Knowledge Base (Posts about browser)

Librewolf 136.0 upgrade problems

bgstack15 — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 13:27:00 GMT

During OS updates for April, I ran into a problem with Librewolf. This was for Librewolf 136.0, but it also happened back with 135.0 and I was able to revert when I upgraded to that. I decided I needed to solve the problems, because now they were multiple.

The first problem is that the new librewolf settings/prefs in the package file somehow set the "delete my history" checkbox even if it was unselected previously. So the first time you close the browser after upgrading to 136.0 (or 135.0), it deletes all your history, including links, cookies, and saved logins. I wanted to keep mine, and I was aware of this problem so I was able to uncheck those and keep going.

The second problem was that the search suggestions were not working as intended/(configured?). I want to type in a fragment of a url, such as "mtui" and I want it to suggest any open tabs with that expression in the url, or from my history. It didn't show any. The fix was complicated, but understandable.

The fix

I set up a new profile (by copying in a known good/blank one I've established in the past). Then I ran the browser, made sure the "delete my history" settings were unchecked. Then close the browser, and copy in these files to the new profile:

cd ~/.librewolf-off-2025-03-30/3ig9z5jv.default-release-1.off-2025-03-30-v136.0
cp -pi places.sqlite cookies.sqlite storage.sqlite sessionstore.jsonlz4 favicons.sqlite credentialstate.sqlite logins.json logins-backup.json cert9.db key4.db ~/.librewolf/liwjg22ii/
cp -pr chrome/ ~/.librewolf/liwjg22ii/

That last directory is for my userChrome fixes.

And then starting up Librewolf, and it worked. I lost my localStorage for one site but that was easy to re-add.

Hm, I guess I didn't keep it simple on this one, sorry.

Additional notes

For prefs.js.

privacy.resistFingerprinting.exemptedDomains *.amazon.com,*.themoviedb.org,*.freefilesync.org,freefilesync.org,finance.yahoo.com

References

Weblinks

Sample colorized icon in desktop notification from browser

bgstack15 — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 14:28:50 GMT

I am considering adding desktop notifications to my fork of InfCloud, and to do that I had to learn how to send desktop notifications. MDN did not disappoint!

You'll see that I do some very basic find-button logic to add the click function. Of course this is boilerplate and won't look exactly the same whenever I get around to adding it to InfCloud/CalDAVZap.

files/2023/11/listings/notifications.html (Source)

	`<html>`
	`<header>`
	`<title>Example page</title>`
	`<script src="notifications.js">`
	`</script>`
	`</header>`
	`<body>`
	`<h1>example</h1>`
	`Lorem ipsum, etc.`
	`<button>Notify me!</button>`
	`</body>`
	`<footer>`
	`</footer>`
	`</html>`

files/2023/11/listings/notifications.js (Source)

	`// vim: set et ts=3 sw=3 sts=3:`
	`// Startdate: 2023-11-09 18:36`
	`// Purpose: Reference implementation for sending a notification with a colorized image from this server`
	`// Reference:`
	`// https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API`
	`// https://www.w3docs.com/snippets/html/how-to-display-base64-images-in-html.html`
	`// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/28450471/convert-inline-svg-to-base64-string`

	`const img = "/calendar/images/banner_calendar.svg";`
	`const notification_attempts = 10;`
	`const notification_ms = 200;`
	`// Due to how browsers/css work with colors, you can pass #000000 or web safe color names.`
	`var colors = Array("red","orange","yellow","green","blue","purple","black","white","brown");`

	`function colorizeSvg(inSvg, oldColor, newColor) {`
	// In case we have to do more than `s//g` in the future.
	`return inSvg.replaceAll(oldColor, newColor);`
	`}`

	`function SendColorizedNotification(_title, _body, _icon, _tag, _color) {`
	`// given _icon as path on server, get contents and adjust the main color in it to desired color.`
	`// The 585858 is the specific color of the calendar.svg we intend to replace.`
	`const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();`
	`xhr.open("GET",_icon);`
	`xhr.onload = () => {`
	`newSvg = colorizeSvg(xhr.responseText,"#585858",_color);`
	`encodedData = window.btoa(newSvg); // turn it into the base64 stream`
	`encodedData = "data:image/svg+xml;base64," + encodedData; // prepend the type of stream`
	`SendNotification(_title, _body, encodedData, _tag, _color);`
	`}`
	`xhr.send();`
	`}`

	`function SendNotification(_title, _body, _icon, _tag) {`
	`// From: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/notification`
	`if (!("Notification" in window)) {`
	`// Check if the browser supports notifications`
	`alert("This browser does not support desktop notification");`
	`} else if (Notification.permission === "granted") {`
	`// Check whether notification permissions have already been granted;`
	`// if so, create a notification`
	`const notification = new Notification(String(_title), { tag: _tag, body: _body, icon: _icon });`
	`// …`
	`} else if (Notification.permission !== "denied") {`
	`// We need to ask the user for permission`
	`Notification.requestPermission().then((permission) => {`
	`// If the user accepts, let's create a notification`
	`if (permission === "granted") {`
	`const notification = new Notification(String(_title), { tag: _tag, body: _body, icon: _icon });`
	`// …`
	`}`
	`});`
	`}`
	`// At last, if the user has denied notifications, and you`
	`// want to be respectful there is no need to bother them anymore.`
	`}`

