Chrome notification re: Timimi

#61

So I think I worked out how to compile and set up the extension and saver for Chrome on Linux (not Snap). Are there any brave Linux users that want to try it?

In any event, you should be able to use this extension on Linux/Windows/Mac after some tweaking. This extension fix is actually from @FSpark – I’m just putting the pieces together here.

You unzip the addon-chrome.zip file to some safe directory (pick a place you won’t delete). You go into your extensions manager on Chrome and turn on developer mode. Then “Load Unpacked Extension”. Navigate to the directory with the manifest.json file and load. The Timimi extension should appear. It’s 99% the same as the original, and will navigate to the old write-up.

Note that this extension should work for Chrome on Linux, Windows, and Mac. I’ve tested it on Linux and a very, very old Windows. A report on Mac would be helpful.

But this isn’t enough. The problem is that there is a configuration file that needs to be updated with the id of the extension. In the following, it’s assumed that you have installed Timimi as a regular user, and not as a corporate user. Verify that your newly loaded extension has an id of “eckkbhekakplhjeabeoechennfbclgng” . This happened to be the name of my first goldfish, so it was easy to remember.

For Linux, the path to the configuration is:

~/.config/google-chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/timimi.json

For Windows, the path should be:

C:\Users\<your account>\AppData\Roaming\Timimi-Chrome\timimi.json

(it could be a different drive depending on your configuration.)

For Mac the path should be:

$HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/timimi.json

In timimi.json there is a line to be edited for “allowed_origins”. The line for allowed origins in the timimi.json file should look like this after editing:

"allowed_origins": ["chrome-extension://eckkbhekakplhjeabeoechennfbclgng/"]

For Linux, I’ve compiled an installer which will do this reconfiguration for you. To use it, download the timimi-test.sh file, set to executable and run (this is the brave part). In the menu, select Chrome for your installation. Hopefully it will run ok. This installs the “timimi” file (which hasn’t actually changed) over-writes a timimi-json file with the new id of the “new” extension. Be aware that installing this might zap your old Timimi settings, so if you are still using it under the grace periood of manifest 2, … be aware.

But I guess it would be useful to know if my newly fledged “go” compilation skills work for anyone else. If there were any tweaks to the code after it was submitted to github … then the code here will be wrong.

The extension itself:

The Linux installer

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#62

Wow, you too? I thought I was the only one!

#63

Are one and only coterminus in Math?

Just asking, TT

#64

Just in case I buried the lede, the extension here is for all Chrome users – not just Linux users – if they’re willing to make a small edit to a text file. Of course, you don’t have to actually do anything until June.

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#65

I won’t. Too many other things are afoot.

A comment from the worrying-side.

TT

#66

It’s a lot easier to paint the house when it’s not on fire.

But maybe people have already stopped using Timimi?

#67

I guess.

FWIW I am still using Timimi 1 (not what most use) on FF that gives a back-end to invoke programs, still.

My point? Everything got fragmented. A war on making sense.

A big concern for TW is local saving.
I hope that someone like you could make a back-end to help save saving.

TT, j x

#68

I am using Timini and would like to continue doing so…

4 Likes
#69

I hope you can all appreciate why getting information “saved” easily would be important to a Christian missionary like me! :slight_smile:

#70

I wouldn’t know. I’ve had so many note systems, most of my data is in limbo.

Per the notes above, you should be able to use a local Timimi extension, coupled with a small edit to a simple json file, to continue using Timimi now. Even though you could wait until June, if you do it now then we will have feedback regarding @FSpark 's extension fix.

So far there have been only two downloads of add-on-chrome.zip . Which is why I’m wondering if there is much interest.

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#71

I am confused by your comment. I am, in fact, using Timimi on Google Chrome now, with no special json file.

A Chrome popup told me that Timimi was untrusted, and made me click a button in the popup to continue using it, but with the warning that I was taking my life and the future of the Western world into my hands.

Even my original post stated “I was able to force it on again.” My concern is not about my current activity, which is unhindered, but to activity when Google finally decides to block Timimi. You and others are mentioning something about June? So I am assuming you have read something I have not personally seen.

