Give web apps in Firefox a try on Labs and tell us what you think! (Release 142)

[itskaren]

Hi all! Karen here to share some good news on behalf of the Firefox product group, who are launching a new Labs experience today! 🎉

Following your feedback and discussions on Connect, we’re thrilled to introduce web apps in Firefox, which will be available as an experimental feature in Firefox Labs on Release, starting with Firefox 142. If you’re a Windows user (excluding MSIX/Windows Store builds), we’d love for you to give it a try and let us know what you think.

What it does

 Also known as “pinned sites,” “progressive web apps” (PWAs), and “single-site browsers” (SSBs), these are sites that you can pin, launch, and run as a web app directly from your Windows taskbar so you don’t have to hunt through your tabs.

Here, Gmail, Facebook, and Jira are actually Firefox windows.

Some things to know: 

• Simplified web app window: The site you pin opens in a window with a simplified interface. It has less icons and less distractions, so you can focus on that site's content.
  
  
• Add-ons functionality: Add-ons will still work in your web apps!
  
  
• Website icons in the taskbar: Firefox windows are given the icon of the website and run separately from the main Firefox icon in the Windows taskbar. 

How to try it

This feature is currently available to Windows users starting with Firefox Labs 142:

1. In Firefox, type about:preferences#experimental into the address bar. This will take you to Labs.

2. Once you're on the Labs page, check the box next to Add sites to your taskbar to turn it on.

3. Open a new tab, and look for the “Add to taskbar” icon to the right of the address bar. 

4. Once you are prompted to pin a site to your taskbar, select “Yes.”

5. Launch that site in a streamlined window with all of Firefox’s protections.

If you’d like a video demo, please check it out in this link. 

We’d love your feedback

Once you’ve had a chance to try it, please share your thoughts in the comments below. Whether it’s UX polish, any bugs you want us to fix, or other ideas for how to make this experience better.

Thanks for helping us build a better Firefox! 

[MattBCool]

I'm so excited! 👏👏👏

[theroopurple]

Is it only available on Windows at the moment?

[itskaren]

Yes! It's only available on Windows at the moment.

[2mustange]

From various threads this has been mentioned in, the Linux community definitely wants some information on timeline to get support with various distros. 

On top of that, maybe when support for Android as well

[SimplySand]

is linux desktop support planned for the future? applications like teams focus on only being available as a pwa on linux.

[Saul2]

por fin, hacia bastante falta esta función

[Ekol]

Amazing,these are great news!

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/where-s-firefox-going-next-you-tell-us/m-p/103478#M40173 i've tested, is cool.

An feedback, Add tab to taskbar does not work, if, private browsing https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/private-browsing-use-firefox-without-history, used.

[Venetia]

That is correct - private browsing is not supported at the moment.

[Pseudoryx]

Is there a user interface to manage the created web apps? I have noticed that I can recall web apps that I have closed in Windows search if I still remember what their names were.

[Anonymous]

How isolated are the "PWAs"  processes from existing  browser profiles ? 

Can they access   ... cookies ... localstorage ... or other profiles data via shared storage or some communication api? 

Or do they run in fully separated browser profiles and data can only be transfered by user interaction?  

[nrishel]

Web apps are not separated from the creating browser profile and have the same access as normal tabs. Like normal tabs that access can be controlled with containers, and new web app windows open in the same container as the one the web app was created with.

[2mustange]

A couple things I want to note, when I open a PWA in a container then "pin" it to my taskbar. The PWA doesn't appear to open back up in the container and I don't see an option to switch it to a container. (not sure if this is intended)

If i use different profiles these create their own apps, which is fine but i can't differentiate between the two when they are closed. Would be nice if the profile icon was saved with the PWA icon for pinning. Or a different approach would be one icon per manifest and a way within the PWA to switch profiles/containers? Not sure what the preference is for that, but if there was customization on that approach it would be appreciated

[jas2pence]

can you also put the button somewhere else,my css wont allow buttons on the right side 

[Juraj]

I have some fresh feedback :), I've just tested it in my Developer Edition, not knowing what exactly the button does (the label says "Add tab to taskbar"), and my first impressions were:
- is my Firefox full screen now? (confusion)
- I can't drag the window to make it not full screen (frustration)
- my browser window is broken, there are no tabs, pressing "Ctrl + T" creates tab in a different window (confusion again)

Seeing how this is suppose to be PWA I understand now.
But my first impressions were mostly confusion and frustration that my Firefox window got downgraded.

