Upcoming release: Requirement for Desktop application running #451
Replies: 9 comments 18 replies
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Hey ! I totally understand the new technical constraints due to chrome changes, and we cannot blame you at all for theses upcoming modifications. However, I'm really sad the hear this as I was really loving the fact that all vaults clients were running independently, especially the chrome extension as it did not required any third software installation. Because personally I really don't mind installing the software on my laptop at all, but when I'm working from my professional computer I'm not allowed to install such software, thus making using this secret vault almost impossible there. Is it possible to keep some "legacy" mode, in which we could still be using the previous system, event if that means to unlock our vault every time we want to read any password ? |
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Any chance to see a new release before this big overhaul? The last update was in January. On the main topic, thank you for letting us know. This will allow us to prepare for the change. I, for example, will have to test the app+extension combo with our team members before this massive change occurs, where most of them are not even used to have a password manager (we use Buttercup in combination with Google Drive to share a common vault for some accesses). |
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I don't use the Browser extension, but would it be a good idea to release an update of the extension with a warning banner about the next breaking changes? That way users would have the change to disable auto-update for the extension. Another option could be to release the extension with a new name, so that the old one still exists, but does not get any updates any more. What do you think? I'm just thinking about users who don't use social media or Github and could be upset if their vaults do not work any more. |
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Hi! First of all thanks for Buttercup and thanks for this discussion, and the banner! Would you be okay with publishing a new Firefox extension using the old version? That will be very helpful for non-Chrome users who prefer to use the browser extension without the desktop app 🤚 I imagine it will keep working just fine for a long time, and we may be able to figure something else out when e.g. Google changes the API in an incompatible way. |
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👋 All good The extension has (always had) memory issues for me, specifically in Vivaldi, so be great to not deal with that again - hadn't got around to following up 😖 TBH only use the extension to auto-login and if there's MFA stuff going on too then have to be in the desktop app anyway 😔 Onward! 🫶 |
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This happend because you join to a gigant that, at the end, you belong them. In my case i use firefox and probably i'll change my password manager if you join to google in that way. Embrace free software and everything will be fine. |
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Due to the large amount of people commenting about how they thoroughly dislike the requirement to have our desktop app installed, I will no longer be explaining myself nor the direction of the project in each opened issue and comment. I'll simply link to this thread. There's a lot of moving parts of a project like this, trust me. Do I choose to change such large aspects of this project on a whim? No. This was a calculated change and was done partly because our hand was forced here. That, and me running this project mostly by myself means:
To you, reader - I'm sorry if this comes off as bloated or uncaring or unprofessional - but I'm honestly doing what I can with a product I love, and want to be able to love years from now. |
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I started using the desktop app for local vault access more than 6 months ago, as a workaround to #452. It was annoying for a day or two, then I got used to it and forgot all about it. I love using Buttercup, I tell others to use it, and I hope that those who are frustrated by the mild nconvenience can be convinced to stay :) |
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I've been dealing with the migration of the new version at work this week and I'm glad I was aware it was coming and to have contributed to the development of the "launch in background" feature. When the update began to rollout, I was able to inform my team members of the change. There were some hiccups, the first one being that the extension was updated, but there was no mention of the required desktop application version (the Notifications welcoming us to V3 states that the desktop application is needed, but not the minimal version supported). That being said, I think we can do better to inform the user about the dependency between the browser extension and the desktop app. I'll open an issue about it. |
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I've mentioned this several times on social media, but I'm aware that many people probably haven't read such updates. I think this is best handled as a discussion anyway.
What's changing
Due to Chrome's manifest v3 changes, Buttercup can no longer run a daemon process in the background. This process, up until now, was used to keep decrypted credentials in memory while vaults were unlocked. The daemon didn't sleep and its memory was only wiped when the browser closed or the extension updated. Manifest v3 drops support for background (daemon) processes and in doing so will prevent Buttercup from working in the same way.
After toying with running Buttercup restfully in the new service worker model (it didn't work), I've decided to make some drastic changes to how the extension works: namely, that the browser extension will interface directly with the desktop application. All vaults, their statuses and their contents will be retrieved from the desktop application, running in the background, instead of from the extensions memory.
What does this mean?
This is a huge change for the platform, and not one I've decided on without giving it a bit of thought. I definitely preferred having the vaults isolated within the extension, but their were some problems:
I feel like this is genuinely better for Buttercup going forward.
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