1912424 - Developer tools do not show up

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Thunderbird :: Untriaged, defect)

Description

[Paul Menzel]

Steps to reproduce:

Downstream report: https://bugs.debian.org/1078201

In the hamburger menu going to Tools and then clicking on Developer
tools nothing opens – neither does Ctrl + Shift + i.

Expected results:

The developer tools should open.

Comment 1

[Paul Menzel]

Attachment: Output of *Hilfe* → *Informationen zur Fehlerbehebung*

Debian’s build configuration:

--enable-application=comm/mail --host=x86_64-linux-gnu MOZILLA_OFFICIAL=1 MOZBUILD_STATE_PATH=/build/reproducible-path/thunderbird-128.1.0esr/debian/.mozbuild --disable-tests --with-system-librnp --enable-system-ffi --enable-default-toolkit=cairo-gtk3-wayland --disable-webrtc --with-unsigned-addon-scopes=app,system --with-system-libvpx --without-wasm-sandboxed-libraries --with-system-nss --disable-updater --with-system-libevent --disable-install-strip --with-system-zlib --enable-official-branding --prefix=/build/reproducible-path/thunderbird-128.1.0esr/debian/tmp/usr

Comment 2

[Ramona Gavrilescu]

Hello,
I have tried to reproduce this issue using TB 128.1.0esr(20240730200333), 128.0.1esr(20240717233102), 130.0b1(20240806194349) on Ubuntu 22 and did not managed to reproduce it.

Developer Tools is successfully opened via Tools or using controls Crtl+Shift+I.

Comment 3

[Paul Menzel]

Thank you for testing, that it works in general. Could you please test with the distribution package, and Debian sid/unstable.

Comment 4

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to Paul Menzel from comment #3)

Thank you for testing, that it works in general. Could you please test with the distribution package, and Debian sid/unstable.

Comment 5

[Vlad Lucaci, Thunderbird QA (:vlucaci)]

Hello,

We did not manage to reproduce using Stable Debian GNU/Linux 12(Bookworm)[Gnome Version 43.9) using the STR from the Description.
When opening Developer tools , I receive an "Incoming Connection" prompt in which if I press OK, developer tools open without any issues.
I am able to reproduce it however, if in the above mentioned prompt I select "Disable". Then I will no longer receive the "incoming connection" prompt and developer tools will no longer be displayed.

It is worth mentioning that I have tried to switch to unstable using the instructions from Wiki and was unable to .

If you are still able to reproduce this issue with the same steps and would like to provide assistance in us addressing this issue, it would be very helpful if you could help us determine a regression range.

I will provide some steps to make it easier for you:

You have to determine a build that reproduces the issue. In your case it seems it reproduce either on 128.x or on 115.x, right? You can retest it anytime.

Then you should find one that does NOT reproduce it. Detailed steps:
a. Open Mozregression app;
b. Click "File" -> "Run a single build";
c. On the "Single Run Wizard" pop-up, "Basic configuration", select "Thunderbird" and click "Next".
d. On the "Profile selection" page, just click the "Next" button.
e. On the "Build selection" select a date (dates before 2024-08-09 you find one that does not reproduce the issue) on the from the drop-down on the left and click "Finish".
f. Now the mozregression app will open a thunderbird build of the selected date and you can use it, close it and open another. (make a note of the version that does not reproduce the issue)

You will use mozregression app to "bisect" builds that reproduce the issue by builds that do not reproduce it in search of the one build/changeset that introduced the issue, in the first place:
a. Open mozregression-gui.exe
b. Click "File" -> "Run a new bisection"
c. On "Basic configuration" screen, select "Thunderbird" and click "Next" button.
d. Skip "Profile selection" screen by the "Next" button.
e. On the Bisection wizard screen, you will need to select a build that reproduces the issue and one that does not:
e1. In the "Last known good build:" section, select "date" on the right drop-down and the date of the build you found NOT to reproduce the issue.
e2. In the "First known bad build:" section, select "date" on the right drop-down and the date of the build you found to reproduce the issue.
f. Click "Finish" to start the bisection process.
g. Builds will open one-by-one, you will need to test each one of them and see whether the issue reproduces. If it reproduces, then you need to select the "bad" button in the mozregression window and if not, you need to select the "good" button.
h. When bisection is done, you will have the information in the "Log View" section of the mozregression window; bisection may also fail due to not enough builds, but the logs can always be useful.
Copy the logs in a text file and attach it to this bug.

If there is still information you need regarding the regression process, please request information from me.
Thank you for your contribution!

Comment 6

[Paul Menzel]

Thank you for taking the time to test this further. With your findings, indeed creating a new user and starting thunderbird 1:128.3.0esr-1 there the first time, I am able to open the developer tools.

I am able to reproduce it however, if in the above mentioned prompt I select "Disable". Then I will no longer receive the "incoming connection" prompt and developer tools will no longer be displayed.

So, where is that choice stored, and how can I reset it?

Comment 7

[Vlad Lucaci, Thunderbird QA (:vlucaci)]

From what I could gather about Debian 12 Incoming connections feature:

• You could try and check out if there is any rejected TB connection in /var/log/auth.log.
• You can also check /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny
• You can also try in Terminal iptables --list and go from there.
• If everything fails, you could try the options provided here and see if it works.
  Hope this helps!

Comment 8

[Paul Menzel]

@corey, please re-open. It’s definitely a bug. At least the user should get a notification: You disabled this feature in the past. Do this/that to enable it again.

Comment 9

[Paul Menzel]

I re-opened the issue.

Comment 10

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Did comment 7 reveal more useful information?

Comment 11

[Paul Menzel]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #10)

Did comment 7 reveal more useful information?

No, unfortunately it did not.

Comment 12

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Does it work for you with beta and a new profile?
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/download/beta/

Comment 13

[Paul Menzel]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #12)

Does it work for you with beta and a new profile?
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/download/beta/

I didn’t try beta, but just a new profile and it works there (as expected from the test with a new user).

Comment 14

[Paul Menzel]

In the new profile, opening the developer tools, a button Deaktivieren (Disable) is shown. Clicking this, afterward I can reproduce the issue. Looking at the preferences prefs.js, clicking this button sets:

user_pref("devtools.debugger.remote-enabled", false);

So, the problem is, that the menu entry to open the tools is still present, and, when clicking on it, the user does not get any feedback, that they disabled it (and instructions or/and an option how to enable it again).