     ...
     torrc
   UpdateInfo/                    (update history and temporary space)
 }}}

 There are two major loose ends:
 1) FTE needs to be repackaged to separate the Python scripts from the
 compiled libraries.
 2) Kathy and I need to write code to relocate the user profile files
 during an upgrade from a version of Tor Browser that uses the old
 "embedded user data" layout to one that uses the new layout.

 See #18371 for our meek changes.

 Our tor-browser patches (two fixup commits plus another one) are on
 bug13252-01 branch, here:
 https://gitweb.torproject.org/user/brade/tor-
 browser.git/log/?h=bug13252-01
 There is a new --enable-tor-browser-data-outside-app-dir configure option
 which is used to enable the new disk layout.

 Our Tor Launcher patch is here:
 https://gitweb.torproject.org/user/brade/tor-
 launcher.git/commit/?h=bug13252-01&id=fe41b6d6032ffde989b860dd94a7f53301ef97ed
 With these changes, Tor Launcher should automatically handle both the old
 and new layout.

 Our tor-browser-bundle (builder) patch is here:
 https://gitweb.torproject.org/user/brade/tor-browser-
 bundle.git/commit/?h=bug13252-01&id=1c2485467efc31b5539585f39fc1a861d421fb28
 The new packaging is triggered by setting DATA_OUTSIDE_APP_DIR=1 in the
 versions file (our patch sets it in versions.alpha).

 Early reviews are welcome; just keep in mind that additional changes are
 needed to address the two loose ends I mentioned above.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/13252#comment:22>
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