Firefox Community Forum

Ubuntu - I use the SNAP version of Firefox - I generally have lots of tabs open but only use 5 or so of them and it's generally fine.... but when I am closing Firefox, it USES like 100% of the CPU and ALL of the RAM and ALL of the SWAP memory when closing.

This locks up the computer.

Sometimes it doesn't quite go all the way but I can watch it all happen in real time, using Task Manager - and that shows a solidwall of all resources occouring, when the close Firefox is run.

I am told by research via ChatGPT that this is a very real problem with the SNAP version and it's best to change to the Debian version, copy all the bookmarks etc., across and then uninstall the SNAP version.

It's rather disconcerting to have Linux crash because of this one app locking it up and frequently.

Chat GPT:

Is there a problem with Firefox Snap Version closing and using all the resources while doing so, which results in locking up the computer?

You're definitely not imagining it—there have been reports of Firefox's Snap version consuming excessive system resources (CPU, memory) and even causing lockups or hangs, particularly during closure. Here's what’s going on and how to mitigate it:

What’s Happening with Firefox Snap?

2. Browser Hangs or Locks the System on Close

On Linux (especially Ubuntu), users have reported that closing Firefox can lead to it hanging in memory, sometimes unresponsive and still consuming resources.
Super User
Ask Ubuntu
A stark example from Reddit illustrates the severity:
“About 50% of the time I open Firefox, it'll reach 100% CPU usage in about 30 seconds… PC completely unusable unless I shutdown.”
Reddit

3. Known Wayland Sway Bug

On Wayland/Sway setups, reloading Sway while Firefox is open can trigger intense logging, causing high CPU use and an enormous syslog.
Fix: Set MOZ_DISABLE_WAYLAND_PROXY=1, or upgrade to FF 125 where the issue is addressed.
Reddit+1

Alternative Approach

Many users, particularly on Ubuntu, opt out of Snap completely in favor of the .deb package or PPA builds. These alternatives often avoid these specific issues. Ask Ubuntu Reddit

Thoughts? Solutions?

Thanks in advance.

Can’t launch Firefox 3.5.19 on Linux Ubuntu When trying to run with:

./firefox

Terminal gives the following:

./firefox-bin: error while loading shared libraries: libdbus-glib-1.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

That is the first line in the Hippocratic Oath. All doctors have to swear to it. All software developers should too.

I made the mistake of letting Firefox on KUbuntu update. It obliterated all my tabs and all my history. There's nothing left. I had a lot of tabs open with intent to use them to update some astronomy instructional activities. I don't know if I'll be able to find them again.

I don't really have a question except to ask: What fresh hell is this? Is it really that hard to just leave things the hell alone? I'm afraid to ever update Firefox again. If everything else wasn't based on Chromium, I'd be out of here.

Also, it looks like something out of Windows 7.

It's all gone. It's a wonder you didn't delete all my bookmarks while you were at it.

Firefox 136.0.1, Linux 6.8.0-55, have set Okular as default pdf application, however Firefox will not open pdf file when downloaded nor will it open the file when selecting Open File from the Download Icon on the toolbar. Only was I can get to file is to select Show in Folder option and open from within Dolphin.

Firefox 135.0 (64-bit) on Ubuntu 22.04.5. When trying to save any file (download, save image etc.) or trying to attach a file (in web-based gmail client or WhatsApp web client) nothing happens. Tried to refresh, switch off all extensions, clear download history - nothing helped. Chrome works on the same machine like a charm...

Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you

Hi all. I have been using firefox with ubuntu 22.04 for about since when ubuntu 22.04 was released (2022).

On firefox, I usually use the nordpass and tab grouping extensions. For the third or fourth time in a row, firefox has simply vanished from my system from day to night.

I click the icon and nothing happens. I try typing "firefox" in the terminal and get

   Command '/usr/bin/firefox' requires the firefox snap to be installed.
   Please install it with:

   snap install firefox

Even if I accept the bizarreness of snap simply deciding from one day to another that I don't have this package (or did I never have it and never needed it in the first place?) and try "snap install firefox" I get:

   snap "firefox" is already installed, see 'snap help refresh'

After reading the result of "snap refresh help" I decided to "snap refresh" to update all of it's packages. Still, "snap install firefox" and "firefox" keep giving me the same result.

What is happening here?

I am trying to sync Firefox data to new computer. The Mozilla account only allows me to sync mobile devices. Online instructions do no match my version of Firefox 131.0.2, Ubuntu 24.04.

Hello

Recently I've upgraded from Kubuntu 24.04 to 24.10. I'm almost sure that the minimize/restore buttons were available in my Firefox after the system upgrade. For the last few days I can see they are missing - please see attached images.

I can partly fix the problem by going to Settings->More tools -> Customize toolbar and selecting "Title Bar" checkbox. In that case I have the title bar displayed with all 3 button (minimize, restore, close).

But I would like to have the default behavior: title bar is turned off and the mentioned 3 buttons be visible in the tab bar.

How to have those buttons in the tab bar when the title bar is turned off?

I am using Firefox 127 on Ubuntu.

