Dear testers!
You might know that we are currently working on improving Tails'
Additional Software feature.
The problems we want to solve with this work [also see 1]:
- Create a user interface. Currently you have to edit a file as root.
- Make it so that the installation of additional (#9059)
- Do not check for updates every time Tor is restarted, but only on boot.
We've improved the handling of additional software and developed a GUI
that we would like you to test.
The ISO image to test is downloadable here:
http://dl.amnesia.boum.org/tails/alpha/
Please, install this ISO image on a USB stick, start from the stick and
configure a persistent volume. Reboot, decrypt the persistent volume on
boot and use Synaptic to install a package currently not in Tails.
Please find the current user documentation attached.
We are interested in your feedback on bugs, understanding the
documentation and usability.
Do you have ideas on packages that we should propose to Tails users for
installation?
By the way, we have already identified a list of known bugs:
https://labs.riseup.net/code/issues/15567
Please reply here with remarks and bugs you might have discovered.
Thank you & Cheers!
u.
[1]
https://tails.boum.org/blueprint/additional_software_packages/
[2]
https://tails.boum.org/blueprint/additional_software_packages/gui
[[!meta title="Install additional software"]]
[[!toc levels=2]]
Which additional software can I install in Tails?
=================================================
Tails includes a [[limited set of applications|doc/about/features]] but more
software can be installed.
This software is distributed in packages that are made available from the Debian repositories,
which are similar to an app store.
To know which packages are available in Debian:
- Browse locally with
the <span class="application">Synaptic Package Manager</span>:
1. To open <span class="application">Synaptic</span>, choose <span class="menuchoice">
<span class="guimenu">Applications</span> ▸
<span class="guisubmenu">System Tools</span> ▸
<span class="guimenuitem">Synaptic Package Manager.</span>
</span>
1. Wait until <span class="application">Synaptic</span> finishes downloading new package information
from the Debian servers.
1. You can:
- Browse the packages by sections from the left sidebar.
- Search on titles and descriptions of packages with the <span class="button">Search</span> button.
- Search the Internet for alternatives to other software.
For example: "*debian alternatives to photoshop*".
- Ask a friend who is knowledgeable about Linux.
- Search the [Debian website](
https://www.debian.org/distrib/packages#search_packages).
Being careful about what you install
------------------------------------
<div class="caution">
<p>The packages included in Tails are carefully tested for security.
Installing additional packages might break the security built in Tails, so be
careful with what you install.</p>
</div>
If you are unsure:
- Packages that use the network need to be configured to go through
Tor. They are otherwise blocked from accessing the network.
- Some software might, for example, modify the firewall and break the security
built in Tails. But other software like games or office tools are probably fine.
- Software not [[officially included in Tails|about/doc/features]] might have not been tested for security.
We also cannot provide support or documentation for it.
- Only applications that are packaged for Debian can be installed and they are
under [[extensive scrutiny|doc/about/trust#trust_debian]].
Installing additional software
==============================
To install a package using <span class="application">Synaptic</span>:
1. Click <span class="button">Search</span> and search for the name of the package.
1. Right-click on the name of the package in the search results and choose <span class="guimenuitem">Mark for
Installation</span>.
1. <span class="application">Synaptic</span> calculates the additional changes for your package to work. Click <span class="button">Mark</span> to confirm those changes.
1. Click <span class="button">Apply</span> to download, install, and
configure the package.
If you are comfortable with the command line, you can use the <span class="command">apt</span> command instead.
Installing additional software automatically when starting Tails
----------------------------------------------------------------
To do so, you need to enable the [[<span class="guilabel">Additional
Software</span> persistence feature|persistence/configure#additional_software]].
After a package is installed using <span class="application">Synaptic</span> or
<span class="command">apt</span>, a notification appears to ask if you want to install this package
every time you start Tails from now on.
[[!img additional_software/add-additional-software.png link="no" alt=""]]
- If you choose <span class="button">Add to Persistent Storage</span>,
the package is saved in the persistent storage and will be reinstalled
automatically every time you start Tails.
The package will also be updated automatically when you connect to the
Internet.
- If you choose <span class="button">Install Only Once</span>, the
package is also saved in the persistent storage but will not be
reinstalled automatically every time you start Tails.
The same package can be reinstalled faster for some time because you
won't have to download it again.
Removing additional software
============================
When you installed the package, if you chose:
- <span class="button">Install Only Once</span>, you can remove it by restarting Tails.
- <span class="button">Add to Persistent Storage</span>, you can remove it with:
- <span class="application">Synaptic</span>
1. Click <span class="button">Search</span> and search for the name of the package.
1. Right-click on the name of the package in the search results and choose
<span class="guimenuitem">Mark for Removal</span>.
1. Click <span class="button">Apply</span> to remove the package.
- From the command line using <span class="application">apt</span>.
After the package is removed, a notification appears to ask if you want to
remove this package from your list of additional software.
[[!img additional_software/remove-additional-software.png link="no" alt=""]]
Checking your list of additional software
-----------------------------------------
To see which packages are installed automatically
every time you start Tails, choose <span class="menuchoice">
<span class="guimenu">Applications</span> ▸
<span class="guisubmenu">System Tools</span> ▸
<span class="guimenuitem">Additional Software</span></span>.
[[!img additional_software/additional-software.png link="no" alt=""]]
The same list is also available from the configuration of the persistent storage, by clicking on the
[[!img lib/emblem-system.png class="symbolic" link="no"]] button of the <span class="guilabel">Additional
Software</span> feature.
[[!img persistence/persistent-storage.png link="no" alt=""]]
Freeing space in your persistent storage
----------------------------------------
After you installed many packages that you are not using anymore, you can free some space in your persistent storage:
1. Choose <span class="menuchoice">
<span class="guimenu">Applications</span> ▸
<span class="guisubmenu">System Tools</span> ▸
<span class="guimenuitem">Root Terminal</span>
</span> to open a <span>Root Terminal</span>.
1. Execute the following command:
apt clean
Configuring additional APT repositories (for advanced users)
=============================================================
<div class="caution">
<p>The packages included in Tails are carefully tested for security.
Configuring additional APT repositories might break the security built in Tails.
Be careful with what you install.</p>
</div>
Sometimes, you might need to configure additional APT repositories. For
example, to install packages from the `non-free` section of Debian. To do so:
1. Create an <span class="filename">apt-sources.list.d</span> folder in your
persistent volume:
sudo install -d -m 755 /live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked/apt-sources.list.d
1. Edit <span class="filename">/live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked/persistence.conf</span>,
the configuration of the persistent volume, as root and add the
<span class="filename">apt-sources.list.d</span> folder as a persistence
feature of type `link`:
/etc/apt/sources.list.d source=apt-sources.list.d,link
1. Write your additional `sources.list` files in the
<span class="filename">apt-sources.list.d</span> folder. For example, to add
the `non-free` sections of Debian Jessie, backports, and security
updates, you can create a file named
<span class="filename">/live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked/apt-sources.list.d/non-free.list</span>
with the following content:
deb tor+http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie non-free
deb tor+http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie-backports non-free
deb tor+http://security.debian.org/ jessie/updates non-free
File names must end with
<span class="filename">.list</span> and may only contain the following
characters: letters, digits, underscore, hyphen, and period.
1. Correct the ownership and permissions of your additional `sources.list`
files to be owned by `root` and only readable by others. For
example:
chown root:root /live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked/apt-sources.list.d/non-free.list
chmod 644 /live/persistence/TailsData_unlocked/apt-sources.list.d/non-free.list
1. Restart Tails to apply the changes.
