this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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What's the best way to sideload extensions? (lemdro.id)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by 2kool4idkwhat@lemdro.id to c/firefox@lemmy.ml
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I've wanted to install an extension from outside addons.mozilla.org, but Firefox didn't let me do it

So I've did a small research and looks like there are 3 ways to sideload extensions, but all of them suck

  1. Using FF Developer Edition

In the Dev Edition you can set xpinstall.signatures.required to false in about:config, but the problem is that the Dev Edition isn't as stable as standard FF

  1. Temporarily load the extension

In about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox you can temporarily sideload extensions, but they will be removed next time you open FF, which is annoying

  1. Modify FF code

Lastly, I found this script which modifies the FF code, but this can break things so I don't want to use it

I'm really annoyed that Mozilla gets to decide which extensions I can install. So... what's the best way to sideload extensions?

Edit: thanks everyone, I'm now using a FF fork (Librewolf) which lets me sideload extensions after disabling xpinstall.signatures.required

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[–] redxef@feddit.de 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You can place the .xpi file in a special folder. On my linux system that is in /usr/lib/firefox/browser/extensions/. Which would be the system wide folder. There are others which only affect the current user thkugh.

The user folder is $profile_dir/extensions/. To open the profile directory you can type about:profile in you address bar and click on Open Directory besides Root Directory in the default profile section.

[–] d_k_bo@feddit.de 7 points 1 year ago

I agree that this is annoying and feels somewhat similar to apple's locked down ecosystem.

[–] Johanno@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago

Compile Firefox from scratch. Use a fork of Firefox like librewolf that allows side loading.

(idk if librewolf allows it)

[–] gerbilOFdoom@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

I've never had a problem side loading an entire folder into Firefox. Maybe it was an addon rather than extension though?

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

If you're talking Android, I believe the F-Droid app store (which I'd recommend anyway) packages a version of Firefox (I think called "Fennec F-Droid"?) that allows the same thing as Nightly and Beta (which I assume you mean with option 1).

Also, Beta is very stable, just give it a shot. (Though your extensions might not be, especially on mobile.)

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh and also, if you wait just a bit, every extension can be made compatible with Firefox for Android: https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/08/10/prepare-your-firefox-desktop-extension-for-the-upcoming-android-release/

Of course the developer will still need to make sure that it works on Android.

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wait, so will this still require creating your own collection, or are they totally opening it up? I read the link, but I'm not sure I understand it.

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Totally opening up, as I understand it. Which doesn't mean that you can install every extension, because many might not be compatible. For example, Sidebery isn't really useful on mobile, and other extensions (especially the ones still using "Manifest V2") can't deal well with Android unpredictably killing extension processes in the background. But every extension developer can make their extension installable by Firefox for Android users.

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People will understand that not everything is compatible, but this is still going to make it much less clunky to run add-ons that aren't readily available now. The previous method of having to create a collection was extremely clunky and often felt like more trouble than it was worth.

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago

Yep, absolutely! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't interpreted incorrectly :)