feat(tor): live bootstrap progress bar + never kill a slow Tor (v3.2.8)

Root cause of the user's failure: a cold first-run Tor downloads the whole
network directory (9455 microdescriptors) and can exceed a minute; our 60s
timeout KILLED it at ~56% → "Tor couldn't start." Fixes:

- Helper never kills Tor for being slow. A background reader watches bootstrap
  for Tor's whole lifetime, tracks the % and caches the directory, so the next
  attempt is instant. /start is now non-blocking; /status reports live
  {progress, ready, error}.
- Extension polls /status and pushes live progress to a NEW progress bar in the
  sidebar (0→100%), then enables the proxy when ready. "Still connecting" is a
  calm message, not an error.

Verified end-to-end: /start returns instantly, the bar climbs 0→100 over a cold
bootstrap, and curl --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9071 → IsTor:true.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: ralyodio

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/background.js

@@ -44,21 +44,46 @@ const TOR_CHECK_URL = 'https://check.torproject.org/api/ip';
 // to Tor until the user flips it on.
 const TOR_HELPER = 'http://127.0.0.1:9061';
 
-// Ask the helper to start Tor and block until it's bootstrapped. Returns
-// { ok, error? }; { ok:false, error:'unreachable' } when the helper isn't running.
-async function startTorViaHelper() {
+async function helperJson(path, method) {
+  const ctrl = new AbortController();
+  const t = setTimeout(() => ctrl.abort(), 8000);
   try {
-    const ctrl = new AbortController();
-    const t = setTimeout(() => ctrl.abort(), 75000); // tor bootstrap can take ~60s
-    const res = await fetch(`${TOR_HELPER}/start`, { method: 'POST', signal: ctrl.signal });
+    const res = await fetch(`${TOR_HELPER}${path}`, { method, signal: ctrl.signal });
+    return await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+  } finally {
     clearTimeout(t);
-    const data = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
-    return { ok: res.ok && data.ready !== false, error: data.error };
+  }
+}
+
+// Kick Tor off (non-blocking). Returns the helper's initial status, or
+// { error:'unreachable' } when the helper isn't running.
+async function startTorViaHelper() {
+  try {
+    return await helperJson('/start', 'POST');
   } catch (_) {
-    return { ok: false, error: 'unreachable' };
+    return { error: 'unreachable' };
   }
 }
 
+// Poll the helper's bootstrap until ready / error / timeout, reporting live
+// progress (0..100) via onProgress. Returns { ready } or { error }.
+async function waitForTor(onProgress, timeoutMs = 180000) {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs;
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    let st;
+    try {
+      st = await helperJson('/status', 'GET');
+    } catch (_) {
+      return { error: 'unreachable' };
+    }
+    if (typeof st.progress === 'number') onProgress(st.progress);
+    if (st.ready) return { ready: true };
+    if (st.error) return { error: st.error }; // tor exited with a reason
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+  }
+  return { error: 'tor-starting' };
+}
+
 async function stopTorViaHelper() {
   try {
     const ctrl = new AbortController();
@@ -127,27 +152,24 @@ chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((msg, _sender, sendResponse) => {
     (async () => {
       if (msg.on) {
         const started = await startTorViaHelper();
-        if (started.ok) {
-          // The daemon bootstrapped → route through it and TRUST it. The
-          // check.torproject.org probe is only a confirmation; a slow/blocked
-          // probe must NOT tear down a working Tor session.
-          await enableTor();
-          const check = await checkTor();
-          sendResponse({ enabled: true, started, check });
-        } else if (started.error === 'unreachable') {
-          // No control helper — maybe the user runs their own Tor. Try, but
-          // here we DO require the probe to confirm before committing.
+        if (started.error === 'unreachable') {
+          sendResponse({ enabled: false, started: { error: 'unreachable' } });
+          return;
+        }
+        if (started.error === 'tor-not-installed') {
+          sendResponse({ enabled: false, started: { error: 'tor-not-installed' } });
+          return;
+        }
+        // Poll bootstrap, pushing live progress to the sidebar's progress bar.
+        const result = await waitForTor((pct) => {
+          chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'tor-progress', pct }).catch(() => {});
+        });
+        if (result.ready) {
           await enableTor();
           const check = await checkTor();
-          if (check.ok && check.isTor) {
-            sendResponse({ enabled: true, started, check });
-          } else {
-            await disableTor();
-            sendResponse({ enabled: false, started, check });
-          }
+          sendResponse({ enabled: true, check });
         } else {
-          // tor-not-installed / tor-exited / spawn error → can't route.
-          sendResponse({ enabled: false, started });
+          sendResponse({ enabled: false, started: { error: result.error } });
         }
       } else {
         await disableTor();

