Firefox: Difference between revisions

<strong>Firefox</strong><ref>Mozilla Foundation, "Firefox", Official Website, Accessed June 2025. https://www.mozilla.org/firefox</ref> is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It is known for its focus on privacy, security, and user freedom, offering a customizable experience through a rich ecosystem of add-ons and themes.

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{{code|lang=bash|line=no|1=$ nix-shell -p firefox}}

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The command above makes <code>firefox</code> available in your current shell without modifying any configuration files.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=# Example for /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

environment.systemPackages = [

];}}

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After rebuilding with <code>nixos-rebuild switch</code>, Firefox will be installed system-wide.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

programs.firefox = {

};

}}

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The snippet above enables Firefox for all users (or the current Home Manager profile, if placed in <code>home.nix</code>).

Home Manager allows for deep customization of Firefox, including extensions, search engines, bookmarks, and themes. The example below shows a configuration for adding custom search engines with aliases.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

programs.firefox = {

};

}}

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[https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.xhtml#opt-programs.firefox.enable More options are available on Home Manager's site.]

There are several Firefox variants available. To choose one, set the <code>programs.firefox.package</code> option accordingly.

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Mozilla provides official pre-built Firefox binaries via the <code>firefox-bin</code> package, which are downloaded directly from Mozilla's servers.

<code>firefox-esr</code> is a variant that receives security updates for a longer period with a slower feature implementation cadence. It also allows for more extensive policy-based configuration.

Nightly builds are daily builds from the central Mozilla repository.

This method is reproducible but may lag behind the upstream version. First, add the input to your flake:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

inputs = {

};

}}

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Then, add the package to your system:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

# In configuration.nix, assuming use of specialArgs

];

}}

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This method is not necessarily reproducible without a flake-like system but will always be the latest version.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

nixpkgs.overlays = [

programs.firefox.package = pkgs.latest.firefox-nightly-bin;

}}

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Using this method requires the <code>--impure</code> flag for Nix commands, for example:

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{{code|lang=bash|line=no|1=$ nixos-rebuild switch --impure}}

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Firefox defaults to native Wayland when running under a Wayland compositor. To force it to use XWayland (X11) instead:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=environment.sessionVariables.MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND = "0";}}

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<!--T:30a-->

This is useful when troubleshooting Wayland-specific issues or when certain features work better under X11.

Enable <code>xinput2</code> to improve touchscreen support and enable additional touchpad gestures and smooth scrolling.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

environment.sessionVariables.MOZ_USE_XINPUT2 = "1";

}}

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1. Add the native messaging host package to your configuration:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=programs.firefox.nativeMessagingHosts.packages = [ pkgs.kdePackages.plasma-browser-integration ];}}

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2. Install the corresponding [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/plasma-integration/ browser add-on].

To use the KDE file picker instead of the GTK one, set the following preference:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

programs.firefox.preferences = {

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Native messaging hosts (used for extensions like Plasma Integration) do not work with the <code>-bin</code> variants of Firefox or with Firefox installed imperatively via <code>nix-env</code>. You must use a variant built from source via your NixOS or Home Manager configuration.

To force Firefox to use ALSA, you can override it with a wrapper:

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=programs.firefox.package = pkgs.wrapFirefox pkgs.firefox-unwrapped { libpulseaudio = pkgs.libalsa; };}}

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==== Screen Sharing under Wayland ==== <!--T:43-->

<!--T:44-->

Screen sharing on Wayland requires enabling PipeWire and the appropriate XDG Desktop Portals.

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{{code|lang=nix|line=no|1=

services.pipewire.enable = true;

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* [[Home Manager]] – Declarative per-user configuration

* [https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=unstable&query=programs.firefox NixOS options for Firefox]

* [https://discourse.nixos.org/tag/firefox Firefox topics on NixOS Discourse]

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[[Category:Applications]]

[[Category:Web Browser]]