FireFox-compact-mode

A minimal, compact Firefox setup that merges the tab bar and nav bar into a single row, with inline URL editing on tabs.

Demo Screenshots

Startup View

New Tab Behavior

Tab Search

Bookmarks Hidden on Load

Features

• Single-row layout — app menu and back button on the left, tabs in the middle, extensions and window controls on the right. No separate nav bar taking up vertical space.
• Inline URL editing — double-click any tab to edit its URL in place, with live autocomplete from your browsing history.
• Smart new tabs — opening a new blank tab drops you straight into the inline URL editor, no address bar needed.

Requirements

• Firefox 115+ (tested on Firefox 150.0.3, 64-bit)
• fx-autoconfig installed — this is what enables custom user scripts (.uc.js) and the chrome/ folder. Follow its install instructions before proceeding.

Installation

1. Install fx-autoconfig

Follow the instructions at MrOtherGuy/fx-autoconfig. In short:

• Copy config.js and the defaults/ folder into your Firefox install directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\)
• Copy the chrome/utils/ folder into your Firefox profile folder (find it at about:support → Open Folder next to "Profile Folder")

2. Copy the files from this repo

File in this repo	Copy to
install/channel-prefs.js	<Firefox install dir>/defaults/pref/channel-prefs.js (overwrite)
install/userChrome.css	<Profile folder>/chrome/userChrome.css
install/tab-edit-url.uc.js	<Profile folder>/chrome/JS/tab-edit-url.uc.js
install/extensions-to-tabbar.uc.js	<Profile folder>/chrome/JS/extensions-to-tabbar.uc.js

Create the chrome/ and chrome/JS/ folders inside your profile if they don't exist.

3. Restart Firefox

Fully close Firefox (check Task Manager — no lingering firefox.exe processes) and reopen it. The layout should snap into place and double-clicking a tab should open the inline URL editor.

Usage

• Double-click a tab → edit its URL inline, with history autocomplete.
• Open a new tab → jumps straight into the inline URL editor.
• Arrow keys → navigate autocomplete suggestions.
• Tab → fill the input with the selected suggestion.
• Enter → navigate (URL, domain, or Google search for plain text).
• Esc or click outside → cancel.

Troubleshooting

Scripts aren't loading after a Firefox update. Firefox updates can overwrite defaults/pref/channel-prefs.js, wiping the fx-autoconfig prefs. If your scripts stop working after an update, just re-copy install/channel-prefs.js from this repo and restart Firefox.

Nothing loads at all.

• Make sure Firefox is fully closed before copying files (no firefox.exe in Task Manager).
• Verify chrome/utils/ from fx-autoconfig is in your profile folder, not the install folder.
• Check about:config for xpinstall.signatures.required — if it's false, the prefs loaded correctly.
• Open the Browser Console (Ctrl+Shift+J) and look for red errors.

Layout looks wrong. Your Firefox version might have renamed some toolbar elements. Open an issue with a screenshot.

Files

• install/channel-prefs.js — Firefox prefs that enable fx-autoconfig and legacy customization (userChrome.css, unsigned extensions, experiments).
• install/userChrome.css — CSS that hides the nav bar and shapes the compact layout.
• install/tab-edit-url.uc.js — Inline tab URL editor with history autocomplete.
• install/extensions-to-tabbar.uc.js — Rearranges app menu, back button, extensions, and window controls into the tab bar.

Credits

Built on top of MrOtherGuy/fx-autoconfig.

License

MIT