skip TOR_SKIP_LAUNCH=1 environment variable not honored
Even though the TOR_SKIP_LAUNCH=1 environment variable is set, TorLauncher still issues the following Tor control port commands.
GETCONF HTTPSProxy
GETCONF Socks4Proxy
GETCONF Socks5Proxy
GETCONF ReachableAddress
GETCONF UseBridges
GETCONF Bridges
And more. (Some SETCONF if you change settings there.)
This is a problem, because when there is deliberately no (or limited) access to Tor's control port (such as in a transparent proxy environment), then Tor Button -> Open Network Settings will lead to the following error.
Unable to retrieve Tor settings.
Please ensure that Tor is running.
When the TOR_SKIP_LAUNCH=1 environment variable is set, please do not use any TorLauncher features. Or alternatively, could you add please another environment variable to turn these control port command off?
Changing proxy settings is still useful in such environments (for example for configuration of arbitrary Tor SocksPorts (for stream isolation) or connecting to other (local) proxies such as proxies for circumventing Tor bans or the local i2p proxy).
The new Tor Button (in TBB 3.x) -> Open Network Settings seems to change proxy settings in Tor's internal settings. On the other hand, the old Tor Button (in TBB 2.x) -> Open Network Settings changed Firefox's proxy settings.
Whether changing Firefox's proxy settings is still supported or not might be another ticket? Seems like changing Firefox's proxy settings is not possible at the moment? Because when you go to Firefox -> Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Network and add an extra http proxy, then Tor Button indicates, that it's disabled. (Tor Button is crossed out with a red cross and shows a "Tor disabled" tooltip when hoovering over it with the mouse.)