How I Configure Firefox

I’ve recommended to all of you [Browsers for Daily Using] (/blog/browsers-for-daily-using/).

This is not a tutorial; it’s just how I configure Firefox. You can find more information in the arkenfox wiki.

Step 1: Install Firefox

Download and install Firefox from Mozilla’s FTP website.

You can choose your OS and decide whether to include EME or not. You can also select the language, but I recommend using the en-US version. This version downloads Mozilla Firefox without a download token.

Don’t worry about outdated versions; Firefox will automatically update when you first run it.

Step 2: Obtaining User.js

You can configure Firefox yourself by entering about:config into the address bar, but I’ll make it easier for you.

1. Download a user.js. You can choose:

   • Easy: Betterfox

   • Medium: arkenfox

   • Hard: Narsil

You can download it using git clone, curl -O, or by clicking the Download button. Downloading a single user.js file is sufficient, but downloading the entire project is recommended.

2. Turn off your network. You don’t want Firefox to make any connections when you first run it.

3. Start Firefox and enter about:profiles in the address bar.

4. Create a new profile and ensure it’s marked as Default Profile: yes.

5. Copy the Root Directory and exit Firefox.

6. Navigate to your profile directory and delete all contents from the new profile:

   cd /path/to/your/profile && rm -rf *

7. Copy the user.js file into the profile folder:

   cp /path/to/user.js /path/to/your/profile

Step 3: Customize User Overrides

A user.js file is like a uniform; it is made to fit everyone but may not fit you perfectly. You’ll need some configurations to make it work best for you.

You can customize it by editing the user.js file directly or creating a user-overrides.js file to override specific settings.

Here are some configurations I recommend for anyone using arkenfox:

• extensions.pocket.enabled: False

• identity.fxaccounts.enabled: False

• browser.preferences.moreFromMozilla: False

I’m currently using arkenfox for ease of use. You can check out my user-overrides.js. However, as I mentioned, it will only fit my needs.

For more tutorials, please follow this guide.

Step 4: Install Updater Script

Install updater.sh by following these instructions. Download the required files:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkenfox/user.js/master/prefsCleaner.sh
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkenfox/user.js/master/updater.sh

Set permissions and execute:

chmod +x ./prefsCleaner.sh
chmod +x ./updater.sh
./updater.sh
./prefsCleaner.sh

Step 5: Restart Firefox

Step 6: Install Essential Extensions

Here are some essential extensions I recommend:

1. uBlock Origin

2. Multi-Account Containers

3. Skip Redirect

Check out additional extensions url.

Step 7: Choose a Search Engine

Consider using alternative search engines such as searx. Learn more about search engine options url.

Custom Version of Firefox

For a hassle-free alternative, explore Librewolf as a custom version of Firefox.