Firectl is a tool to integrate Firejail sandboxing in the Linux desktop. Enable Firejail for an application and enjoy a more secure desktop.
To see which applications you can enable:
firectl statusTo enable Firejail for a program:
sudo firectl enable firefoxTo disable Firejail for a program:
sudo firectl disable firefoxAfter enabling a program, it will start within a Firejail when launched via the
menu or the file manager. To test if it's working: open a terminal and execute
watch firejail --list. This lists all active Firejail sandboxes. Then start an
enabled application and look for it in that terminal. Note that applications
launched from the terminal or from scripts with their full path, will not be in
a Firejail, unless explicitly done so. (So firefox is sandboxed, but
/usr/bin/firefox is not.)
The enable/disable commands work with multiple programs at the same time:
sudo firectl enable chromium dropbox evince firefox thunderbirdand for all programs: sudo firectl enable --all.
Firectl was made before Firejail had its own tool for desktop integration.
Firejail 0.9.40+ ships with a tool called firecfg. Look at
the Linux Mint Sandboxing Guide and the manual: man firecfg and decide if
you still need firectl or if firecfg is enough.
Firectl uses two methods for desktop integration: by modifying the desktop files
to run with Firejail and by linking programs to Firejail in /usr/local/bin.
This second method is also employed by firecfg. Thats why firecfg and firectl
offer similar desktop integrations. There are only very rare cases where
the integration is better with firectl.
The main difference is in the interface. Running sudo firecfg enables Firejail
for all programs, individual programs can then be disabled by removing them from
/usr/local/bin. Firectl provides a nice interface to enable/disable individual
programs.
For Debian and Ubuntu systems install the deb at https://github.com/rahiel/firectl/releases.
Firectl modifies the system's desktop files, the files that tell the system which user applications are installed and how to run them. When these applications are updated, the desktop files are also updated, disabling Firejail. The firectl settings need to be restored. (Note that for Debian/Ubuntu systems, installing the deb file takes care of this and no manual restoring is necessary.)
For now you have to manually restore Firejail settings after upgrades:
sudo firectl restoreInstall firectl with pip:
sudo pip3 install firectlTo uninstall firectl:
sudo firectl disable --all
sudo pip3 uninstall firectl
sudo rm /etc/firejail/firectl.confIf you require even more security, the next sensible step is to use an operating system that is built from the ground-up with security in mind. Notable examples are Subgraph OS and Qubes OS.