Re: [Tails-dev] [tbb-dev] future of tor-launcher? - Firefox …

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Author: Mark Smith
Date:  
To: discussion regarding Tor Browser Bundle development
CC: The Tails public development discussion list
Subject: Re: [Tails-dev] [tbb-dev] future of tor-launcher? - Firefox XPCOM / XUL based add-ons deprecation
On 1/10/17 5:18 AM, anonym wrote:
> In Tails we run Tor Launcher as a stand-alone XUL application. Last I
> checked it was not clear whether this would still be supported by
> Firefox + WebExtensions. Do you know anything more about this?


Unfortunately, I do not know anything about Mozilla's plans in regard to
standalone XUL applications. Currently Tails is using the firefox -app
feature, correct?

In the long run, I expect Mozilla to stop using XUL entirely and to
migrate to HTML-based UI even inside Firefox. Although it will take them
a long time to make that transition, I could see them dropping support
for standalone XUL applications relatively soon.

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.

--
Mark Smith
Pearl Crescent
http://pearlcrescent.com/