Note that I'm a software developer, so it's hard for me to tell how normal users will approach this.
But I'm a bit skeptical.
Is PWA popular in Chrome/Edge? Maybe only on Android?

[edwardFF]

Need an option to Pin to Start menu.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

For those interested, who do not practice, about:preferences#experimental.

For information purposes, you can try.
1 - Go to Configuration Editor for Firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox
2 - Enter a search term browser.taskbarTabs.enabled
You can double-click on the preference to set the value to true

About, option Épingler au menu Démarrer, apparently, it work.

[Sandoast]

Thank you. "about:preferences#experimental" did not work for me - I think I opted out of something it requires at some point, and so it just redirects me to the regular preferences page - but your method works. Much appreciated!

Edit: if there's meant to be a way to edit webapp settings, however, that does not work, since I still only see the regular preferences page even if I open it from the webapp window.

Honestly, I'd prefer if my pinned taskbar link would just open a regular new window, or - better - open a regular window after prompting me to choose a Container.

Seeing my extension icons, but no ability to access menus or the bookmarks bar or other tabs, just feels frustrating. I'd love to access websites directly from my taskbar like this, but I don't want artificial hinderances/"simplifications"/"anti-distraction features". I can see why some people might want that, but I hope Firefox will allow people to choose.

[Jihadhasan]

Noice.

[2mustange]

A couple things I would like to see is a cleaner window with no URL. If the URL is intended for something then I would think this should be an opt-in ability through some config or setting. Second, I have read a few people asking about what this is used for and I think it would be in Mozilla's best interest to provide some examples and ideas on how users can leverage PWAs. 

Do PWA's leverage profile cookies, local storage, etc?

[BaneTheChipmunk]

I have 5 Gmail emails I have to use for work daily. I use Brave Browser which has Web Apps enabled. I have Gmail installed as a web app and can separate it from everything else I do. 

A nice bonus is that that Chromium web apps have a feature called tabbed mode, where you can actually open multiple tabs inside the same web app. So, I open all my email accounts as tabs inside the Gmail web app. It makes it easier to manage tabs and maintain focus. You get all the benefits of apps and a web browser, in a web app. 

[2mustange]

So thinking this through it can go of two ways, one would be a web app per profile so you can have multiple profiles with different gmail access. Two could be a single manifest web app and it can be tabbed based on amount of profiles that have activated the web app.

[2mustange]

A couple things I would like to see is a cleaner window with no URL. If the URL is intended for something then I would think this should be an opt-in ability through some config or setting. Second, I have read a few people asking about what this is used for and I think it would be in Mozilla's best interest to provide some examples and ideas on how users can leverage web apps

Do web apps leverage profile cookies, local storage, etc?

[Heath]

Make the PWAs have more specific site "knowledge" - Google Docs and Google Sheets are seen as being the same app, but in Chromium browsers, you can set them individually as PWAs. Also perhaps provide a short explanation on what the feature does to people who don't know.

[Zarathin]

Thank you for the work the team has put in to this, the addition of this feature will be one more step towards being able to use Firefox for all of my browser needs. That being said, after a few minutes of playing with this first version I do have a couple pieces of feedback:

1. I agree with other sentiments that the title bar of the PWA window needs to be reduced in size, with the address bar being the primary issue. 
     a. The address bar still acting as an interactable text field causes problems when trying to move the PWA window, forcing a few extra moments to specifically position the mouse cursor in a location where you can actually click and drag the window, without highlighting the text in the address bar. Perhaps a reduction in font size, along removing the text box of the address bar to make the URL completely non-interactable (perhaps provide a new, small button to copy the current URL?).
     b. The current size of the title bar and all of the browser buttons on it makes it feel much less like a standalone application. Even just a slight reduction in size and clutter at the top of the screen to provide as much room for the content of the app as possible would help.
     c. If these changes are not compatible with the ethos of the Firefox team as the default behavior, then either providing an option in the settings for a "reduced title bar mode", or perhaps just providing the tools behind the scenes for an extension developer to further customize the UI of the PWA title bar would be much appreciated.

