Bring Back Rectangular Tabs

[Basic204]

Please give us a permanent option to disable the rounded tabs in Firefox 157.

The new Nova tab design is visually distracting, wastes space, and is simply worse for users who prefer the clean, rectangular tabs Firefox had before. I should not have to dig into about:config or maintain a custom userChrome.css just to get a basic interface choice back.

If Mozilla wants rounded tabs as the default, fine. Give users a setting to turn them off permanently.

Firefox has always been about giving users control. Please apply that principle to the UI too.

Please note UI changes just stop with that Firefox looked fine. Focus on just making the brower faster. 

Also stop with the **bleep** rounded everything. I really hate it or at least give me an option to shut it off and not deal with your oh this UI looks cool stuff. 

[ciaran]

I agree, I find the rounded tabs too finicky. A lot of the design changes in this update are very strange. I've always liked that firefox didn't look exactly like chrome, edge, and all the other hyper-modern garbage browsers.

[dftf]

Make sure to follow the steps AstrobotNautics has posted here to undo the rounded tabs

[AstrobotNautics]

It was for sure copy and pasted from your post 😂 Kudos to you dftf. Pretty sure you were the first person to post it on this forum.

[Achi]

I’ve been a Firefox user since the very first version; if the rectangular tabs don’t come back, I don’t plan to keep using it.
It is one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen in interface design.

[dftf]

Look at the reply from AstrobotNautics on this post and follow their steps

[JIGSAW]

+1 Im not a fan of this "Nova" redesign 👎

[dftf]

Follow the steps AstrobotNautics posted above to undo it

[JIGSAW]

I've done that before even posting here. The reason I actually posted was for the Dev to see we're not happy and they must make a toggle switch, because there's already rumours that the about:config entry will be removed .... then it's back to userchrome options again 😠

[dftf]

" ... then it's back to userchrome options again 😠"

---

Mozilla: "Hmm, we must end support for userChrome.css in future too..." 🤔

You: 😡😡😠😠😡😡😭😭

[CQA]

They're somehow simultaneously making the interface too cluttered, while wasting lots of space. The text in the tabs feels like it barely fits now because the oval-shaped tabs squeeze it at the edges. This is just bad design. There is nothing wrong with rectangles, they're the most space-efficient. Why not let the users choose how rounded their tabs are?

What's next? Making the tabs into circles? Making them concave? Where does this end?

[dftf]

The next one will be a flat bar with literal flags:

🇺🇸 Google search   X   🏁 Formula 1   X   🎌 Learn Japanese with ...   X   🏴‍☠️ Best FREE movies ...    X

🤣

[jus_dave]

Yeah, whilst I make my account to complain about the curved tabs, the other stupid move is "Split Tabs", what exactly is their use because it is just junk!

[AstrobotNautics · Accepted solution]

I literally created an account on this forum, which I have not done in the 15 or so years I've had Firefox, to say this exact thing. 

I just found this post in the release forum, and it reverts back to the old tab look:

In the address bar, type about:config , then press ENTER
Accept any warning
Search for nova
Double-click on "browser.nova.enabled" to change it to "false"

[gogogodzilla]

Thank you! The oval tabs were incredibly distracting.

[jus_dave]

Snap, me too. But I don't think anyone will listen.

[nevernow]

Thanks. But also is tab edge shapes all Nova is about? I am a Firefox daily-driver user since it was called Firebird, but at this point, sadly, I'm thinking it needs to die. $700 million a year for this.

[AstrobotNautics]

If Firefox dies, so does the only browser that provides a true alternative to Chromium-based browsers. Firefox is important, it's not just a browser, it's Mozilla's own browser based on their Gecko Engine. Firefox and Gecko are the baseplate for so many browser alternatives. We need competitors, else we lose one more freedom of the internet that has been around for so long; choice. 

What we must hope, is Mozilla doesn't sell out to an Ai or tech corp for a few quick bucks. We must also hope, they can continue to fund themselves somehow. It's a tricky balance. 

I'm sure if we see people flock away from Gecko based browsers to Chromium based ones because of a design choice, we will see Mozilla panic at their decending graph. And I'm certain many Firefox alternatives will push back if Mozilla threaten to make Nova the only tabs choice. Proton and Photon are well loved designs in alternative browser landscapes, provided Gecko doesn't somehow become incompatible with them, I'm sure browser alternatives like Waterfox and Floorp will have them in their stack if Firefox drops them. 

[Tykero]

Waterfox has this as a simple and accessible settings option. Why is this too hard for Mozilla? 

Seeing them side-by-side really solidifies how awful the Nova style UI is compared to Photon. 

[jus_dave]

I’ve reached the point where I’m taking direct action against unwanted UI changes on my own computer. I’m designing software that can expose a desktop GUI as an API, so users can control and customise the interfaces they actually want.
I’m tired of companies repeatedly changing established interfaces with little or no meaningful way to opt out. UI changes are not harmless cosmetic tweaks for everyone. What consideration is being given to users who rely on assistive technologies, custom workflows, muscle memory, or accessibility adaptations built around an existing interface?

[AstrobotNautics]

Floorp has Nova disabled by default
Waterfox has a check box in settings to change to older UI tab interfaces. 
Hopefully the original UI tab versions won't be removed in subsequent updates.

[Szymon]

Removal is already planned, so ...

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2071454

[roodypoo]

The new UI is actual cancer.

[YeenoBabino]

I'm autistic, and it stresses me out when platforms make unnecessary design changes with no way to revert them. I want the rectangle tabs back, or at least an option to change them for people like me that aren't programmers.

[jus_dave]

Me too and that is why I'm taking direct action with this sort of thing, the plan is to make a command line interface/API which uses the commands to match up with the GUI with AI inference. Then developers can use the API to interface their accessibility interfaces.

[zombieman]

What I want are rectangular tabs with clear visual distinction even between inactive tabs below the address bar. UI has been going downhill since "Australis" came on the scene... IMHO... Australis, Photon, Proton and from what I've seen on screenshots Nova, all increasingly making it worse. While people are highlighting an about:config switch Mozilla tend to have a "dark pattern" in implementing big UI changes and also often removing "temporary switches" to disable UI changes between ESR releases meaning people who like STABLE versions often don't get the opportunity to turn the UI off when it lands for them... How long will that switch remain available??

[Ogan]

I’ve been using Firefox for decades. I agree with you.

The new tab design is so terrible that I even went out of my way to create an account just to leave a comment.

Why does a tab have a rounded, standalone design? A tab is supposed to be “part of the page.” This new design is something completely different that just happens to function as a tab. It feels as out of place as if a green onion were growing where my right hand should be. This isn’t a matter of getting used to it. It’s become something entirely different. It’s clearly a flawed design.

Even if I choose my words carefully, I can’t help but think it’s “ridiculous.” Honestly, whether they’re stacked vertically or arranged horizontally, this rounded shape is simply unacceptable.

I cannot fathom why anyone would come up with such a pointless idea, nor why this tab design was approved. If you intend to continue with this approach, I’ll have to be prepared to abandon Firefox.

[AstrobotNautics]

I do find it odd how, for years we've been able to customise the colour of our tabs, even get themes with pictures behind them, and yet no theme has changed the actual look of the tab. The closest thing we've had it Waterfox's ability to switch between Photon, Proton and now Nova looks, but why not let themes adjust how the tabs look too... Would be cool, especially because it would give browser forks more control over their base appearance. 

[ABMS1984]

type this in your "userChrome.css":

/* Firefox 157 – alle Rundungen entfernen */
:root {
--tab-border-radius: 0px !important;
}

* {
border-radius: 0 !important;
}