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

  • @[email protected]
    18•10 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
      9•10 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
        6•10 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.