Now always losing the noscript settings [SOLVED]

General discussion about web technology.
Post Reply
troglodyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2022 6:36 pm

Now always losing the noscript settings [SOLVED]

Post by troglodyte »

Hi again,

in November I had asked where noscript saves its setting (viewtopic.php?p=106272), and based on the information I received I was able to retain them. This worked fine until I upgraded from FF 78 ESR to FF 102 ESR - now the settings are not stored anymore and I save them by exporting to noscript_data.txt and relaoding from there after I start the browser.

Please let me know what has changed - thanks!
Last edited by troglodyte on Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
barbaz
Senior Member
Posts: 10841
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by barbaz »

I don't think the location of the Appearance settings changed between FF 78 and anything current. The place where NoScript permissions are stored did change in FF 79 though, viewtopic.php?p=103393#p103393 should still apply to current FF/NoScript.
troglodyte wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 9:56 pm and I save them by exporting to noscript_data.txt and relaoding from there after I start the browser.
Wait, are you using a (self-made) cleaning script on a production Firefox profile without first having thoroughly tested it with that exact FF version in disposable environment?? :o

It is not recommended to use any external cleaning script on Firefox profiles. Firefox is capable of cleaning itself.

However, if you are going to do this to yourself anyway, I would suggest that instead of "cleaning" storage-sync-v2.sqlite, have your script call sqlite3 to open/close the storage-sync-v2.sqlite database by doing some SQL statement that's effectively no-op but still causes the data in the -shm & -wal files to get written into storage-sync-v2.sqlite proper. That will get rid of the -shm & -wal files without losing your data, and make the data in storage.sync more stable and less potentially prone to data loss.
(You probably already know this, but for other readers: completely quit Firefox before running such script!)
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
-
troglodyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2022 6:36 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by troglodyte »

Thanks for the information! I understand now what has changed since FF79 (also looked for related information in other threads). Knowing what is going on I'll find a way to fix the issue.

But I am curious to know why noscript does not decide itself where to store its persistent data - why is that left to the changing whims of the FF developers who put it into what is meant to be a temporary file?

And as regards FF cleaning itself: a 25MB large .wal file with lots of traces of previous activity does not meet my definition of "cleaning". It is actually nothing new - I found traces of previous activity in other files many versions ago, that's why I have been using my own cleaning script. :)

Thanks again!
barbaz
Senior Member
Posts: 10841
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by barbaz »

troglodyte wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:43 am But I am curious to know why noscript does not decide itself where to store its persistent data -
WebExtensions don't have sufficient APIs to be able to decide where and how their data is stored on disk.
troglodyte wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:43 am And as regards FF cleaning itself: a 25MB large .wal file with lots of traces of previous activity does not meet my definition of "cleaning".
Does using the sqlite3 command-line tool as described in my previous post also get rid of the "traces of previous activity"?

The specific command I have used, after completely quitting Firefox, is

Code: Select all

sqlite3 /path/to/storage-sync-v2.sqlite .tables
(But my OS is Linux. Also, FWIW, I first tested this on a copies of the 3 storage-sync-v2.sqlite* files copied somewhere outside of my FIrefox profile, and used DB Browser for SQLite to confirm there was no data loss.)
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
-
troglodyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2022 6:36 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by troglodyte »

Hi again,

yes, thank you, forcing FF to clean up with the sqlite3 command works fine. :) So the problem is solved for now, but it makes me wonder why FF does not clean up itself and lets a temporary file grow to be 50MB big (as I once noticed, before I started using a batch file to clean the profile folder). Also appreciate the explanation about not having enough privileges.

This is indirectly related to noscript: if I can, I choose a search engine without JS, such as https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/, but FF does not let me record that URL - if I choose DDG as my default search engine it can only be https://duckduckgo.com - so I have to use noscript to block JS and then DDG will - since it is smart - switch to the non-JS version as a second step. Other people may want to use other search engines - a smarter FF would let us record the search engine URL exactly like we can record a startpage. That's what prefs are for.

Never mind, FF is still the best we have, but it is troubling to see that it uses several different files, in an inconsistent manner, for various prefs. and that it requires hacking to get some prefs the way I want them. :)

Thanks again for helping me get around that problem
troglodyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2022 6:36 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by troglodyte »

Oh, and I should also reply to your comment "Wait, are you using a (self-made) cleaning script on a production Firefox profile without first having thoroughly tested it with that exact FF version in disposable environment??"

Thast certainly is a justified concern - but not to worry in my case, since all my Firefox installations are portable and disposable. :) To make that possible I keep an often updated copy of noscript_data.txt in a backup directory, away from any of the FF directories, likewise a few customised prefs.js files and the database files that hold certificates and exceptions. It may also be worth knowing that in addition to noscript I use (and recommend) Acrylic DNS Proxy - noscript is not the only line of defence against bloat, unwanted ads, and snooping. :)
barbaz
Senior Member
Posts: 10841
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Now always losing the noscript settings

Post by barbaz »

Moving to Web Tech so I can answer this -
troglodyte wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:21 am I choose a search engine without JS, such as https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/, but FF does not let me record that URL - [...] a smarter FF would let us record the search engine URL exactly
Image
If I go to that URL, my search bar gets a green + and if I click it, I get option to 'Add search engine "DuckDuckGo (Lite)"'. Selecting that adds "DuckDuckGo Lite" to my list of search engines, which I can then set as Firefox default search engine and use it directly (even though I have Javascript enabled for DuckDuckGo). Does that not work for you?
troglodyte wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:38 am Oh, and I should also reply to your comment "Wait, are you using a (self-made) cleaning script on a production Firefox profile without first having thoroughly tested it with that exact FF version in disposable environment??"

Thast certainly is a justified concern - but not to worry in my case, since all my Firefox installations are portable and disposable. :)
Thanks for clarifying that, that is important context for anyone reading this thread. Image
troglodyte wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 6:21 am Thanks again for helping me get around that problem
You're welcome :)
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
-
Post Reply