bancfc@openmailbox.org:
Rehash of previous discussions on the topic:
See #3994.
The major reasons why TBB is not in the Debian repository:
- The reproducible build system depends on a static binary image of (then
Ubuntu) which runs counter to Debian policy.
It's likely not a problem if built from source.
- TBB is based on Firefox ESR and not Iceweasel which also runs into the "no
duplicate source package" policy of Debian.
I've discussed this with Debian security team a while ago and they are ok with duplicate source code as long as the updates are done in a timely manner. Tor Browser has a good record, so it's fine.
Reasons for unavailability of TBB .deb in the Tor Project APT repository:
- The break neck speed of development
A regular build could probably be automated via Jenkins.
- Its not easily packaged and the amount of effort needed is better spent
otherwise.
As far as I understand, the main issue is that Tor Browser only works with a single (pre-populated) profile which can't be shared amongst multiple users. Once this is solved, and Tor Browser can be installed system-wide, getting a package should not be very hard.
Hope that helps,