App Browser Features

This page describes features of the app browser (aka custom Firefox installation that runs PWAs).

Using Web Apps

Once you launch a PWA (for example, from the system start/app menu), it will automatically open in the app browser. You don't have to do anything special.

When you navigate to the website that is outside of the PWA scope, the disabled address bar with the URL will be displayed. You can also customize this (see below for configuration options)

Using Standard Firefox Features

Most built-in standard Firefox features can still be accessed, including support for addons. The main difference is that the main Firefox menu button has been moved to the titlebar (and obviously that tabs and address bar are hidden). Features that require entering URL directly (such as about:config) can also be used by manually navigating to the URL (see below for URL input).

Addons can be installed from the built-in Firefox addon manager (which can be accessed with a keyboard shortcut or from the Firefox menu) or by manually navigating to the Addon Store URL (see below for URL input).

Navigating to Arbitrary URLs

You can open a basic URL input popup by pressing F6. You can navigate to any URL, including built-in ones such as about:config. However, it doesn't provide any auto-completion or search functionality. This feature will probably not be added.

Additional Toolbar Widgets

The project provides some additional toolbar widgets that can be used for various additional functionalities or provide an alternative to existing, now hidden widgets. Some of them are enabled by default, while you can enable others from the Firefox customize page.

• Site Information: Enabled by default, cannot be disabled. Provides site information that would otherwise be displayed in the address bar.
• Site Permissions: Enabled by default, cannot be disabled. Provides a list of permissions granted to the site that would otherwise be displayed in the address bar.
• Site Notifications: Enabled by default, cannot be disabled. Provides access to popups by sites requesting additional permissions.
• Tracking Protection: Enabled by default. Provides access to tracking protection popup that would otherwise be accessible in the address bar.
• Toggle Sound: Enabled by default. Provides support to toggle the page sound that would otherwise be possible from the tab.
• Reader View: Enables or disables the reader view/mode for the current page.
• Copy Link: Copies the current URL to the clipboard.
• Share Link: Shares the current URL using the system sharing functionality.
• Send to Device: Sends the current URL to another device using Firefox Account.
• Open in Browser: Opens the current URL in a default system browser.

Additional Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Snift+N: Opens a new window in a default browser.
• Ctrl+Alt: Toggles tabs/icon bar (if enabled, see below).

Configuration

You can configure some behavior using about:config preferences. Most of the preferences can also be accessed directly from the browser settings, in the "Progressive Web Apps" section. You may need to restart open web apps to apply these settings.

• firefoxpwa.linksTarget - Determines whether _blank links target is forced into the current tab or a new window

  • 0 - Do not change link behaviour (not recommended)
  • 1 - Force links into the current tab (default)
  • 2 - Force links into a new window
  • 3 - Force links into a new tab

• firefoxpwa.displayUrlBar - Determines whether URL bar is displayed always, when out of scope or never

  • 0 - Display URL bar when out of scope (default)
  • 1 - Never display URL bar
  • 2 - Always display URL bar

• firefoxpwa.sitesSetThemeColor - Determines whether the sites can override theme (titlebar) color

  On most systems, it will correctly set the theme color to the color specified in the manifest. However, it may cause problems on some Linux DEs, so you may need to disable it.

• firefoxpwa.sitesSetBackgroundColor - Determines whether the sites can override background color

  On most websites, it will correctly set the background color to the color specified in the manifest. However, it may cause problems on some websites, so you may need to disable it.

• firefoxpwa.openOutOfScopeInDefaultBrowser - Determines whether out of scope URLs should be opened in a default browser

  Enabling this option will automatically close the PWA window and open any out-of-scope URLs in a default browser. This may cause problems with some websites, so it is not recommended to turn it on unless you know what you are doing. You can also add a comma-separated list of domains where you don't want this behavior to firefoxpwa.allowedDomains.

• firefoxpwa.enableTabsMode - Determines whether the tabs mode is enabled

  Enabling this option will cause the app browser to display tabs, similar to the normal browser, but without a URL bar. It will also re-enable new tab keyboard shortcuts and menu items, and replace the new tab page with a PWA start URL.

• firefoxpwa.enableHidingIconBar - Determines whether hiding icon bar is allowed and option is displayed in the customize page

  This does not hide the tabs/icon bar on its own. It only adds an entry to the "toolbars" menu in the Firefox customize page that allows you to hide the icon bar. This is only meant for advanced users with a tiling window manager, and can be unstable and may cause some problems. When the icon bar is hidden, you will not be able to access Firefox icons and menus. To permanently enable it again, go to the customize page and then uncheck and check again icon bar entry in the menu. The icon bar can be temporarily displayed using the Ctrl+Alt keyboard shortcut.