	`function SendNotificationManyTimes(_title, _body, _icon, _tag) {`
	`// From: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API`
	`if (Notification?.permission === "granted") {`
	`// If the user agreed to get notified`
	`// Let's try to send ten notifications`
	`let i = 0;`
	`// Using an interval cause some browsers (including Firefox) are blocking notifications if there are too much in a certain time.`
	`const interval = setInterval(() => {`
	`// Thanks to the tag, we should only see the "Hi! 9" notification`
	`const n = new Notification(String(_title), { tag: _tag, body: _body, icon: _icon });`
	//const n = new Notification(`Hi! breakfast ${i}`, { tag: "soManyNotification", body: "this is body?", icon: img });
	`if (i === (notification_attempts-1)) {`
	`clearInterval(interval);`
	`}`
	`i++;`
	`}, notification_ms);`
	`} else if (Notification && Notification.permission !== "denied") {`
	`// If the user hasn't told if they want to be notified or not`
	`// Note: because of Chrome, we are not sure the permission property`
	`// is set, therefore it's unsafe to check for the "default" value.`
	`Notification.requestPermission().then((status) => {`
	`// If the user said okay`
	`if (status === "granted") {`
	`let i = 0;`
	`// Using an interval cause some browsers (including Firefox) are blocking notifications if there are too much in a certain time.`
	`const interval = setInterval(() => {`
	`// Thanks to the tag, we should only see the "Hi! 9" notification`
	`const n = new Notification(String(_title), { tag: _tag, body: _body, icon: _icon });`
	`if (i === (notification_attempts-1)) {`
	`clearInterval(interval);`
	`}`
	`i++;`
	`}, notification_ms);`
	`} else {`
	`// Otherwise, we can fallback to a regular modal alert`
	`alert(String(_title)+": "+String(_body));`
	`}`
	`});`
	`} else {`
	`// If the user refuses to get notified, we can fallback to a regular modal alert`
	`alert(String(_title)+": "+String(_body));`
	`}`
	`}`

	`function getRandomColor() {`
	`return colors[Math.floor(Math.random()*colors.length)];`
	`}`

	`window.addEventListener("load", () => {`
	`const button = document.querySelector("button");`
	`button.addEventListener("click", () => {`
	`SendColorizedNotification("sample calendar appointment","in 10 minutes",img,"",getRandomColor());`
	`});`
	`});`

Firefox 111.0: fix puzzle piece in toolbar

bgstack15 — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 12:34:39 GMT

Starting in Firefox 109.0, we could use a line in the prefs.js (or about:config) to remove the annoying puzzle piece.

user_pref("extensions.unifiedExtensions.enable", false);

However, starting in Firefox 111.0 the Mozilla people started ignoring this pref. The brilliant folks over at askvg.com solved this one though!

You have take a few steps for this solution.

Set about:config value toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true.
Visit the profile directory (available from about:support, button "Open Directory") and make sub-directory chrome.
Make file chrome/userChrome.css with contents:

#unified-extensions-button, #unified-extensions-button > .toolbarbutton-icon{
width: 0px !important;
padding: 0px !important;
}

Restart Firefox.

I don't plan on ever using Chrome, but wow, the Mozilla people make me want to look for something else.

This is the first time I've ever needed to modify userChrome.css. Ever since 2006, I have never needed it!

Mbbmlib improvements because of firefox changes

bgstack15 — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 12:35:25 GMT

A while back I wrote about my project that exports Firefox bookmarks.

Due to changes between LibreWolf 109.0 and 110.0, I have now updated the source to work with the latest schema for bookmarks and how icons are connected to them. I also removed Newmoon support, because I don't use that browser for primary usage where I save bookmarks that need to be shared/bupped.

I actually use specific SELECT statements now, instead of SELECT *, so I grab only the columns that matter, and the results are predicable and the code is therefore more readable.

disabling webrtc temporarily

bgstack15 — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 12:43:42 GMT

To facilitate a proxy setting to prevent IP address leakage, disable WebRTC with about:config setting:

media.peerconnection.enabled = false

You can check with https://whoer.net

ssh_config: new option in Devuan, March 2023

bgstack15 — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 13:54:19 GMT

From the apt-listchanges message for this month:

openssh (1:9.2p1-1) unstable; urgency=medium

  OpenSSH 9.2 includes a number of changes that may affect existing
  configurations:

   * ssh(1): add a new EnableEscapeCommandline ssh_config(5) option that
     controls whether the client-side ~C escape sequence that provides a
     command-line is available. Among other things, the ~C command-line
     could be used to add additional port-forwards at runtime.

     This option defaults to "no", disabling the ~C command-line that was
     previously enabled by default. Turning off the command-line allows
     platforms that support sandboxing of the ssh(1) client (currently only
     OpenBSD) to use a stricter default sandbox policy.