When I press the Control key, I often lose focus in the window I am currently viewing. This is annoying as it prevents me from copy-pasting for example.

Sometimes the focus is back when I release Control, sometimes it is lost and I have to click again on the text field. It does not happen on all websites, for example support.mozilla.org works well, but it happens on duckduckgo or overleaf.

It does not seem to be the same as existing issues such as [the "show mouse when press Ctrl" of Ubuntu] (it is disabled) or an addon (the problem still happens in safe mode).

In case it is useful, when I press Control the tab bar background goes slightly darker, see attached images.

Thanks for your help :) Nicolas

I have a System 76 laptop running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. The LTS (Long Term Support) ended years ago with Firefox 66. All of that works fine still. My problem is: 1. The world is telling me to upgrade my browser. 2. Mozilla tells me "Note: If you use your Linux distribution's packaged version of Firefox, you will need to wait for an updated package to be released to its package repository. This article only applies if you installed Firefox manually (without using your distribution's package manager)." 3. There will never be an updated package because LTS has ended. 4. IS THERE A WAY TO MANUALLY INSTALL A NEWER BROWSER LIKE FIREFOX 123?

Noticed yesterday but not as prominent, firefox suddenly steals all window focus, trying to do anything in any other window is pushed into firefox no matter if it is minimised or in another workspace. I have tested this in a clean install along with a clean profile. Bitwarden and other windows seem to act weird when they are interacted with.

This all works well and good on b8 and stable. I am using wayland (Ubuntu 22.* default), but xwayland is available.

If I try to attach or download (only with the Always ask you where to save files option turned on) a file in any website, the browser doesn't open the Files window. Drag and drop works. I am able to choose the download folder from the settings and upload any folder, though.

I'm running Firefox 103.0.1 on Linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

When plugshare.com loads, there is a prominent search box at the top left corner. However it is missing the menu icon (see attached pic) as well as the search icon. This is happening on 2 different machines running Ubuntu 22.04.

Please fix. Google Chrome displays just fine; see attached pic.

I'm using Firefox 102 on Ubuntu Mate 20.04 (the vanilla one from apt), but I think I've experienced the same with a couple of previous versions too ...

So, I've sat in one Espresso House in Denmark; tried to connect to their public Wi-Fi with Firefox in private mode, captive portal went fine, and I was on the Internet. Apparently I had gotten a danish IP address there, since google.com thereafter was in danish.

Now, I sit in a different Espresso House, also in Denmark; however, here, captive portal does not work; in the sense that:

As shown on first screenshot, first I get "You must log in to this network before you can access the Internet.", and I get a "Open network login page" button.

I click on the "Open network login page" button, I can see browser wants to load http://detectportal.firefox.com/canonical.html - but in the end, I do not get the Espresso House login page, but instead I get a redirect to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/captive-portal , where the "You must log in to this network before you can access the Internet." still stands, but there is no more "Open network login page" button (as shown on the second screenshot)

If I restart the browser in this shop, I think I get the exactly same process - Espresso House wi-fi login page never gets shown, only the https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/captive-portal ...

Strangely, at this point, I do get access to the internet through a browser - but google.com is then in swedish, which I guess means, that there is some sort of a VPN of that shop's wi-fi to Sweden. On the other hand, I don't get internet elsewhere on my computer - for instance, if I want to do `sudo apt update` from the command line, I get errors like "Clearsigned file isn't valid, got 'NOSPLIT' (does the network require authentication?)" - which is what I otherwise get in (the first mentioned) Espresso House, before I've connected to wi-fi via captive portal (once I connect to wi-fi via captive portal there, `sudo apt update` or any other network access from command line is fine).

(Note: my android phone in the same shop, does indeed show Espresso House Wi-Fi login prompt upon Wi-Fi connection, and I can login there fine).

Why does this happen, and how can I force Firefox to show me the actual captive portal so I can login to Wi-Fi - instead of redirecting me to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/captive-portal ?

I've checked a couple of the "similar topics" before posting here. I'm not sure if I am having the same problem or something else.

Back Story: I have a "few" windows and tabs open in FireFox. I would finish what I was doing, shut down and then the next time I booted up and loaded FireFox, all sessions would be restored and all log ins honoured (kept). That is: I was still logged in.

(Moving to now) Yesterday I powered up and ALL sites were logged out. About 20 log ins were needed. Hmmmmm... gmail, and the rest.

"Ok... something happened. No problems, things should be ok from now. I've logged in, so all is sweet."

Today I power up: All logs ins lost. Had to go through it all again.

Gmail is throwing security alerts at me hand over fist. Yeah, that is good in some ways. I get that part. But I've logged in.

Seems - my thoughts - that the cookies aren't being saved. But why? I haven't touched them or their settings.

Yes, I did do a clean out of older cookies. But left the gmail ones, and other sites I know I use. I have `adblocker ultimate` installed.

Now I am logged in, if I open the `cookies` and look I should see them there for the sites to which I am logged in - yes?

To be clear: When I am done, I do NOT `exit` FireFox. All windows, tabs, sessions are left. I just shut down the machine. Then next time I load FireFox and they are re-loaded and log ins are maintained.