#WhatsMissing: A tool to check if #TorBridges are still available/online/reachable that one can use either #standalone (with #TorBrowser and/or #Tor Expert Bundle) or on @tails_live / @tails / #Tails.

• Cuz I do run into issues and kinda want to sort #Bridges by availability so I don't waste time on a #TorBridge that is down and also thin-out the list of bridges that ain't online anymore.

Whilst I do acknowledge that @torproject do disrecommend having a huge list of Tor Bridges on hand, I do regularly need them for contacts who are behind a #GreatFirewall and can't #SSH-Tunnel out of it.

• Sadly #BridgeDB doesn't offer good #filtering options so one can't just query types effectively like "I need #webtunnel on #IPv4" or "I can only use Ports 80 & 443 on #IPv6" which may work.

Espechally being able to filter for #IPv4only and not just #IPv6only is something I miss, alongside the filter for #PluggableTransports type as @guardianproject #Orbot seems to only handle #obfs4 and not webtunnel or #meek at all...

• I'm pretty certain that merely pinging a bridge at it's port isn't working as a shure-fire way to check for it's availability.

One thing that @torproject is missing is a way to check availability and reachability of #Bridges with a simple tool.

• This is kinda vital as I do occasionally setup private #bridges and also want to enshure the private #TorBridges list I have is up to date.

Manually adding/removing one #bridge after the other in #TorBrowser and see if those connect is a relatively inefficient process and merely pinging them isn't viable either, espechally on #meek, #obfs4 and #snowflake type bridges.

• Now to make the obvious clear: I'd NEVER publicly list any #TorBridge on my lists.d repo obviously, because that would only harm #Tor...

I'm not even asking for like a fancy tool that is as clean as @micahflee 's #OnionShare but merely a #CLI thing (if necessary I'd build some #bash script) to automatically attempt to connect to said bridge and either spit out an ok or error.

• Something one can just feed with a text file and that'll spit out a different file with ok/working bridges and/or discards the non-working ones from the list.

And yes, this tool is kinda crucial as I want to quickly sift through a load of bridges that work on restricted ports (22, 80, 443) and thus can bypass the #GreatFirewall and #Roskomnadzor filtering...

• So people fleeing can at least safely communicate.

If anyone at #TorProject needs more details, I'll gladly exchange them in a secure manner.

• I also applied for a #gitlab account so I can help improve #documentation (ideally with some nice step-by-step screenshots so even "#TechIlliterates" can i.e. add a #bridge)...