Signal-desktop stuck with empty window

[cubar]

I get this error: {"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":13187,"level":50,"time":"2021-02-12T21:12:30.594Z","msg":"GET https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config 401 Error","v":0}

so I tried to get the page in Chromium and get "Your connection is not private":

Your connection is not private Attackers might be trying to steal your information from textsecure-service.whispersystems.org (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). Learn more NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID

Wget https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config gives:

--2021-02-12 21:22:20-- https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config Resolving textsecure-service.whispersystems.org (textsecure-service.whispersystems.org)... 13.248.212.111, 76.223.92.165 Connecting to textsecure-service.whispersystems.org (textsecure-service.whispersystems.org)|13.248.212.111|:443... connected. ERROR: cannot verify textsecure-service.whispersystems.org's certificate, issued by ‘CN=TextSecure,OU=Open Whisper Systems,O=Open Whisper Systems,L=San Francisco,ST=California,C=US’: Self-signed certificate encountered. To connect to textsecure-service.whispersystems.org insecurely, use `--no-check-certificate'.

Tried it on debian and on ubuntu with the same result. Seems to be some problem with the ssl certificate. What can I do about this?

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

The certificate errors you are seeing are not a problem. We use self-signed certificates for Signal servers, instead of the standard set of certificate trust providers that your web browser uses.

The error on startup is a known issue with v1.40.0-beta.6. Please try v1.40.0-beta.7.

[cubar]

@scottnonnenberg-signal : thanks for you answer. I did "git pull" in my local repository which I had cloned from github to be sure I had a fresh copy, followed by: git checkout tags/v1.40.0-beta.7 to checkout the version you mentioned. I am on Linux, but i have no experience with Electron which looks something like a node.js framework. What to do next to compile or start the application? Thanks again, Chuck

[cubar]

@rahmi Thanks for your answer. I tried that and get the following:

$ wget https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config --no-check-certificate --2021-02-13 15:24:38-- https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config Resolving textsecure-service.whispersystems.org (textsecure-service.whispersystems.org)... 13.248.212.111, 76.223.92.165 Connecting to textsecure-service.whispersystems.org (textsecure-service.whispersystems.org)|13.248.212.111|:443... connected. WARNING: cannot verify textsecure-service.whispersystems.org's certificate, issued by ‘CN=TextSecure,OU=Open Whisper Systems,O=Open Whisper Systems,L=San Francisco,ST=California,C=US’: Self-signed certificate encountered. HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 401 Unauthorized

Username/Password Authentication Failed.

Thanks, Chuck

[cubar]

Hi Rahmi, Thanks for your help. I just want to install a signal client on my laptop. The installation procedure on the official github page got signal-desktop installed, then running it resulted in a request to chmod 4775 a certain file (chrome-sandbox). Then I ran signal-desktop resulting in an empty window (no images, no text, no menus). On the xterminal we get the following messages:

$ ./AppRun [32/32] Set Windows Application User Model ID (AUMID) { appUserModelId: 'org.whispersystems.signal-desktop' }
NODE_ENV production
NODE_CONFIG_DIR /home/chuck/squashfs-root/resources/app.asar/config
NODE_CONFIG {}
ALLOW_CONFIG_MUTATIONS undefined
HOSTNAME undefined
NODE_APP_INSTANCE undefined
SUPPRESS_NO_CONFIG_WARNING undefined
SIGNAL_ENABLE_HTTP undefined
userData: /home/chuck/.config/Signal
config/get: Successfully read user config file
x-attr dependency did not load successfully
config/get: Successfully read ephemeral config file
making app single instance
Gtk-Message: 20:25:24.885: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
Gtk-Message: 20:25:24.888: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"app ready","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.215Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"starting version 1.39.6","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.216Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"media access status undefined undefined","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.216Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"updateSchema:\n Current user_version: 21;\n Most recent db schema: 21;\n SQLite version: 3.30.1;\n SQLCipher version: 4.3.0 community;\n (deprecate d) schema_version: 109;\n","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.295Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"Initializing BrowserWindow config: {\"show\":true,\"width\":800,\"height\":610,\"minWidth\":680,\"minHeight\":550,\"autoHideMenuBar\":false,\"background Color\":\"#3a76f0\",\"webPreferences\":{\"nodeIntegration\":false,\"nodeIntegrationInWorker\":false,\"contextIsolation\":false,\"preload\":\"/home/chuck/squashfs-root/resources/app.asar/preload.js\",\"nativeWind owOpen\":true,\"spellcheck\":true,\"backgroundThrottling\":false},\"icon\":\"/home/chuck/squashfs-root/resources/app.asar/images/signal-logo-desktop-linux.png\",\"x\":562,\"y\":374}","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25. 331Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"spellcheck: user locale: nl-NL","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.615Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"spellcheck: available spellchecker languages: [\"af\",\"bg\",\"ca\",\"cs\",\"cy\",\"da\",\"de\",\"el\",\"en-AU\",\"en-CA\",\"en-GB\",\"en-US\",\"es\",\ "es-419\",\"es-AR\",\"es-ES\",\"es-MX\",\"es-US\",\"et\",\"fa\",\"fo\",\"fr\",\"he\",\"hi\",\"hr\",\"hu\",\"hy\",\"id\",\"it\",\"ko\",\"lt\",\"lv\",\"nb\",\"nl\",\"pl\",\"pt-BR\",\"pt-PT\",\"ro\",\"ru\",\"sh\",\ "sk\",\"sl\",\"sq\",\"sr\",\"sv\",\"ta\",\"tg\",\"tr\",\"uk\",\"vi\"]","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.619Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"spellcheck: setting languages to: [\"nl\"]","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.619Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"Begin ensuring permissions","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.683Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"Ensuring file permissions for 2 files","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.715Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"Finish ensuring permissions in 52ms","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:25.737Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"Updating BrowserWindow config: {\"maximized\":false,\"autoHideMenuBar\":false,\"fullscreen\":false,\"width\":800,\"height\":610,\"x\":562,\"y\":411}","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:26.190Z","v":0} {"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"config/set: Saving ephemeral config to disk","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:26.191Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:28.653Z","msg":"x-attr dependency did not load successfully","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:28.796Z","msg":"preload complete","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"msg":"updater/start: Updates disabled - not starting new version checks","time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.582Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:29.677Z","msg":"pre-main prep time: 4 ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:29.959Z","msg":"background page reloaded","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:29.959Z","msg":"environment: production","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.082Z","msg":"SQL channel job 1 (getItemById) succeeded in 122ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.082Z","msg":"Storage fetch","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.450Z","msg":"SQL channel job 2 (getAllItems) succeeded in 368ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.474Z","msg":"SQL channel job 3 (createOrUpdateItem) succeeded in 23ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.487Z","msg":"SQL channel job 4 (createOrUpdateItem) succeeded in 13ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.487Z","msg":"SQL channel job 5 (createOrUpdateItem) succeeded in 12ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.488Z","msg":"Starting background data migration. Target version: 10","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.496Z","msg":"GET https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.514Z","msg":"ConversationController: starting initial fetch","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.530Z","msg":"SQL channel job 6 (getAllConversations) succeeded in 15ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.531Z","msg":"ConversationController: done with initial fetch","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.532Z","msg":"SQL channel job 7 (getAllStickerPacks) succeeded in 17ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.532Z","msg":"SQL channel job 8 (getAllStickers) succeeded in 17ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.533Z","msg":"SQL channel job 9 (getRecentStickers) succeeded in 17ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.533Z","msg":"SQL channel job 10 (getRecentEmojis) succeeded in 17ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.534Z","msg":"SQL channel job 11 (getItemById) succeeded in 17ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.535Z","msg":"SQL channel job 12 (getItemById) succeeded in 18ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.535Z","msg":"SQL channel job 13 (getAllIdentityKeys) succeeded in 18ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.535Z","msg":"SignalProtocolStore: Finished caching identityKeys data","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.536Z","msg":"SQL channel job 14 (getAllSessions) succeeded in 18ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.539Z","msg":"SignalProtocolStore: Finished caching sessions data","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.540Z","msg":"SignalProtocolStore: Finished caching preKeys data","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.540Z","msg":"SignalProtocolStore: Finished caching signedPreKeys data","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.541Z","msg":"checkForConflicts: starting...","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.541Z","msg":"checkForConflicts: complete!","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.546Z","msg":"Cleanup: starting...","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.548Z","msg":"Initializing network observer every 5000ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.549Z","msg":"Build expires: 2021-04-20T02:01:52.000Z","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.551Z","msg":"Cleanup: Found 0 messages for cleanup","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.551Z","msg":"Cleanup: complete","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.551Z","msg":"listening for registration events","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.585Z","msg":"opening provisioning socket https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.593Z","msg":"SQL channel job 18 (getNextExpiringMessage) succeeded in 34ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.595Z","msg":"SQL channel job 19 (getNextTapToViewMessageToAgeOut) succeeded in 35ms","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":50,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.908Z","msg":"GET https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config 401 Error","v":0}
{"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":50,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.910Z","msg":"Top-level unhandled promise rejection: HTTPError: promiseAjax: error response; code: 401\n at makeHTTPError ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/textsecure/WebAPI.js:389:15)\n at [REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/textsecure/WebAPI.js:354:24\nOriginal stack:\nError\n at _outerAjax ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/textsecure/WebAPI.js:384:21)\n at _ajax ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/textsecure/WebAPI.js:532:20)\n at Object.getConfig ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/textsecure/WebAPI.js:594:31)\n at Object.exports.refreshRemoteConfig ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/RemoteConfig.js:34:36)\n at invokeFunc ([REDACTED]/app.asar/node_modules/lodash/lodash.js:10359:23)\n at leadingEdge ([REDACTED]/app.asar/node_modules/lodash/lodash.js:10369:26)\n at Object.debounced [as maybeRefreshRemoteConfig] ([REDACTED]/app.asar/node_modules/lodash/lodash.js:10436:20)\n at Object.initRemoteConfig ([REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/RemoteConfig.js:19:19)\n at file://[REDACTED]/app.asar/ts/background.js:463:36","v":0} {"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":30,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.963Z","msg":"provisioning socket open","v":0}