2. I experienced issues with a certain few websites not properly "installing" as a PWA. In particular, dashboards for locally-hosted services - either directly on my localhost or on an in-home server (e.g. Plex, Syncthing, router interface, etc.) - all open in a new PWA-like window and move to their own icon on the taskbar, but they never show up in the  "Start Menu > Programs > Firefox Web Apps" folder in Windows, and if I try to pin the icon to the taskbar it reverts back to a standard Firefox icon and only opens a typical new Firefox session after the initial window has been closed. I can provide additional information and screenshots if needed, I'm just not sure what all information you would need for this kind of issue.

Thank you again for your work on this, I look forward to seeing it improve as it moves towards a full release!

[edwardFF]

Apparently, there is Pin to Start option. However, please work on these:

1. Address bar should be removed.

2. De-clutter the top bar.

3. Re-sizing should be independent from other windows including the main browser.

[ronxronquillo]

I'm already on Firefox 142, but I can't seem to find the Labs option... Is this a checkbox not shown to everyone on 142?

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

You can try
1 - Go to Configuration Editor for Firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox
2 - Enter a search term browser.taskbarTabs.enabled
You can double-click on the preference to set the value to true

[Agentvirtuel]

Take a look at https://www.camp-firefox.de/forum/thema/139484-frage-zu-progressive-roll-out-von-firefox-funktionen

I enabled browser.taskbarTabs.enable in about:config

[Kvin]

Hi, i would like tabs and auto-save to be displayed, thank you

[bijm]

Its impressive how close you got to the traditional pwa experience without actually making a pwa. I've been enjoying it for the short time I've been using it.

I think the ability to only have certain extensions enabled for the taskbar app, or at least a different layout for the taskbar app vs normal browsing. Maybe there's an extension I have hidden in the drop down menu that I would like on the top bar for the pinned app, or the other way around where you don't need certain extensions for that pinned app. Ideally you are able to completely disable/enable certain extensions though!

Edit: One more thing, if you have the setting enabled to start firefox when your computer starts, opening a PWA prevents the main firefox window from automatically opening. This shouldn't be the case.

[ravindUwU]

I am SO glad to see this being worked on, and excited for PWA support to land in Firefox! 🤩 Installing PWAs (specifically, StackBlitz) is one of the very few things for which I had to use Chromium (Microsoft Edge). Had, because I stopped using Chromium almost entirely, PWAs included, since they killed manifest v2. I tested the StackBlitz PWA on Firefox 142 and Edge 139 and have listed some suggestions which I hope will be considered as this feature is refined,

1. Provide an interface to manage installed apps. Edge provides edge://apps/ which lists all these with options to uninstall them; and also installs apps as some sort of Windows app, which lists them in the "Installed apps" section of the Windows settings app. 
   
   
   
2. Provide an uninstall option in #1. The current uninstall process is unclear. The "Uninstall" option of the Start menu entry opens the "Installed apps" section of the Windows settings app, but doesn't list the Firefox PWA. I can delete the shortcut at %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Firefox Web Apps created when the app was installed, but the shortcut isn't re-created when the same PWA is reinstalled 🤷.
   
   On Chromium, PWAs seem to be installed as Windows apps of some sort, and the "Uninstall" option of the start menu entry works as expected.
   
   
3. Further simplify the browser chrome for PWAs. Edge allows collapsing the title bar so that the web app can customise window controls, which is very nice! The history button in the Firefox application menu (≡ button) allows navigating to PWA-unrelated pages, so maybe remove this or force history entries that aren't of the same origin as the PWA to open in a regular Firefox window). 
   
