Why does @firefox have to keep profiles hidden in “about:profiles” like they’re illegal to have. It’s quite literally the 1 feature stopping me from using it over Vivaldi. That and vertical tabs, of course

  • @BlackPit@feddit.ch
    20•5 months ago

    Here’s a tip to make using Firefox profiles easy.

    1. go to about:profiles and create a profile. Let’s call this one “better” because it has the Betterfox css added. (an example)
    2. On Linux typing firefox in a terminal will launch the default profile. Typing firefox -p better will launch the “better” profile. If you’re on OS X or Windows just find out what the equivalent command would be to execute the launch.
    3. Go to wherever you need to in your operating system to create custom keyboard shortcuts. For me that’s Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts. Create a new shortcut with the following information.

    Name: Firefox profile better

    Command: firefox -p better

    Keys: enter the keys you want to use

    How to choose keys;

    My desktop environment uses super(windows) + b to launch the default browser, which happens to be Firefox. So for me it makes sense to use something like super + shift + b for consistency, and easy to remember. If you have a profile with Arkenfox css it could be super + shift + a. Regardless, try for a mnemenic and consistent solution.

    Now whenever you want to launch a new instance of a Firefox profile just tap the keys you assigned.

    • Joël de Bruijn
      11•5 months ago

      This baffled me to no end, but the -P flag did the trick.

      eg Win11: “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” -P as a shortcut.

      Got used to always start with profile picker.

      • @Zachariah@lemmy.world
        6•5 months ago

        If you add -no-remote to the command, you can launch multiple profiles simultaneously. You don’t need that parameter on your main profile.

        Example:

        “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” -P [profile’s name] -no-remote

        You can even make a shortcut to Firefox and put the command in. I have several icons launch profiles when I need them.

    • @dracs@programming.devEnglish
      11•5 months ago

      I really wish vertical tabs could make it in as a core feature to Firefox. Currently I have to rely on manual user style sheet changes to hide the horizontal tab bar.

    • 0xCAFeEnglish
      6•5 months ago

      I second the recommendation for Tree Style Tabs, however Sideberry did work better for me (don’t recall why, sorry).

      One downside is that they don’t hide the horizontal tab bar on the top. AFAIK you can manually hide it by editing the userstyle css file.

      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sidebery/

    • TawandaOP
      1•5 months ago

      @iusearchbtw I wish I didn’t have to use an extension but I’mma try one just to see.

      And I like having profiles cause I have different accounts for work and personal. I don’t wanna have to create a new user on my PC or use a different browser

    • @the_beber@lemm.ee
      37•5 months ago

      I use profiles. For me it‘s useful for switching between personal, work and presentation „mode“, because I use a different set of bookmarks and extensions for each one.

      • @superbirra@lemmy.world
        10•5 months ago

        it always baffles me when an internet rando comes telling somebody that their needs are wrong because there is another (unrelated, not really an) option :)

        • @med@sh.itjust.works
          1•5 months ago

          I can’t figure out how to get them to work they way I want.

          I don’t store any history/cookie/cache data by default, it’s all eliminated on shutdown of the browser. So I have to put in exceptions for password managers, tickting systems and other stuff.

          Like, what if I want to have whatsapp in a container? Well, if you want it to work nicely, you need to allow persistant cookies. Then it stays logged in between sessions.

          But that exception is valid for all containers, not just the whatsapp container. I work for an MSP, I’ve got hundreds of accounts to the same few sites, adobe/microsoft/antivirus and they all work fine! But there’s tracking cookies for those sites too that can be stored and retrieved too.

          I want per container cookie/cache exception options, because forcing a site to open in a single container isn’t viable in all circumstances. That’s why I have to use profiles.

          • @superbirra@lemmy.world
            1•5 months ago

            and you are not only more than welcome to use them, but also invited to keep using the right tool for your needs :) I was actually making fun of the comment that mentioned containers, not the one I replied to.

            • @med@sh.itjust.works
              2•5 months ago

              Oh I know, I was agreeing with you!

              I was outlining a problem that containers can’t (currently) solve in solidarity. Sorry, that wasn’t clear.

              • @superbirra@lemmy.world
                1•5 months ago

                ah ok sorry I’m dumb hehe. Anyway this thread is interesting in suggesting some use cases I had not imagined before, which is cool, profile is the new porno mode yeah :DDD

    • 0xCAFeEnglish
      8•5 months ago

      Side note: in recent versions of Firefox you can use right click → Copy Link Without Site Tracking to get a clean version of the link without any tracking paramters.