How to escape from the Kiosk mode

[kobliha]

It seems that the browser does not really have a list of allowed URLs. I was able to escape the Kiosk mode quite easily. This also means that it could potentially load content from other sources, e.g., from the Internet. So, how to do it?

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Use it :)

[kobliha]

On the other hand, simply opening a terminal and entering "firefox" is faster :D
But I thought there is a good reason for a good Kiosk mode...

[cwickert]

I stumbled across the same problem. It's not only that you can escape in the very same way you describe here but simply use all keyboard shortcuts. Firefox'es kiosk mode does not allow disabling them. There are some extensions to do this or you can just use JavaScript to catch them. Last but not least you can completely ruin your installation by simply typing "CTRL + W". The window closes and there is no way to resume with all data entered.

To be fair, I'm not sure this is an Agama issue but more of a Firefox problem.

[dgdavid]

but simply use all keyboard shortcuts. Firefox'es kiosk mode does not allow disabling them.

Just a quick note: we should be careful with this. Users, specially those using keyboard, should be able to continue using the keyboard shortcuts. In principle, disabling them is not a good idea.

That said, and fully understanding your concerns about the kiosk mode, I believe improvements in this area are not a priority. Labeling this as a long term task.

[kobliha]

For the Ctrl+w issue (which is real), I'd propose to simply restart Firefox in case it's been closed by the user (exit code 0?). Well, maybe it's not THAT simple ;) but we could think about that.

[cwickert]

In my tests, restarting FF did not give me back all data I had entered before closing.

I fully agree with everything you guys have written: There are reasons to have (certain) keyboard shortcuts and it's certainly not a high prio issue. Nevertheless a small popup "Are you sure you want to leave the installer? The installation is not yet done" when closing the window or navigating elsewhere should be relatively easy to implement and cover 99% of the cases.

[dgdavid]

In my tests, restarting FF did not give me back all data I had entered before closing.

That's strange, because the interface only displays data sent by the backend. So, every accepted change should be restored. The only case where data would be lost is if the browser is closed without saving a specific form, in which case only the data entered in that form would be lost.

I fully agree with everything you guys have written: There are reasons to have (certain) keyboard shortcuts and it's certainly not a high prio issue.

I agree too with that statement in a slightly different way: we should have strong reasons for not keeping certain keyboard shortcuts.

Nevertheless a small popup "Are you sure you want to leave the installer? The installation is not yet done" when closing the window or navigating elsewhere should be relatively easy to implement and cover 99% of the cases.

Things sometimes seem easier than they really are. I’m not suggesting this is rocket science, but there are a few corner cases (some of which are mentioned at https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/beforeunload_event) that I’d like to consider before implementing a solution. In other words, I’d prefer to go for a well-thought-out solution rather than a simple workaround in a rush, which is why this has been labeled as a long-term task.

[cwickert]

I can confirm the installer stores the data – except for the root password.

1. Start the installation, select a product, provide a root pw and click "Accept". At this point, the pw should be stored as the form got submitted.
2. In the installation overview, quit FF with CTRL + w.
3. Open FF again and go to http://localhost.
4. The password you have to enter is not the one you configured but still the temporary root pw. I know this is because the new pw only gets written to disk during installation, but if you don't have the temporary root pw any longer, you are locked out at this point.

[dgdavid]

I can confirm the installer stores the data – except for the root password.

For your description below, the root password is stored too. In fact, it is exposed from no long ago, since it is a configuration the has introduced and can check at any time before proceeding with installation (see #2005 and #1999)

The problem is that you're confusing the root password of Agama live and the configured root password for the installed system. The root password of Agama cannot be changed through the web interface.

1. Start the installation, select a product, provide a root pw and click "Accept". At this point, the pw should be stored as the form got submitted.
2. In the installation overview, quit FF with CTRL + w.
3. Open FF again and go to http://localhost.
4. The password you have to enter is not the one you configured but still the temporary root pw.

As said, the login password is the root password for the Agama live medium.

I know this is because the new pw only gets written to disk during installation,

Exactly. There are two different things:

• Agama and its surrounding configuration
• The configuration for the installed system (all the things Agama let you choose)

but if you don't have the temporary root pw any longer, you are locked out at this point.

It's actually possible to know it (see https://agama-project.github.io/docs/devel/live_iso#the-access-password), but indeed this is something to improve. Opening the browser locally from the installation media should log in automatically. But this is a different. maybe related, issue to the one discussed here. I'll move to a new one.