6 ms·

Librewolf is not primarily intended as the definite browser but a sane base template for easily customizable and extendable firefox builds. The librewolf AUR p

by 3np 5y ago

Librewolf is not primarily intended as the definite browser but a sane base template for easily customizable and extendable firefox builds. The librewolf AUR package is a great starting point to make custom builds of firefox; between two json files in the settings repo you can tweak basically any relevant setting, bundle extensions (e.g. use custom forked ones without needing to either sign through Mozilla or disable security), search engines, use your own fxa/syncserver, handlers, branding, etc. All in a git repo and you won't have to redo things next time you reinstall the browser or get a new machine (anyone else ever scratched their heads trying to recall that one about:config setting?) Building and tweaking vanilla firefox yourself is quite an exercise. Librewolf makes it a breeze. The sane privacy-by-default standards is just the cherry on the top. https://gitlab.com/librewolf-community/settings https://gitlab.com/librewolf-community/settings

unmole 5y ago
Does it also work for Android builds?
roughly 5y ago
> use your own fxa/syncserver Huh, is this tractable?
- ancientsofmumu 5y ago
  > Huh, is this tractable? My opinion is "yes" - the source is available and runs as a docker container, the client setup is pretty trivial (on Android you'll need Fennec or another alternate build of Firefox to get at the settings). I'm aware of one user group running a shared instance and it seems to work as advertised. https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver
  - vladvasiliu 5y ago
    I didn't know it was possible to self-host the server, and I always felt somewhat uneasy with syncing this info on someone else's computer. So I click your link, but the repo says > Note that this repository is no longer being maintained. Use this at your own risk, and with the understanding that it is not being maintained, work is being done on its replacement, and that no support or assistance will be offered. So I guess I'll have to wait a little more...
    - 3np 5y ago
      Context: https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver/pull/294 https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver/pull/294 So basically they stopped running the older version themselves but don't consider the newer version production-ready yet. What a mess.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      Unlike most browser's sync systems, Firefox's is actually end to end encrypted. Though when I log in on a mobile device I don't even have to enter the password so I kinda doubt it passes the mud puddle test. But at least the info is not just stored in the clear ready for datamining like Chrome or Edge do. Though Chrome has very recently added e2e for its passwords but not for the bookmarks.
  - Teever 5y ago
    Is this code actually usable? I didn't look into it personally but a few years ago I tasked an employee with setting up local instance of this for a very privacy conscious small business and after a few days of looking at it he said that it would be too much work to get the released material into a state that end users could make use of. This could have changed since then however.
    - 3np 5y ago
      > Is this code actually usable? Yes. See my comment above. Nothing that a persistent admin can't pull off. I wouldn't blame your coworker for giving up, though.
  - milescrabill 5y ago
    I believe that https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs is intended to be the modern syncserver replacement.
- 3np 5y ago
  Kiiind of. For the syncserver itself, where all the data is synced and stored, you just need tokenserver+syncstorage, plus a database backend of choice. Easy-peasy, you can set it up trivially in minutes if you're used to spin up docker containers and have a database server. Loads of people do this. However, you still need a way to authenticate. Most people just piggyback on Mozilla's servers for this. This means some metadata (not the synced data itself, mind you, but still) will be shared with Mozilla and a surprising number of third-parties. To get the last meter and be fully self-reliant you need to go down quite the rabbit hole and set up the fxa stack. It involves several interconnected microservices and a handful of separate mysql databases. I managed to but it took a couple of days to dig through the sources and figure out exactly what is necessary and disable all the third-party integrations. The pieces are all there and it's all done in the open but it's clearly built with the mindset of a cloud-based startup. https://github.com/mozilla/fxa https://github.com/mozilla/fxa Once up and running it has been hands off, not much maintenance at all. Happy I did it but unless you like doing this kind of stuff as a challenge, I'd probably recommend using some alternative extension, until it becomes more approachable. If you take it on, there are helpful people in the #fxa:mozilla.org Matrix room. More activity there, and self-hosting related discussion/issues/PRs in the fxa github repo, might push them to put in more effort to make it easier to self-host the stack and bring/keep docs up to date. Hoping to do a proper write-up soon to make it more approachable for others, once things cool down a bit at work.
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    It really shouldn't be this hard though.. The way Mozilla has been embracing ads (eg pocket recommended sites) a voice in my head thinks this is intentional. On the other hand though it's been like this basically forever. It sounds more like a lack of interest in tackling this.
    - jeltz 5y ago
      I don't think it is intentional, it just seems to me like standard enterprise software where the devs simply did not think about self hosting or keeping things simple.
    - 5y ago
jeffybefffy519 5y ago
Should have called it Foxium instead
- account42 5y ago
  Pretty sure blindly following chrome is not what this project is about.
sp332 5y ago
That's great. Lots of people have similar complaints about Firefox that could be fixed with a set of small patches, but every time I think of starting one, the build system brings me up short. Maybe this can be the start of an ecosystem of unofficial patches to address issues without having to completely jump ship to another browser.
- lbotos 5y ago
  > but every time I think of starting one, the build system brings me up short. You aren't kidding: https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/macos_build.html https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/macos_build.ht...

