Cannot log in to any apps

[john-light]

I have tried using three different apps: Lander, Sigle, and BlockSurvey. I have not been able to successfully login to any of them.

Lander:

Sigle:

BlockSurvey (did not show an error message, just took me back to the home page and prompted me to log-in again)

Normally I'd assume this was a problem with the app and report the problem to the app developer but since I can't login to any of the apps I tried I figure this might be a Blockstack Browser issue.

Blockstack Browser version: 0.37.0
Web browser: Firefox 74.0
OS: Linux Mint 18.3 (based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS)

[timstackblock]

Describe the bug
The Blockstack Browser native app on Linux launches in an opens a browser pointing to the localhost. But when a user clicks on a desired Dapp and selects the login button or "try now" button the user cannot login with the native app. Selecting the login button redirects to browser.blockstack.org and opens the web app in a new tab.

• Impacts local browser install on one or more Linux distributions

• When attempting login to any app, apps always redirect to browser.blockstack.org instead of using the locally installed browser

• Suspected root cause: issue with protocol handlers on Linux. Ideally, Blockstack login requests should be handled by local browser if available, and fall back to browser.blockstack.org if not.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install the native app on linux
2. Open a browser go to local host and login to the blockstack native app
3. Select your desired Dapp
4. Attempt to login to the Dapp with blockstack native app
5. Selecting the login button will open the blockstack web app in a second tab if user logs in to the dapp they will be logged in with the blockstack web app and not the native app

Expected behavior
This should function exactly how it does on a mac/iOS. User should have the option to login to the Dapp with the native app and should not be redirected to the web app without being prompted to select an option.

Screenshots
VIDEO OF THE BUG
http://somup.com/cYfVYp1U5r.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: [Ubuntu 19.10]
• Browser [firefox 74]
• Version [v0.37.0

[nottoseethesun]

Related question: Is the native app even supported now? E.g., is the direction to a mode where the user has to expose their private keys to a web-based service? That would handily defeat the utility of Blockstack, imo.

[markmhendrickson]

The existing native install for the Blockstack Browser is still available though deprecated. We'll continue to support it only with critical patches until Summer 2021.

The direction is towards a mode in which users authenticate with an installed web browser extension instead of a desktop app since it creates better affordances (e.g. for transaction signing with Stacks 2.0) while maintaining client-side self-sovereignty.

Users don't need to expose their private keys to any web-based service with the extension, which you can find here: https://www.blockstack.org/install

[nottoseethesun]

@markmhx That completely answers my question. Might be off-topic but in case not: This could be made easier to find in the documentation/etc materials.

[markmhendrickson]

I'm glad to hear that! And you have a point – our documentation is lacking in this regard. We're working on updating user-facing information about the browser extension / authenticator generally ahead of a new release next month. I'll make a point to include these details in it. 🙏