I use add-ons to store my writing drafts. For stability, I need to reinstall my OS and Firefox. Will Firefox Sync transfer the add-on data, or just the add-ons? Can you transplant the Storage files for those, or are there tools to decrypt them?
(This is copied nearly directly from a post on r/firefox made a few hours ago—I decided it was best to spread it here for more exposure. The only change was the removal of the add-on names from the title due to character limits; these are Form History Control and Text Area Cache.)
I hope the title explains what I am looking for well. My main computer has had... spooky behavior with its file system recently, and I have been recommended to make a back-up, format my drive, and re-install my operating system (possibly upgrading from Windows 10 to 11 in the process). The biggest hold-up to me doing so is this, as I have no idea how to transfer the extension data between installs, or convert it into a human-readable form. The sheer number of writing drafts in those extensions both make losing them an unacceptable situation and copying the data manually into a document entirely impractical. So, can anyone help me with this? For context, I was on Firefox 138.0 when I stopped using my main computer due to those issues. (Note: It will certainly last long enough to do the Firefox Syncing and other back-up operations, just not for many more weeks or months.)
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Sync info... FYI... Firefox Sync IS NOT A DATA BACKUP SERVICE https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-set-sync-my-computer https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-choose-what-information-sync-firefox https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/features/sync/ https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/11/firefox-sync-privacy/ Sync is not a backup tool but it is a good sync/transfer/move tool https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/707681
jonzn4SUSE said
Sync info... FYI... Firefox Sync IS NOT A DATA BACKUP SERVICE https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-set-sync-my-computer https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-choose-what-information-sync-firefox https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/features/sync/ https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/11/firefox-sync-privacy/ Sync is not a backup tool but it is a good sync/transfer/move tool https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/707681
I know it's not a data backup service. So... can it sync/transfer/move the data associated with Add-ons? The documentation you linked says it can sync "your bookmarks, your browsing history, your saved passwords and more" as well as "bookmarks, add-ons, browsing history and other information" (emphasis my own). Is the data associated with add-ons part of the "miscellaneous" or "add-ons" categories in these descriptions or not?
Nothing about associated data. see screenshot To be safe why not just get another drive and do a fresh install of Windows or Linux(wink wink). You can just put the old "spooky" drive in a external case to access your data.
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