An SEB alternative for Linux. pantomim opens Moodle quizzes that require Safe Exam Browser (SEB), so you don't have to boot into Windows for them.

pantomim is an unofficial project, not affiliated with or endorsed by ETH Zürich or the Safe Exam Browser project.

It does not lock down your computer: there is no kiosk mode, and other applications keep running. Use it for real exams only with your institution's permission.

What it does

Moodle checks for SEB through its quizaccess_seb plugin, and pantomim answers that check the way SEB for Windows does. It:

• reads .seb configuration files, including password-protected ones
• computes the Config Key and exposes window.SafeExamBrowser to every frame
• sends the SEB user agent
• opens seb:// and sebs:// links
• follows the configuration's quit URL, quit password and fullscreen settings
• shows a taskbar with a clock and a quit button, modelled on SEB's

Limitations

Quizzes that require a Browser Exam Key (BEK) will refuse pantomim. The BEK comes from the signed official SEB build, and pantomim can't produce it.

The X-SafeExamBrowser-* request headers aren't sent yet. Moodle's default setup accepts the JavaScript check on its own.

pantomim has been tested on KDE Plasma (Wayland).

Install

Debian, Ubuntu and derivatives:

curl -fsSLo /tmp/pantomim.deb https://github.com/dirgaydtm/pantomim/releases/latest/download/pantomim_amd64.deb && sudo apt install /tmp/pantomim.deb

Fedora:

sudo dnf install https://github.com/dirgaydtm/pantomim/releases/latest/download/pantomim.x86_64.rpm

These install the latest release once. To get updates with the rest of your system, add the repository instead:

# Debian, Ubuntu
sudo curl -fsSL https://dirgaydtm.github.io/pantomim/key.gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/pantomim.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/pantomim.gpg] https://dirgaydtm.github.io/pantomim/deb ./" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pantomim.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install pantomim

# Fedora
sudo curl -fsSL https://dirgaydtm.github.io/pantomim/pantomim.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/pantomim.repo
sudo dnf install pantomim

Other distributions can use the AppImage from the latest release. It runs without installing, but Moodle's "Launch Safe Exam Browser" button won't open it. An AUR package for Arch Linux is planned.

Usage

Like SEB, pantomim always starts with one argument. Either click "Launch Safe Exam Browser" on the Moodle quiz page, or open a downloaded .seb file with pantomim. Started without an argument, it just tells you to do one of these.

Contributing

ARCHITECTURE.md explains how pantomim is put together, and CONTRIBUTING.md covers building it, testing it against Moodle and copying SEB's behavior.

Why "pantomim"?

Pantomim is Indonesian for pantomime. A mime acts out a wall that isn't there, and the audience sees it anyway. pantomim does the same with Safe Exam Browser: it copies the way SEB introduces itself and answers SEB's checks, so Moodle believes SEB is there.

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0. Parts of pantomim are translated from Safe Exam Browser for Windows (© ETH Zürich, IT Services, MPL 2.0); see NOTICE.