Dev/Get Whonix Source Code

Get the Signing Key

This chapter is recommended for better security, but is not strictly required. (See Trust)

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gpg --keyserver hkp://ipv4.pool.sks-keyservers.net:80 --recv-keys 916B8D99C38EAF5E8ADC7A2A8D66066A2EEACCDA

gpg --keyserver hkp://ipv4.pool.sks-keyservers.net:80 --recv-keys 916B8D99C38EAF5E8ADC7A2A8D66066A2EEACCDA

It isn't safe to only get the signing key from one source for the download you want to verify. For better security, learn more about the Whonix Signing Key.

Get the Source Code

Install git and curl.

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sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git curl

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git curl

Get source code including git submodules.

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git clone --jobs=4 --recursive https://github.com/Whonix/Whonix

git clone --jobs=4 --recursive https://github.com/Whonix/Whonix

Note: If using an older version of git (from Debian Jessie, Whonix 13, etc), remove --jobs=4.

Remember it is Whonix, not whonix! If prompted for a username for github, you have mistyped the web address.

Shift to the source folder.

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cd Whonix

cd Whonix

OpenPGP Verify the Source Code

This chapter is recommended for better security, but is not strictly required.

Retrieve a list of available git tags.

cd ~/Whonix/ && git tag

Verify the chosen tag to build.

## ... Replace with tag you want to build.
git verify-tag 14.0.0.7.4-stable

The output should look similar to this.

object 1844108109a5f2f8bddcf2257b9f3675be5cfb22
type commit
tag 14.0.0.7.4
tagger Patrick Schleizer <adrelanos@riseup.net> 1392320095 +0000

.
gpg: Signature made Thu 13 Feb 2014 07:34:55 PM UTC using RSA key ID 77BB3C48
gpg: Good signature from "Patrick Schleizer <adrelanos@riseup.net>" [ultimate]

The warning.

gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.

Is explained on the Whonix Signing Key page and can be safely ignored.

By convention, git tags should point to signed git commits. (forum discussion) It is advisable to verify the signature of the git commit as well (replace 14.0.0.7.4 with the actual git tag being verified).

git verify-commit 14.0.0.7.4-stable^{commit}

The output should look similar to this.

commit 5aa1c307c943be60e7d2bfa5727fa5ada3a79c4a
gpg: Signature made Sun 07 Dec 2014 01:22:22 AM UTC using RSA key ID 77BB3C48
gpg: Good signature from "Patrick Schleizer <adrelanos@riseup.net>" [ultimate]
Author: Patrick Schleizer <adrelanos@riseup.net>
Date:   Sun Dec 7 01:22:22 2014 +0000

    .

Choose Version

Retrieve a list of available git tags.

git tag

Use git checkout to select the preferred version (or git branch) to build.

git checkout 14.0.0.7.4-stable

Replace 14.0.0.7.4 with the actual version chosen for the build: the stable, testers-only or developers version. Common sense is required when choosing the right version number. For example, the latest available version number is not necessarily the most stable or suitable. To learn more about current Whonix versions, follow the Whonix News Blog.

Clean Up and Sanitize

This step is also important for security.

Retrieve the list of extraneous files and folders.

git clean -ndff

See if the output looks sane; it generally should, unless Whonix source code is modified by advanced users (who understand git better anyhow). If the output looks like the following, everything is fine.

Would remove packages/apparmor-profile-gwenview/
Would remove packages/kde-privacy/

Remove these folders.

git clean -dff

The output should show.

Removing packages/apparmor-profile-gwenview/
Removing packages/kde-privacy/

Be sure to check out the right commit for each git submodule.

git submodule update --init --recursive

Check there are no extraneous files. This is important for security.

git status

The output should show the following:

nothing to commit (working directory clean)

If the directory is not clean, the extra files should be removed first.

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