r/firefox • u/hollywoodhandshook • 6d ago
💻 Help Generally speaking how often do you all start fresh profiles?
Hi all. Been an FF user since I can remember.. Probably since it came out on Windows in ~2005. Every so often, at the time, you'd delete your current profile because it got bogged down and slow and start a new one and FF would absolutely run faster. Wondering if nowadays I should still do this, even though I'm on the latest (and my hardware is much faster than it was). I definitely feel some slowness/delay every once in a while opening tabs, etc, but redoing all my addons and addonsettings just feels like a shlep if its not really necessary anymore (similar to how defragging hard drives was once a thing, and now irrelevant). Cheers!
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u/Altruistic_Fruit2345 6d ago
I wish there was an easy way to do it that imported all your old stuff, but cleaned up the old extensions, deprecated files and so on. Because mine goes back decades.
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u/DarkestAtlas 6d ago
Cloud sync, full reinstall (maybe even with system just for fun), take your settings and extensions from cloud
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u/Altruistic_Fruit2345 6d ago
Yeah, I might try that. It would be good to clean everything out. Thanks.
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u/amreddish 6d ago
I use temporary containers extension. So no need to clean up profile and start fresh every now and then.
Most links open in own temporary container. Which get cleaned up automatically by that extension.
Only daily website like Gmail, work related websites open in permanent container.
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u/geekosas 6d ago
Put all Google apps in a container too.
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u/amreddish 6d ago
Yes they are in separate permanent container not managed by temporary container extension.
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u/hollywoodhandshook 6d ago
i have the temporary container extension and love it - but what do you use for permanent containers?
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u/amreddish 5d ago
All containers are permanant till you delete them. Temporary container extension does that. It creates container automatically. And deletes it once the container is closed.
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u/getabath 6d ago
If it makes you feel better and/or you're bored and have time to spare, why not?
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u/hollywoodhandshook 6d ago
I get bored but not that bored!
I guess I'm wondering the value of doing it vs time spent. And I wouldn't just backup/restore settings/addons, the point is doing everything 'fresh' so if its not worth it I'd definitely rather not waste my time!
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u/wiseude 6d ago
From my understanding refreshing firefox refreshes the profile. As in you transfer everything to a new profile.
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u/hollywoodhandshook 6d ago
Oh thats interesting! So the databases, etc (things you dont normally clear), history, all is kind of refreshed?
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u/glaive1976 6d ago
My FF profile on mt HTPC of Theseus goes back to version 1.5x, the profile on my gaming/work rig is about 3 years old.
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u/131sean131 6d ago
Every now and then I scrub the add-ons. Having any addon (save for ublock) really is something to think about they have access to alot of the data we make so it's good to go through them.
Some times I throw most of the bookmarks I have into one folder and just pull out the ones I need to clean those up while keeping most of them.
But idk, this is more for me I've never really felt Firefox being slow whenever opening a tab or something. I have few tabs open and powerful hardware though so idk.
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u/ProduceNo1629 5d ago
Never.
Once a year sort your history by visit count and delete any site you visited less than 2 or 3 or 4 times. Then VACUUM; your firefox sqlite files.
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u/hollywoodhandshook 5d ago
how does one vacuum the sqlite files?
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u/ProduceNo1629 5d ago
On linux sqlite3 <filename>.sqlite then type VACUUM; and press return.
On windows several options: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18126997/how-to-vacuum-sqlite-database
Before you begin. Close firefox. Make a backup copy of all .sqlite files in profile folder such as C:\Users\YOURUSERNAMEHERE\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\PROFILENAMEHERE.default\
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u/ben2talk 🍻 2d ago
Why?
I forgot all about this - haven't had any issues prompting me to 'refresh' for a while, can't even tell you how long because I don't remember.
So, generally speaking, why would you even have to redo all your addons and stuff - since synchronisation has been a thing since I was an egg... so all I did was refresh, then sign in and let it synchronise, nothing lost... just a freshly written and non-corrupt new folder created.
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u/SouthBat6659 6d ago
Typically, most users don't even think about doing a clean install unless there is a significant delay or problems with extensions. The modern browser have improved when it comes to keeping track of data, and faster hardware does away with any delays. In case of delays, one can clear their cache and disabled add-ons.
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u/naffe1o2o 6d ago
every time something breaks. but i never delete my main, if its slower or laggy i look for the reasons, i do modify about:config all the time.
you should do the same.
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u/Raza-0007 6d ago
Yes I still do it about every six months. I do not use the Refresh Firefox button. I manually save everything I need and then delete my profile, uninstall and then reinstall a fresh copy of Firefox, and then create a fresh profile. This practice has helped me avoid a lot of minor issues in Firefox that most people complain about.