I’ve wanted to install an extension from outside addons.mozilla.org, but Firefox didn’t let me do it
So I’ve did a small research and looks like there are 3 ways to sideload extensions, but all of them suck
- Using FF Developer Edition
In the Dev Edition you can set xpinstall.signatures.required
to false in about:config, but the problem is that the Dev Edition isn’t as stable as standard FF
- Temporarily load the extension
In about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
you can temporarily sideload extensions, but they will be removed next time you open FF, which is annoying
- Modify FF code
Lastly, I found this script which modifies the FF code, but this can break things so I don’t want to use it
I’m really annoyed that Mozilla gets to decide which extensions I can install. So… what’s the best way to sideload extensions?
Edit: thanks everyone, I’m now using a FF fork (Librewolf) which lets me sideload extensions after disabling xpinstall.signatures.required
If you’re talking Android, I believe the F-Droid app store (which I’d recommend anyway) packages a version of Firefox (I think called “Fennec F-Droid”?) that allows the same thing as Nightly and Beta (which I assume you mean with option 1).
Also, Beta is very stable, just give it a shot. (Though your extensions might not be, especially on mobile.)
Oh and also, if you wait just a bit, every extension can be made compatible with Firefox for Android: https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/08/10/prepare-your-firefox-desktop-extension-for-the-upcoming-android-release/
Of course the developer will still need to make sure that it works on Android.