The best method I can get is Configure (Private) (Obfuscated) Tor Bridges, can I follow this method to add webtunel bridges to Whonix?
No, unfortunately not at time of writing. It is undocumented.
Added just now a new chapter on the same wiki page:
WebTunnel
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WebTunnel is an undocumented pluggable transport.
See also Rationale for Unsupported Bridges.
Without volunteer development contributions to Whonix this will probably take a few years, if it ever happens.
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Is it possible to manually install WebTunnel? (and is it located in lyrebird?) I think it’s possible, but can the devs maybe create a small guide on how to install it and set it up manually to work with whonix Tor since it’s not available via the debian packages?
Thanks.
Tails work on Debian 12 and added webtunnel in the new version. Perhaps you could try using Tails as a gateway for the workstation, or add the Tails repository to gateway and attempt to install the needed packages from there.
This is a very difficult modification.
It’s most likely not a repository. It’s probably similar to this:
make TBB usable as "system Tor", so latest pluggable transports and the tor-launcher graphical user interface can be used in Whonix
Yeah, thanks, but can’t you integrate the lyrebird executable with clienttransportplugin webtunnel to work with whonix? Like if you add that line into the place where you can add ‘custom user torrc‘ stuff, it doesn’t work with Tor. The gui only supports a few bridge types, but why can’t I add another one named ‘webtunnel‘? How to modify it like that, if possible, or is it not recommended or anything else?
I am once again asking you to consider adding support for WebTunnel bridges in Whonix.
I think you should give users the ability to use all Tor options. Tor has repeatedly stated that these bridges are currently the most effective method for hiding a connection to Tor (the same bridges are recommended in support services for all heavily censored countries). You’re doing fantastic work by adding many security tools and fingerprint‑hiding features to Whonix, but it’s crucial to hide the Tor connection as effectively as possible. You would gain millions of new users from Russia, China, Iran, and many other totalitarian countries, who now have to rely solely on Tails or the Tor Browser. Please consider this solution. This would be big news in the media if Whonix added WebTunnel support.
@arraybolt3 you are a brilliant master, and I can see how Whonix and Kicksecure have improved thanks to you! Maybe you could implement this important option. It seems that implementing it isn’t as difficult as the Tor documentation suggests
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I live in a country with very strict censorship, and I also feel sorry that the Whonix developers aren’t interested in users from such countries. I agree that, in 2026, not supporting WebTunnel looks outdated. The only bridges that work even a little sometimes are Snowflake, but it will become obsolete by the end of the year due to Debian’s rapid turnover. If this trend continues, the gap between Whonix and Tor/Tails will be huge by the time Debian 14 is released. The Tor and Tails projects have a priority: to give everyone in the world access to Tor, and they’re succeeding at it. Whonix is useless in my country, whereas Tails has become very popular thanks to WebTunnel support. I don’t quite understand how one can focus on protection against keyboard fingerprinting when many Asian countries can’t use Whonix right now. Tor and Tails test their systems for robustness in those regions, but Whonix simply avoids them, providing protection tools for areas where surveillance is much weaker and a Mullvad VPN is usually enough. Is it really that hard to add Lyrebird download from the official repository, as is done with the Tor browser? I hope this will be fixed; otherwise, Whonix will remain a limited, stripped‑down version of Tor. And of course, Whonix‑Host is doomed to fall behind Tails. Running a hidden VM in Tails with WebTunnel and a fresh Lyrebird would be a far more effective and secure solution than Whonix-Host.
Developers, please pay attention to this and give people the ability to fully use Tor’s features.
Quote Community Feedback:
It is generally unhelpful to debate the priorities laid out in the future Whonix roadmap, as this diverts energy from core development. Some major suggestions might become available in the long-term or might never eventuate. See also Linux User Experience versus Commercial Operating Systems to learn about organizational and funding issues in the Open Source ecosystem.
Please be aware that @arraybolt3 works with Kicksecure, Whonix under contract and not as a volunteer. Maintaining Whonix causes expenses (money, work hours). For these reasons, please don’t tag @arraybolt3, so that I can triage/prioritize issues before assigning them to @arraybolt3.
A note [under contract] in column @arraybolt3 on Contributors and Authorship - Whonix has been added just now.