[tor-bugs] #32523 [Applications/Tor Browser]: Consider building tor-browser-build containers with Bitcoin Core's Guix-based system

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#32523: Consider building tor-browser-build containers with Bitcoin Core's Guix-
based system
-------------------------+------------------------------------------
 Reporter:  JeremyRand   |          Owner:  tbb-team
     Type:  enhancement  |         Status:  new
 Priority:  Medium       |      Component:  Applications/Tor Browser
  Version:               |       Severity:  Normal
 Keywords:               |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:               |         Points:
 Reviewer:               |        Sponsor:
-------------------------+------------------------------------------
 Bitcoin Core recently merged a PR from Carl Dong (from Chaincode Labs)
 that allows building Bitcoin Core using containers that are constructed
 via GNU Guix, instead of using an OS ISO or debootstrap.  This provides
 better security against supply-chain attacks by reducing the amount of
 trusted binary code used to bootstrap the build system.  Bitcoin Core
 intends to use Carl's system as a replacement for Gitian.

 It would be interesting to investigate whether tor-browser-build could
 transition to constructing its containers via Bitcoin Core's new system
 instead of using debootstrap.

 A talk that Carl gave at Breaking Bitcoin about the new system is here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2iShmUTEl8

 A transcript of Carl's talk (transcribed by Bryan Bishop) is here:

 https://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/breaking-bitcoin/2019/bitcoin-build-
 system/

 Here's the PR that Carl submitted to Bitcoin Core:

 https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/15277

 And here's the documentation in Bitcoin Core's master branch:

 https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/tree/master/contrib/guix

 GNU/Linux targets are already working and are merged; macOS and Windows
 are working as well but I think Carl hasn't gotten those merged to Bitcoin
 Core yet.  I have no idea what the situation is with Android/Linux.

 Bitcoin Core isn't yet using Carl's system to build their official
 binaries, so it might be wise for Tor to let Bitcoin Core torture-test the
 code a bit in production first, but it does look like a very nice system,
 and it would be great to see it used for Tor Browser in the future.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/32523>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online