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Firefox stores your personal information and settings in a profile folder. Learn to use the Profile Manager to work with different profiles.

Firefox saves your personal information such as bookmarks, passwords, and user preferences in a set of files called your [[Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data|profile]], which is stored in a separate location from the Firefox program files. You can have multiple Firefox profiles, each containing a separate set of user information. The Profile Manager allows you to create, remove, rename, and switch profiles. {note}'''Note:''' You normally don't need to create a new Firefox profile unless you are troubleshooting a specific problem with Firefox. [[Template:reset-fx]]{/note} __TOC__ = Starting the Profile Manager = {note}'''Important:''' Before you can start the Profile Manager, Firefox must be completely closed.{/note} {for win} # If Firefox is open, close Firefox:[[T:closeFirefox]] # {for win7,win8,win10}Press {key [[Image:Windows Key]]}+{key R} on the keyboard. A Run dialog will open.{/for}{for winxp}Click the Windows {button Start} button and select {menu Run...}. {/for} # In the Run dialog box, type in:<br><code>firefox.exe -P</code><br/>Note: You can use <code>-P</code>, <code>-p</code> or <code>-ProfileManager</code> (any of them should work). # Click {button OK}. The Firefox Profile Manager (Choose User Profile) window should open. ;[[Image:Fx31Profilemgr]] {for win7,win8,win10}{note}'''Note:''' Another way to start the Profile Manager is from the Search box in the Windows Start menu. Close Firefox (if open), press {key [[Image:Windows Key]]}, type '''firefox.exe -P''' and press {key enter}.{/note}{/for} {warning}If the Profile Manager window does not appear, you may need to include the full path to the Firefox program, enclose that line in quotes, then add a space followed by -P. Examples: <br> ''Firefox (32-bit) on 64-bit Windows'' * <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -P</code> ''Firefox (32-bit) on 32-bit Windows'' (or the new ''[https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/12/15/firefox-64-bit-for-windows-available/ 64-bit Firefox] on 64-bit Windows'') *<code>"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -P</code>{/warning} {/for} {for mac} # If Firefox is open, close Firefox:[[T:closeFirefox]] # Using Finder navigate to {filepath /Applications/Utilities}. # Open the '''Terminal''' application. # In the Terminal application, enter the following:<br/><code>/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox-bin -P</code><br/>Note: You can use <code>-P</code>, <code>-p</code> or <code>-ProfileManager</code> (any of them should work). # Press {key Return}. The Firefox Profile Manager (Choose User Profile) window should open. ;[[Image:Fx30ProfileManager-Mac]] {/for} {for linux} If Firefox is already included in your Linux distribution or if you have installed Firefox with the package manager of your Linux distribution: # If Firefox is open, close Firefox:[[T:closeFirefox]] # In '''Terminal''' run:<br/> <code>firefox -P</code> '''Note:''' The <code>P</code> is capitalized. Alternatively, you can use <code>-ProfileManager</code> instead of <code>-P</code>.<br> The Firefox Profile Manager (Choose User Profile) window should open. ;[[Image:Fx31ProfileManger-Lin]] {/for} {note}If the Profile Manager window{for win} still{/for} does not open, Firefox may have been running in the background, even though it was not visible. Close all instances of Firefox or restart the computer and then try again. {/note} = Creating a profile = After starting the Profile Manager ([[#w_starting-the-profile-manager|as explained above]]) you can create a new, additional profile as follows: # In the Profile Manager, click {button Create Profile...} to start the Create Profile Wizard. # Click {button Next} and enter the name of the profile. Use a profile name that is descriptive, such as your personal name. This name is not exposed on the Internet. {for win}<br>[[Image:6e2d77cd857fa24e876097c4af69a4a9-1260153527-579-1.png]]{/for}{for mac} <br>[[Image:6e2d77cd857fa24e876097c4af69a4a9-1238101167-976-2.jpg]]{/for} # You can also choose where to store the profile on your computer. To choose its storage location, click {button Choose Folder...}. {warning}'''Warning:''' If you choose your own folder location for the profile, select a new or empty folder. If you choose a folder that isn't empty and you later remove the profile and choose the "Delete Files" option, everything inside that folder will be deleted.{/warning} # To create the new profile, click {for win,linux}{button Finish}{/for}{for mac}{button Done}{/for}. You will be taken back to the Profile Manager window where you can either start Firefox or exit the Profile Manager. {note}'''Note:''' If you want the Profile Manager to appear the next time you start Firefox, remove the checkmark from the box, "Use the selected profile without asking at startup". Otherwise, the selected profile will be used automatically.{/note} = Removing a profile = After starting the Profile Manager ([[#w_starting-the-profile-manager|as explained above]]) you can remove an existing profile as follows: # In the Profile Manager, select the profile to remove, and click {button Delete Profile...}. # Confirm that you wish to delete the profile: {for win}<br/> <br/> [[Image:6e2d77cd857fa24e876097c4af69a4a9-1260152566-432-4.png]] <br/>{/for}{for mac}<br/> <br/>[[Image:6e2d77cd857fa24e876097c4af69a4a9-1238101167-976-3.jpg]] <br/>{/for} #* {button Don't Delete Files} removes the profile from the Profile Manager yet retains the profile data files on your computer in the storage folder, so that your information is not lost. "Don't Delete Files" is the preferred option because it saves the old profile's folder and allows you to recover the files to a new profile. #* {button Delete Files} removes the profile and its files, including the profile bookmarks, settings, passwords, etc. {warning}'''Warning:''' If you use the "Delete Files" option, the profile folder and files will be deleted. This action cannot be undone.{/warning} #* {button Cancel} interrupts the profile deletion. = Renaming a profile = After starting the Profile Manager ([[#w_starting-the-profile-manager|as explained above]]) you can rename a profile as follows: # In the Profile Manager, select the profile to rename, and then click {button Rename Profile...}. # Enter the new name for the profile. Type in the new profile name, and click on {button OK}. #* '''Note''': The folder containing the files for the profile is not renamed. = Options = == Work Offline == Choosing this option loads the selected profile and starts Firefox without connecting to the Internet. You can view previously viewed web pages and experiment with your profile. == Use the selected profile without asking at startup == When you have multiple profiles, this option tells Firefox what to do at startup: *If you check this option, Firefox will automatically load the selected profile at startup. To access other profiles, you must start the Profile Manager first. *If you uncheck this option, Firefox will show you the Profile Manager each time you start Firefox, so that you can select a profile to use. = Moving a profile = To copy all of your Firefox data and settings to another Firefox installation (e.g. when you get a new computer), you need to make a backup of your Firefox profile, then restore it in your new location. * For instructions, see [[Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles]]. = Recovering information from an old profile = If you have important information from an old Firefox profile, such as bookmarks, passwords, or user preferences, you can transfer that information to a new Firefox profile by copying the associated files. *For instructions, see [[Recovering important data from an old profile]].