by 3np 5y ago

unmole 5y ago

Does it also work for Android builds?

roughly 5y ago

> use your own fxa/syncserver Huh, is this tractable?

ancientsofmumu 5y ago
> Huh, is this tractable? My opinion is "yes" - the source is available and runs as a docker container, the client setup is pretty trivial (on Android you'll need Fennec or another alternate build of Firefox to get at the settings). I'm aware of one user group running a shared instance and it seems to work as advertised. https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  I didn't know it was possible to self-host the server, and I always felt somewhat uneasy with syncing this info on someone else's computer. So I click your link, but the repo says > Note that this repository is no longer being maintained. Use this at your own risk, and with the understanding that it is not being maintained, work is being done on its replacement, and that no support or assistance will be offered. So I guess I'll have to wait a little more...
  - 3np 5y ago
    Context: https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver/pull/294 https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncserver/pull/294 So basically they stopped running the older version themselves but don't consider the newer version production-ready yet. What a mess.
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    Unlike most browser's sync systems, Firefox's is actually end to end encrypted. Though when I log in on a mobile device I don't even have to enter the password so I kinda doubt it passes the mud puddle test. But at least the info is not just stored in the clear ready for datamining like Chrome or Edge do. Though Chrome has very recently added e2e for its passwords but not for the bookmarks.
- Teever 5y ago
  Is this code actually usable? I didn't look into it personally but a few years ago I tasked an employee with setting up local instance of this for a very privacy conscious small business and after a few days of looking at it he said that it would be too much work to get the released material into a state that end users could make use of. This could have changed since then however.
  - 3np 5y ago
    > Is this code actually usable? Yes. See my comment above. Nothing that a persistent admin can't pull off. I wouldn't blame your coworker for giving up, though.
- milescrabill 5y ago
  I believe that https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs is intended to be the modern syncserver replacement.
3np 5y ago
Kiiind of. For the syncserver itself, where all the data is synced and stored, you just need tokenserver+syncstorage, plus a database backend of choice. Easy-peasy, you can set it up trivially in minutes if you're used to spin up docker containers and have a database server. Loads of people do this. However, you still need a way to authenticate. Most people just piggyback on Mozilla's servers for this. This means some metadata (not the synced data itself, mind you, but still) will be shared with Mozilla and a surprising number of third-parties. To get the last meter and be fully self-reliant you need to go down quite the rabbit hole and set up the fxa stack. It involves several interconnected microservices and a handful of separate mysql databases. I managed to but it took a couple of days to dig through the sources and figure out exactly what is necessary and disable all the third-party integrations. The pieces are all there and it's all done in the open but it's clearly built with the mindset of a cloud-based startup. https://github.com/mozilla/fxa https://github.com/mozilla/fxa Once up and running it has been hands off, not much maintenance at all. Happy I did it but unless you like doing this kind of stuff as a challenge, I'd probably recommend using some alternative extension, until it becomes more approachable. If you take it on, there are helpful people in the #fxa:mozilla.org Matrix room. More activity there, and self-hosting related discussion/issues/PRs in the fxa github repo, might push them to put in more effort to make it easier to self-host the stack and bring/keep docs up to date. Hoping to do a proper write-up soon to make it more approachable for others, once things cool down a bit at work.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  It really shouldn't be this hard though.. The way Mozilla has been embracing ads (eg pocket recommended sites) a voice in my head thinks this is intentional. On the other hand though it's been like this basically forever. It sounds more like a lack of interest in tackling this.
  - jeltz 5y ago
    I don't think it is intentional, it just seems to me like standard enterprise software where the devs simply did not think about self hosting or keeping things simple.
  - 5y ago

jeffybefffy519 5y ago

Should have called it Foxium instead

account42 5y ago
Pretty sure blindly following chrome is not what this project is about.

sp332 5y ago

That's great. Lots of people have similar complaints about Firefox that could be fixed with a set of small patches, but every time I think of starting one, the build system brings me up short. Maybe this can be the start of an ecosystem of unofficial patches to address issues without having to completely jump ship to another browser.

lbotos 5y ago
> but every time I think of starting one, the build system brings me up short. You aren't kidding: https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/macos_build.html https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/macos_build.ht...