   
   
4. Use the manifest-declared icon & name when installing PWAs, instead of the favicon of the website. StackBlitz specifically links to a mostly black icon in the PWA manifest, while their favicon is mostly blue. 
   
   
   
5. Consider providing a way to change some parameters of the installed PWA from the manage interface (#1). The changes should be restricted as appropriate (e.g., allow changing the start_url, but require it to be of the same origin as the originally-installed web app, disallow changing icons).
   
   This would be a very nice-to-have, to fix parameters when web apps don't declare their manifests correctly. e.g., I wanted to install the inbox of a 2nd Gmail account as a PWA. Gmail inboxes are at mail.google.com/mail/u/<N> where <N> is the index of the account, but the start_url of the manifest is declared as mail.google.com/mail, which redirects to mail.google.com/mail/u/0 (the 1st account) when opened as an installed PWA. On Edge, I had to use a smol JS script to patch the manifest before installing it. I'm hoping this would be easier to do on Firefox. That said, I'd understand if this feature won't be introduced because 1) the "correct" fix is to fix the manifest URL in the web app; 2) there might be implications on the PWA update process if some metata is locally overridden.

[denyshon]

When Firefox is closed via menu->Exit (which is required to keep several opened windows), all the web apps are also closed. I believe that should not work like that and, therefore, should be changed.

[denyshon]

And if Firefox is closed and you're starting a web app, the main Firefox process seems to be triggered as well (which may be explained by a chosen implementation, but still feels weird).

[denyshon]

Also, if the goal is to make web apps feel independent, we could create kind of separate windows for all the  app to open external links there.

[TReKiE]

I gave this a try tonight.  I was pretty impressed that adding a containerized tab worked perfectly and kept the container when launched from the taskbar.  Very nice.

One of the few PWAs I already use (via Edge) is Google Chat.  Unfortunately, this does not appear to work and is likely related to some other Google Mail/Docs problems already mentioned above.  After going to Google Chat (mail.google.com/chat), then choosing the Add tab to taskbar button, the site/app comes up in a separate window successfully, but identifies itself as Google Mail (both in name and icon).  If you then close that window and re-open it via the new shortcut, you end up with a Gmail (mail.google.com/mail) window instead.

I assume we'll get badge support later, but that also seems to be missing.

Also, a feature suggestion: please consider some form of tabs support for the PWA windows.  The Chromium browsers have experimented with a "Desktop PWA Tab Strips" flag, which can be optionally added to a specific PWA, and that works pretty well to avoid the situation where you end up with both the PWA window and a browser window of tabs with the same web application (negating one of the main use cases of the whole thing).  Be able to have the whole sidebar available would be ideal.

[DrDug]

The icon does not show up to the right of the address bar, it shows up in the address bar.  When clicking the icon it shows me the streamlined window, (w/o bookmarks icon), but it never shows me an option to pin it to the taskbar.  The icon changes in this window, but clicking it closes the streamlined window.

[BaneTheChipmunk]

Windows 11 24H2 OS Build 26100.4946 - Firefox 142.0 (64-bit)

Usage Feedback

Installation and initial usage

1. After installing the Web App and opening it, the "Add to taskbar" button (with the download icon) changes into what I assume (based on function) is the "Open in Firefox" button (with the right arrow icon), but it's still incorrectly(?) labeled as "Add to taskbar."
2. Clicking the "Open in Firefox" button inside a Web App multiple times can cause the Web App to sometimes either be uninstalled(?) or unpinned from the taskbar. It's hard to tell what decides if the former or later happens.
3. Opening a Web App that is pinned on the taskbar opens the Web App window inside a separate second on the taskbar icon, so you have to Web App icons, the original pinned one appearing closed, and a second none pinned one that contains the Web App window. Weirdly, this doesn't happen to the first web app that you install. It only happens to the second (and I assume third, and so on and so forth). The first Web App icon behaves normally, no duplicates.
4. Opening a pinned Web App can cause a "do you want to pin to taskbar" prompt. If you click yes, it pins a duplicate Web App icon on the taskbar, e.g. Gmail and Gmail (2). I confirmed this by opening C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\uctldpip.default-release\taskbartabs\icons and saw multiple Gmail .ico icons, proving that duplication is happening.