As I stated in a reply above, I will continue to use Timimi until it stops working. When it does, I will evaluate the options I have at this point. So far, TiddlyStow (version 1) seemed the easiest. But there are other options here, or mentioned in other threads, such as TiddlyStow v2.

But thinking about people other than myself, who are coming to TiddlyWiki for the first time, there is a definite value for having a Google-approved app like Timimi for saving changes, with easy and clear instructions on how to set it up, as opposed to making them go into Command Prompt or GitHub, or download something linked to from here, any of which could scare them off because they might see it as complicated and confusing / unapproved / unsafe.

So I would still hope that by the time the day comes when Timimi as it stands will no longer work, that there will exist an updated Timimi or equivalent in the Chrome store.

#72

You are using a json file! It got installed when you ran the Timimi installer.

Yes, the word on the street is that June is when full enforcement begins. However, Google has moved dates around before, so who knows?

We’re all concerned that June date. Which is why there is a solution provided above.

If you scroll up to my prior post you will see that I have provided a zip file. It is possible to unzip this and then load it into Chrome locally (after removing the existing Timimi extension). This extension is compliant with Chrome’s new rules. BUT, it doesn’t work until you also edit a file. For windows, the path should be:

C:\Users\<your account>\AppData\Roaming\Timimi-Chrome\timimi.json

There’s an id that needs to be written over in order to allow the new extension to work (per the post above). Hopefully that explains it a bit betterr.

#73

Hi @Mark_S

As a macOS user (Sequoia, 15.3.2), I’m writing to say thanks a lot: I followed your instructions step by step, and your update to the saver works great. I didn’t delete Timimi from Chrome, just kept it “off” (default setting with new Chrome) and then followed your guide to download, install, and edit the manifest.json file. Chrome now shows Timimi as installed and running normally (no message about incompatibility anymore), and even the lovely fish icon is the same.

I normally use Firefox with Timimi to save my single-file TWs, but your update is great to have, and could mean a switch to Chrome if Firefox goes down the Manifest 3 path.

Simon

PS I now have goldfish name envy, which I didn’t even realise might be a thing (mine was called Number 6, after the character in the Prisoner, though now that just seems ordinary …)

PPS / edit: Oh, and on saving the TW file, I get a copy in the backup folder I set, using the “Tower of Hanoi” method set by clicking the Timimi fish icon – all as expected. Thanks again: brilliant!

#74

FireFox does not go the same way as Chrome with the manifest V3 implementation. See my earlier post: Chrome notification re: Timimi - #25 by pmario

#75

Thanks @pmario : sorry I missed your post before; that’s good to know!

All best wishes

Simon

#76

Firefox won’t do “manifest 3” because it uses a different system. But I expect that within a year or two it will do something similar, with the primary goal of preventing ad-blockers.

#77

Thank you for your report! I might create a Mac installer (executable) at some point. Do you think you would be brave enough to test it?

#78

Uh oh, I followed this on my Windows machine this morning and something failed. After the instructions I restarted my Windows+Edge browser and got a popup warning about being in Developer mode and it telling me that it was going to warn me at each browser restart. That should probably have been expected, but it’ll be annoying if there’s no way to turn that off permanently. Then I turned the old Timimi off and turned the new one on. It looks like it saves but gives me this a warning:

{6204E392-79B6-4046-A5D3-48DB4C188267}

Do you happen to know what your “old goldfish” name was so I can change it back? I’ll switch over to TiddlyDesktop or something since now I’m in a broken state.

#79

Right.

My query, hopeing it is relevant on “TW savers now”, is this …

Would it be useful to think in terms of “external management” too … Meaning that a “save as a Download” remains but internal to TW sophistications on saving/versioning/backup seem to get harder and harder without local executive detection.

Just wondering, TT

p.s. I fondly remember your Polly days.

#80

As mentioned in the linked blog post: Mozilla’s approach to Manifest V3: What’s different and why it matters for extension users you can see. Mozilla does support manifest v3. But they also keep some of the manifest v2 settings that Chrome deprecated. Mainly because Mozilla wants to keep “AddBlockers” alive.

For Timimi the only change that has to be made is, to upgrade the manifest configuration to V3. The “native messaging” mechanism that Timimi uses has not changed, nor is it blocked now. It’s only the manifest file that has to be updated.

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