Change key bindings (keyboard shortcuts) in Firefox Quantum

Question

Since the quantum update all AddOns which allowed to change key bindings in Firefox seemed to have stopped working/being supported.

Is there a method to change the default key bindings in Firefox Quantum?

Solution 1

There is a way. It's not super official, but basically you can unpack browser/omni.ja, edit the keybindings in chrome/browser/content/browser/browser.xul, repack it, delete startup cache and it will work.

Alternatively, you can compile your own firefox and then you don't need to unpack the binary, if you consider unpacking and repacking more hacky, than building.

Another advantage of building is that you can store your modifications on top of the official sources in git and always rebase, like I do here: https://github.com/errge/gecko-dev/tree/gregzilla-patched-20181223

I advise you to first start with the binary option, because you will have working keyboard shortcuts in 20 minutes, instead of just being at the start of the mercurial clone procedure :)

Both of these methods are independent of any extensions/webextensions and will ALWAYS work, even in the location bar and even on protected pages (as you asked in the comments). So they will work better than remapping webextensions.

I have an article written up with all the details that may interest you: https://github.com/nilcons/firefox-hacks

If you have more questions, please report issues on github.

Solution 2

If you use macOS, you can customize any app’s shortcuts as long as they appear in the application menus.

1. On your Mac, choose the  menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Shortcuts.

2. Select App Shortcuts on the left, click the Add button.

3. In the Menu Title field, type the menu command for which you want to create a shortcut.

More details on Apple’s site: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/create-keyboard-shortcuts-for-apps-mchlp2271/mac

Solution 3

From Firefox support: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts-perform-firefox-tasks-quickly :

Note: You can customize keyboard shortcuts for Firefox using the https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/saka-key/ extension.

I hope it is what you were looking for.

Solution 4

I am not sure what kind of shortcuts you are after but there is a great extensions called Vimium FF that allows you to browse completely mouseless. This extensions offers a filter mechanism that allows you to decide in which websites the keybindings should work.

It is still in experimental stage, since it is a port from a Chrome extensions but I am using and did encounter any bug or problem.

The bindings follow the VIM bindings and should be natural if you are already familiar with those, otherwise, you can custumize them to your own taste.

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Comments

[andrybak]

There is a bug for this: bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1303384

[Finn]

Thanks, unfortunately this extension is not so practical. If it would work, this one: github.com/mikecrittenden/shortkeys would be nice. But it seems like, Firefox is allowing websites to suppress the bindings, which is super annoying when your bindings only work on a few sites :(

[Foxhole]

Fully agree, they need to find a good workaround to fix it

[I say Reinstate Monica]

Welcome to Super User. Without actually providing the steps one must take, there is no answer in this post. Please edit your post to include this information, including the essential content of linked material.

[Finn]

Hey, thanks you! How this will effect the updates firefox gets? Do I have to rebuilr + reinstall firefox after each update? Or can I somehow setup a different update channel so it will fetch from my travis builds for example? That way I could mostly automate the process I hope.

[errge]

If you are just after the keybindings (and not interested in compiling your own for other reasons), then I would use this part of the article: github.com/nilcons/firefox-hacks#binary-hacking-automated So basically I have this script as "patch-the-fox" and whenever I notice that firefox is not working correctly, I just start a shell, and run "patch-the-fox" and restart. Then it's good again for 2-3 weeks.

[Hannes]

browser.xul was renamed to browser.xhtml: userchrome.org/firefox-changes-userchrome-css.html#fx69

[banan3'14]

there is no browser.xul file and no configuration possiblity for quitApplicationCmd in browser.xhtml

[errge]

@banan3'14 Hi there, I don't know about quitApplicationCmd, but the whole concept is still valid, I updated my article to contain the new solution (patch-the-fox): github.com/nilcons/…

[jrw32982]

I am looking to specifically disable the ctrl-shift-c shortcut to bring up the inspector, but I couldn't find it in browser.xhtml following your method. As a bonus side benefit, I would like to add shortcuts for ctrl-shift-c and ctrl-shift-v for copy/paste if possible. (Copy anywhere, paste in the URL/search bar.) Any thoughts? I will post a separate question unless it can easily be answered here.

[Tony]

Keyboard shortcut documentation has nothing to do with changing keybindings.