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "manifest_version": 3,
   "name": "TronBrowser",
-  "version": "3.2.7",
+  "version": "3.2.8",
   "description": "TronBrowser — privacy-first, AI-native. Branded new tab, private search, CoinPay login, and a bring-your-own-keys AI sidebar.",
   "icons": {
     "16": "icons/icon-16.png",

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/sidepanel.css

@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ header button { background: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--line); color: v
 .tor-status.ok { color: #6ee7a8; }
 .tor-status.warn { color: #ffcf6e; }
 .tor-status.hidden { display: none; }
+.tor-progress { height: 5px; background: #1b2540; overflow: hidden; }
+.tor-progress.hidden { display: none; }
+.tor-progress .bar { height: 100%; width: 0%; background: #7d4698;
+  transition: width .35s ease; box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(125,70,152,.7); }
 .tor-status code { color: var(--cyan); }
 .messages { flex: 1; overflow-y: auto; padding: 12px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 10px; }
 .msg { padding: 8px 10px; border-radius: 8px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word; }

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/sidepanel.html

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     <button id="settings" title="Settings">⚙</button>
   </header>
 
+  <div id="tor-progress" class="tor-progress hidden"><div id="tor-progress-bar" class="bar"></div></div>
   <div id="tor-status" class="tor-status hidden"></div>
 
   <div id="messages" class="messages"></div>

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/sidepanel.js

@@ -147,6 +147,8 @@ async function consumePendingQuery() {
 // routing, not Tor-Browser-grade — see docs/tor-onion-mode.md.
 const torBtn = el('tor');
 const torStatusEl = el('tor-status');
+const torProgressEl = el('tor-progress');
+const torProgressBar = el('tor-progress-bar');
 
 function showTorStatus(kind, html) {
   torStatusEl.className = 'tor-status ' + kind;
@@ -156,6 +158,22 @@ function hideTorStatus() {
   torStatusEl.className = 'tor-status hidden';
   torStatusEl.textContent = '';
 }
+function showTorProgress(pct) {
+  torProgressEl.classList.remove('hidden');
+  torProgressBar.style.width = Math.max(0, Math.min(100, pct)) + '%';
+}
+function hideTorProgress() {
+  torProgressEl.classList.add('hidden');
+  torProgressBar.style.width = '0%';
+}
+
+// Live bootstrap progress pushed from the background while connecting.
+chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((m) => {
+  if (m && m.type === 'tor-progress') {
+    showTorProgress(m.pct);
+    showTorStatus('', `Connecting through Tor… ${Math.round(m.pct)}%`);
+  }
+});
 function setTorButton(on) {
   torBtn.setAttribute('aria-pressed', on ? 'true' : 'false');
   torBtn.textContent = on ? '🧅 Tor ON' : '🧅 Tor';
@@ -174,7 +192,10 @@ async function toggleTor() {
   const turningOn = torBtn.getAttribute('aria-pressed') !== 'true';
   torBtn.classList.add('busy');
   torBtn.disabled = true;
-  if (turningOn) showTorStatus('', 'Connecting through Tor…');
+  if (turningOn) {
+    showTorStatus('', 'Connecting through Tor… (the first run can take up to a minute)');
+    showTorProgress(0);
+  }
   try {
     const res = await chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'tor-set', on: turningOn });
     const torBrowserNote =
@@ -195,7 +216,9 @@ async function toggleTor() {
       // Background couldn't route. Explain why, in plain language.
       setTorButton(false);
       const err = res && res.started && res.started.error;
-      if (err === 'tor-not-installed') {
+      if (err === 'tor-starting') {
+        showTorStatus('', 'Tor is still connecting — the first run downloads the Tor network and can take a minute or two. Click 🧅 again in a few seconds; it’ll finish in the background.');
+      } else if (err === 'tor-not-installed') {
         showTorStatus('warn', 'Tor isn’t installed yet. Run <code>tron tor</code> once (it installs Tor automatically), then try again.');
       } else if (err === 'unreachable') {
         showTorStatus('warn', 'Couldn’t reach the Tor helper. Restart TronBrowser and try again, or run <code>tron tor</code>.');
@@ -207,6 +230,7 @@ async function toggleTor() {
     setTorButton(false);
     showTorStatus('warn', 'Could not toggle Tor: ' + ((e && e.message) || e));
   } finally {
+    hideTorProgress();
     torBtn.classList.remove('busy');
     torBtn.disabled = false;
   }

