Firefox has a native system for installing webapps similar to Chrome. We explain how to activate and use it

Firefox App

Although for me there is still room for improvement, there is a Chrome / Chromium feature that I quite like: creating and installing web applications on the operating system. What I don't like is that, for example, the window icon is still the browser icon, but they allow us to install websites like YouTube or Twitter as if it were a desktop application. As a Firefox user, this is something I've always missed, but Mozilla offers an option that looks quite similar in its Firefox.

PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) are a type of SSB, which is the acronym for Site-Specific Browser. That is to say: they are browser windows that do not include native functions, beyond always displaying the same page or website in a separate window. This is what we can use with Firefox, but the function is one of those that are hidden in the "about: config" page and that we have to activate before we can do anything. Here we explain the steps to follow to install web applications with Firefox.

Currently, this no longer works.

How to install PWAs in Firefox

  1. The first thing we have to do is go to the URL bar and type about: config.
  2. If it is the first time we enter, it warns us that it is a dangerous area. Here we can tell you that we do not want you to notify us again or simply accept the notice.
  3. Once inside, we search for "ssb" to find the parameter "browser.ssb.enabled '.
  4. We double click on the line to change from «False» to «True».

Enable the option of Site-Specific Browser

  1. We restart Firefox.
  2. Now, to create an app we have to go to the web page from which we want to create our «desktop app», in quotes. As a personal recommendation, it is worth doing this before entering the service because that way the window will put your name. For example, if we log in to Twitter and later create the app, what will appear in the top bar of the window will be something like "Twitter / Notifications", when it is best if only "Twitter" appears.
  3. Within the web, we go to the three points to the right of the URL bar.

Install app in Firefox

  1. We choose the option that at the time of writing is in English and says "Use This Site in App Mode." And that would be all.

Once the app has been created, the page will open in a special and separate browser window, without the navigation options as explained above. In Windows I should create a shortcut, but personally it is something that has not happened in my tests. What it does do is that the service logo appears on the bottom bar. As for Linux, no icon is created and we will have to manage installed applications from the new menu It appears on the hamburger under the name "Sites in App Mode."

Access mobile app sites

Another thing that works better on windows is that, since the bar icon is the web favicon, it separates the Firefox windows. In some Linux distributions, it appears as a Firefox window, which means that it overlaps the same icon as if it were a new window.

Uninstalling the apps

Uninstall the apps It is as simple or more than in Chrome / Chromium: we just have to go to the "Sites in App Mode" section and click on the "x" that appears next to the webapp. If we delete them all, the option will disappear, but we will still be able to install all the apps we want unless we do the reverse of steps 1 to 5 of the previous tutorial.

Uninstall mobile apps

This function available since Firefox 73, that is, since February, and since then is in the experimental phase. I don't think it is necessary to explain what the "experimental" label means, but we will warn that we may encounter bugs that reduce the user experience. For example, in Firefox 77 I have removed all apps and the option "Sites in App Mode" did not disappear, which makes it clear that the function needs to be improved. This is something that does not happen in Firefox 79 Nightly.

Without a doubt, when Mozilla improves the function and activates it officially, it is something that many of us will use. On Linux, at a minimum they have to get us to create a shortcut to open the apps from the application launcher. Will it be a featured feature for Firefox 80?


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  1.   User12 said

    This function is really a necessity for everyone who knows it, for example I have a webapp to have Office Online in the menu and it is a marvel ... But due to the limitation that is explained in the article I have not been able to create using Firefox but rather the I had to create with Chromium (it is the only thing I use (Google) Chromium for, to access Microsoft services from Linux ... Everything is for consistency) ñ.

  2.   acgd said

    that thing you posted no longer exists in v105.0