 -- Colin Watson <cjwatson@debian.org>  Wed, 08 Feb 2023 10:36:06 +0000

So I had to run this on all Devuan systems, to keep my ssh client command-line enabled.

sudo updateval -a -v /etc/ssh/ssh_config '^\s*EnableEscapeCommandline.*' 'EnableEscapeCommandline yes'

Where updateval is from my bgscripts-core package.

socks proxy command

bgstack15 — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 14:29:10 GMT

Run this command.

ssh -D 8880 ${USER}@proxyserver -n -f -N

Set socks proxy in browser settings.

Wikipedia: use usable layout

bgstack15 — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 13:45:30 GMT

Wikipedia updated its layout, and it now makes less sense than before. To use the sensible design it has been for over a decade, you can add this url parameter: ?useskin=vector.

Alternatively, you can use the Firefox extension Classic mode for Wikipedia, or just suck it up and press the multiple buttons it takes to widen the new layout, but that still hides the table of contents. The old view is the only way to get that classic TOC object.

Reference

How to restore Wikipedia's old design - gHacks Tech News
Classic mode for Wikipedia Firefox extension

Why I stopped using Palemoon

bgstack15 — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 14:14:57 GMT

Summary

I stopped using Palemoon web browser this last year, 2022. It was a decent browser for a while but eventually slid into irrelevancy, and this is ignoring the toxicity of the community. It started out as a more sane Firefox 20 or so, and ended up as an obsolete Firefox 20. (Numbers are generalizations and useful for imparting approximate understanding and humor only.)

And yes, I'm out of technical topics which is why it's time for a chat about old news. Plus, somebody asked and I didn't want to drown the individual so the best place is here.

Main reasons

The primary reason I stopped using Palemoon web browser is because it stopped working on enough websites that I had to always keep a second browser open. It also suffered from instability for quite a few months and it would freeze the whole system for a few seconds at a time. I never submitted a bug because I didn't know how to document or bring it up. Plus, I always compile it myself and upstream always claimed you're on your own for that situation.

Google Voice used to use a dedicated plugin that you could use to place voice calls. When Google Voice switched to WebRTC, palemoon stopped being usable for that, and that is a primary use of that for me. Yes, it's absurd to use a web browser for everything under the sun. But yes, it's still absurd that this one browser doesn't keep up with the rest it wants people to use it as an alternative to.

Secondary reasons

The upstream development community used to be extremely toxic. It's now only slightly toxic, with the removal of the most malicious person I've ever interacted with on the Internet (including multiplayer video game players). I could make do by mostly avoiding the offending developer, but because he held such high status until his malevolent confrontations with the other upstream devs which lead to alleged vandalism of the palemoon servers, I couldn't actually hide his posts on the forum from my view.

This person also called me offensive terms because I stopped maintaining the Fedora-ized build of Palemoon. I had stopped using Fedora GNU/Linux as a daily driver and could no longer validate the built assets, so I didn't want to advertise things that I built but couldn't dogfood. Thinking through that process didn't occur to the most offensive developer, but that's OK. He missed things all the time and the world keeps going around him.

I was banned from the upstream forum for a few days once for calling out his toxicity and supporting some newb that had asked a stereotypically-noobie question. In normal places that wouldn't get you in trouble, but the upstream devs have their own, misanthropic opinions about things, as previously discussed.

Only when the chief developer was personally affected by the toxicity and malevolent behavior of the most offensive developer did he tone down his stupidity and give a mild apology.

Debian Unstable, for which I'm too utterly dependent because I target Devuan Unstable, does not have a solution for the ancient python2 build dependency of the palemoon application. Debian Unstable just removed python2, and folks smarter than me haven't solved this one [in public] yet. I suppose it would be too much to ask to get upstream to use python3. If I wrote this article in a few more month's time without any changes to the situation, this right here would be reason #1.

Minor reasons

I swear that once my Palemoon crashed and it merged the history of a private browsing window with my permanent browsing history. Of course there's the smallest likelihood that it wasn't actually a private browsing window, but that is a very small chance.

The silliness with shuffling the upstream scm links rapidly between 4 releases' worth of time didn't help, but I'm guilty of brief experimentations too. I just try really, really hard to avoid doing it to production.

I'm not even mad about the gtk2-is-primary thing; I think gtk2 is quite fine. Unfortunately, I don't run the world and too many places are starting to drop gtk2.

Extensions

Thankfully, I never cared about noscript. I didn't really care about Adblock Plus or whatever that Palemoon officially recommended, and uBlock Origin [legacy] worked well enough and I didn't tell anyone I used it.

Final thoughts

I use LibreWolf and Firefox now. I need to get back into Waterfox Classic.

LibreWolf 98.0 packages: problems resolved!

bgstack15 — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 12:37:58 GMT

Last time I had a problem with building the rpm for LibreWolf 98.0.

The research about the PGO was the hint I needed. When I disabled PGO in the build, the application compiles in half the time, and works way better! I haven't even experienced a dead tab at all yet.

I don't understand how Profile Guided Optimization is supposed to help, when disabling it makes everything work better and compile faster. But what do I know?