apps/desktop/launcher/__pycache__/tron-tor-helpercpython-312.pyc

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ the port is taken, so the launcher can fire-and-forget it every launch.
 import glob
 import json
 import os
+import re
 import shutil
 import signal
 import subprocess
@@ -33,15 +34,17 @@ PORT = int(os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_HELPER_PORT", "9061"))
 SOCKS_PORT = int(os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_SOCKS_PORT", "9071"))
 DATA_DIR = os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_DATA", os.path.expanduser("~/.tronbrowser/tor"))
 BUNDLED_DIR = os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_BIN_DIR", "")
-BOOTSTRAP_TIMEOUT = float(os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_TIMEOUT", "60"))
 PIDFILE = os.environ.get("TRON_TOR_PIDFILE", "")
 # Bumped whenever the helper protocol/behaviour changes; the launcher kills a
 # stale helper so the current version always runs.
-HELPER_VERSION = "3.2.7"
-
+HELPER_VERSION = "3.2.8"
 _lock = threading.Lock()
-_proc = None       # the running tor subprocess (or None)
-_ready = False     # True once tor reported Bootstrapped 100%
+_proc = None              # the running tor subprocess (or None)
+_ready = False            # True once tor reported Bootstrapped 100%
+_ready_event = threading.Event()
+_tor_tail = []            # recent tor output, for error reporting
+_progress = 0             # latest bootstrap percentage (0..100)
+_error = None             # set if tor exited before bootstrapping
 
 
 def log(msg):
@@ -79,17 +82,25 @@ def socks_port_open():
 
 
 def start_tor():
-    """Start tor and block until bootstrapped. Returns (ok, error)."""
-    global _proc, _ready
+    """Ensure Tor is starting — NON-BLOCKING. Returns (ok, error). The caller
+    polls /status for live `progress` and `ready`; Tor keeps bootstrapping in a
+    background thread (a cold first run downloads the whole directory and can take
+    a minute+), and is never killed for being slow."""
+    global _proc, _error
+
     with _lock:
-        if _proc is not None and _proc.poll() is None and _ready:
-            return True, None  # already up (we started it)
-    # Something already serving SOCKS on the port (tron tor / system tor)? Reuse
-    # it — don't spawn a second tor that would fail to bind the port.
+        alive = _proc is not None and _proc.poll() is None
+    if alive:
+        return True, None  # already running (ready or still bootstrapping)
+
+    # Something else already serving SOCKS on the port (tron tor / our prior run)?
     if socks_port_open():
+        _mark_progress(100)
         _set_ready(True)
+        _ready_event.set()
         log("tor already running on %s:%d — reusing it" % (HOST, SOCKS_PORT))
         return True, None
+
     with _lock:
         binary = tor_binary()
         if not binary:
@@ -102,12 +113,10 @@ def start_tor():
         except OSError as exc:
             return False, "datadir: %s" % exc
 
