[tor-talk] ControlPortWriteToFile line added to torrc by Vidalia after TBB reload = bug?

Tomás Touceda chiiph at torproject.org
Sun Aug 5 22:21:09 UTC 2012


Hi,

On 8/4/12 4:54 PM, ming at tormail.org wrote:
> Since the last version and continuing with the current version of Linux TBB 32bit, there is an
> extra line added to torrc on TBB reload, by Vidalia, with steps to reproduce:
> 
> * Directory:
> ~/tor-browser_en-US/Data/Tor
> 
> * Extra Line of Data Added:
> ControlPortWriteToFile /home/madeinchina/tor-browser_en-US/Data/Tor/port.conf
> 
> * Steps to reproduce:
> 
> 1. Launch TBB with 'start-tor-browser' script, wait until browser appears
> 2. After any amount of time, add a few bridges in Vidalia
> 3. Allow the new bridges to 'take', several seconds
> 4. Stop Tor and exit, which will close Tor, Vidalia, and browser
> 5. Restart TBB with script, check the 'torrc' file for changes,
>    you'll notice the extra line above added by Vidalia.
> 
> I also see 'ControlPort auto' listed, but I'm unclear as to when this was added. I did notice the
> 'ControlPortWriteToFile' entry as something new with the previous version of TBB 2.2.37-1.
> Currently I'm using 2.2.37-2.
> 
> Is this a bug?

Only if it breaks something or if it conflicts with something.

> Why did it appear just recently?

If you use ControlPort auto, Vidalia needs to find out what port should
it listen to (since it's random). To do that, it reads a file that tor
writes. The location of this file is specified with the config option
ControlPortWriteToFile, and that's why Vidalia adds it.

> Why does Vidalia add the line, with bridges used, on a restart? I haven't tested it without
> bridges and a simple stop/exit/restart.

It doesn't have to do with bridges, Vidalia uses that configuration and
it gets written to your torrc because you open the settings dialog and
save at some point. That's because of how Vidalia works underneath.

Hope this clarifies the issue.
Regards,
Tomas

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