After your last mail I also downloaded "https://gitlab.com/rahmiac/signal-desktop-appimages/-/blob/master/Signal-1.39.6.AppImage" from your repository, installed nodejs and nvm, restarted the terminal session, ran nvm install, nvm run and as shown above finally ./AppRun, resulting in the messages above.

Among these messages we get as mentioned before: {"name":"log","hostname":"de","pid":5511,"level":50,"time":"2021-02-13T20:25:30.908Z","msg":"GET https://textsecure-service.whispersystems.org/v1/config 401 Error","v":0}

In short, this result is very similar to what I got after installing with apt install from the official repository: First, the "config" page cannot be downloaded because of the certificate being self signed. Second, the signal-desktop window is completely empty

I think it would help if the domain *.whispersystems.org would use a genuine certificate (which already has been requested as I understand from @scottnonnenberg-signal). I would recommend Letsencrypt as it's free.

Regards, Chuck

[cubar]

Hello Rahmi, I am running on debian and also tried on ubuntu. I followed the instructions on the official site to install signal-desktop as well as a compiled version in a local git clone after checking out the version with tag v1.40.0-beta.7. All attempts resulted in the same result: running the app gives an empty app window and the config url unreachable because of the certificate problem.

It seems that the v1.40.0-beta.7 version has the same problem as the version on the official page: https://signal.org/download/linux/. We may have to wait for the certificate to be no longer self signed. Thanks so far, Chuck

[cubar]

Hello Rahmi,

Success using the --no-sandbox option with the beta version! It turns out that I ended up with two versions of signal-desktop: One in "/opt/Signal/" and another in "/opt/Signal Beta/".

I am not sure which beta version it is, couldn't quite find out using grep -ril on the folder. To start signal from the command line I use signal-desktop-beta --no-sandbox

Anyways, thank you very much for your help. Cheers, Chuck

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

In the future, when attempting to run the application in development mode, use the forums to work with the community to get things working. I'm going to close this.