-        _ready = False
         env = os.environ.copy()
-        # The Tor Expert Bundle ships its own libs (libevent/libssl/…) next to
-        # the binary with no $ORIGIN rpath, so it needs its dir on the library
-        # path. Detect a bundle by a sibling libevent — works wherever tor was
-        # found; a system tor (no sibling libs) is left untouched.
+        # The Tor Expert Bundle ships its own libs (libevent/libssl/…) next to the
+        # binary with no $ORIGIN rpath, so it needs its dir on the library path.
+        # Detect a bundle by a sibling libevent — works wherever tor was found.
         bindir = os.path.dirname(binary)
         if glob.glob(os.path.join(bindir, "libevent*")):
             for var in ("LD_LIBRARY_PATH", "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH"):
@@ -124,40 +133,42 @@ def start_tor():
             )
         except OSError as exc:
             return False, "spawn: %s" % exc
-
-    # Read tor's log (outside the lock) until it bootstraps or dies/timeouts.
-    # Capture recent output so a failure reports WHY (perms, port in use, libs…).
-    proc = _proc
-    timer = threading.Timer(BOOTSTRAP_TIMEOUT, lambda: proc.poll() is None and proc.kill())
-    timer.start()
-    recent = []
-    try:
-        for line in proc.stdout:
-            line = line.rstrip()
-            if not line:
-                continue
-            recent.append(line)
-            if len(recent) > 20:
-                recent.pop(0)
-            # Surface progress + anything that looks like a problem to the log.
-            if "Bootstrapped " in line or "[warn]" in line or "[err]" in line:
-                log(line)
-            if "Bootstrapped 100%" in line:
-                _set_ready(True)
-                log("tor ready")
-                return True, None
-        # stdout closed before 100% → tor exited. If something is now serving the
-        # SOCKS port (a system Tor / stale tor that beat us to it), reuse it
-        # rather than reporting failure.
-        if socks_port_open():
+        _ready_event.clear()
+        _error = None
+        _mark_progress(0)
+        del _tor_tail[:]
+        threading.Thread(target=_read_tor, args=(_proc,), daemon=True).start()
+    return True, None
+
+
+def _mark_progress(pct):
+    global _progress
+    _progress = pct
+
+
+def _read_tor(proc):
+    """Background: read tor's output for its whole lifetime; track bootstrap %."""
+    global _error
+    for line in proc.stdout:
+        line = line.rstrip()
+        if not line:
+            continue
+        _tor_tail.append(line)
+        if len(_tor_tail) > 20:
+            _tor_tail.pop(0)
+        if "Bootstrapped " in line or "[warn]" in line or "[err]" in line:
+            log(line)
+        m = re.search(r"Bootstrapped (\d{1,3})%", line)
+        if m:
+            _mark_progress(min(100, int(m.group(1))))
+        if "Bootstrapped 100%" in line:
             _set_ready(True)
-            log("SOCKS port %d already serving — reusing the existing Tor" % SOCKS_PORT)
-            return True, None
-        tail = " ¦ ".join(recent[-6:]) or "(no output)"
-        log("tor exited before bootstrapping: " + tail)
-        return False, "tor-exited: " + tail
-    finally:
-        timer.cancel()
+            _ready_event.set()
+            log("tor ready")
+    if not _ready_event.is_set():
+        _error = "tor-exited: " + (" ¦ ".join(_tor_tail[-6:]) or "(no output)")
+        log(_error)
+        log("tor exited before bootstrapping: " + (" ¦ ".join(_tor_tail[-6:]) or "(no output)"))
 
 
 def _set_ready(value):
@@ -170,6 +181,7 @@ def stop_tor():
     global _proc, _ready
     with _lock:
         proc, _proc, _ready = _proc, None, False
+    _ready_event.clear()
     if proc is not None and proc.poll() is None:
         proc.terminate()
         try:
@@ -181,7 +193,10 @@ def stop_tor():
 def status():
     with _lock:
         running = _proc is not None and _proc.poll() is None
-        return {"running": running, "ready": running and _ready,
+        return {"running": running or socks_port_open(),
+                "ready": _ready_event.is_set(),
+                "progress": _progress,
+                "error": _error,
                 "torInstalled": tor_binary() is not None,
                 "version": HELPER_VERSION}
 
@@ -200,8 +215,14 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
     def _route(self):
         path = self.path.split("?", 1)[0].rstrip("/") or "/"
         if path == "/start":
+            # Non-blocking: kick Tor off, then report live state. The caller polls
+            # /status for `progress` and `ready`.
             ok, err = start_tor()
-            self._send(200 if ok else 503, {"ready": ok, "error": err})
+            st = status()
+            st["started"] = ok
+            if err:
+                st["error"] = err
+            self._send(200 if ok else 503, st)
         elif path == "/stop":
             stop_tor()
             self._send(200, {"stopped": True})

apps/desktop/launcher/tron-tor-helper

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ if [ "$TOR" != "1" ]; then
     # running helper isn't this version — otherwise leave a healthy current
     # helper alone (don't drop an active Tor session). All backgrounded so the
     # kill+settle never holds up the browser launch.
-    HELPER_VERSION=3.2.7
+    HELPER_VERSION=3.2.8
     (
       _pf="$DATA/tor-helper.pid"
       _rv="$(curl -fsS --max-time 1 http://127.0.0.1:9061/status 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/.*"version"[^"]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p')"

apps/desktop/launcher/tronbrowser

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@tronbrowser/desktop",
-  "version": "3.2.7",
+  "version": "3.2.8",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Desktop shell for the TronBrowser Chromium fork",
   "type": "module",