General Usage

1. Opening a new tab inside a Web App (holding control and clicking on a link within the Web App domain) e.g. inside Gmail Web App, open Gmail Trash in a new tab, opens the tab in a normal window, and the “Add to taskbar” button (with the download icon) shows up, even though the Web App is already installed. Ideally, this action should result in a new Web App window. If not, then it should open in a normal window, but the button should be “Open in Gmail Web App,” not an invitation to download an already installed Web App.
2. Follow up to #2: if you click “Add to taskbar,” a new Web app window is opened. So this is the correct function, but it doesn’t match the action button that shows up.
3. Using more than one installed Web App often results in Windows Explorer crashes.

Managing and Uninstalling

1. There is no dedicated page (as far as I know) to manage downloaded Web Apps, e.g. chrome://apps. So, you can’t manage or uninstall Web Apps.
2. Using Window 11’s uninstall page, Web Apps don’t show up as individual installed apps, so you can’t uninstall from there either.
3. It’s not clear what “Add to Taskbar” actually doesn’t, from a function perspective. Does it install a standalone Windows app (Web App), or does it just pin a shortcut which opens a specific URL inside a Web App window?

Features I would like to see implemented

Basic

1. Debug the installation and taskbar/start menu pinning process.
2. Refine the design of the “Add to Taskbar” button to better describe actions related to Web Apps.
3. Fix the Windows Explorer crash issues.
4. Remove the address bar to better simulate a desktop app experience.
5. [Retain good feature] Keep the Reload, Back, and Forward buttons to the browser toolbar or anywhere at the top of the window.

Advanced

1. Have every web app install as a recognized Windows app to make it easy to manage/uninstall it from the Windows App settings menu.
2. Add a page like firefox://apps, where Web Apps can be managed/uninstalled from inside Firefox.
3. Add tabbed mode (like with Chromium Web Apps) which allow user to open multiple tabs within the same Web App e.g. inside the YouTube Web App, a user can open Home in one tab, Subscriptions in a second tab and Watch later in a third tab. A user can also open a tab unrelated to the Web App’s main domain, e.g. opening a YouTuber’s listed Instagram profile page in a fourth tab.
4. Give distinct colors to the toolbars of different Web Apps, e.g. red for YouTube, green for Google Sheets etc. This can be done based on the declared PWA manifest of a website, the color of the website icon, or a user’s custom choice.
5. Add Web App shortcuts, like in Chromium Web Apps. For example, if you install the ESPN Web App on Chromium, right-clicking the pinned taskbar icon brings up a shortcut menu that allows you to jump straight to different sections of the ESPN website e.g. News and Scores, Watch (ESPN+), Listen (Podcasts), etc. This is something that the website itself declares in its PWA manifest for the website, so Firefox only needs to add support to display those shortcuts.

Power User

1. [Retain good feature] Allow users to continue having direct access to the Web App icons (.ico files) so that power users can make custom Web App icons and simply change them in the folder: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\uctldpip.default-release\taskbartabs\icons
2. Add an “Add to Taskbar” menu that allows the user to change installation settings, name renaming the Web App to a custom name and changing settings like tabbed mode (if implemented).

General Notes

The ONLY reason I don’t use Firefox is because of Web Apps. They are very important to how I use a browser. I use Brave browser at the moment because it has Web Apps plus all the other features I’d like to see implemented in Firefox. If you can implement Web Apps with the same or better functionality, I will IMMEDIATELY switch from Chromium to Firefox.

Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like clarification or further feedback. Thank you for all your hard work in getting this exciting project off the ground.

[Heath]

Friend, you ate my words. You are in the precise situation I'm in, even down to the Windows Build number and my desire to switch away from chromium.