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With the latest update to Firefox, there is a feature that I would like to disable. When you open a window/tab or place the cursor in into the address bar, it becomes a bit bigger. How can I disable / reset this behavior?

address bar before update

Firefox before update

address bar after update

Firefox after update

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  • 2
    Perhaps you can check in about:config (type it in your adress bar, press Enter, confirm you want to stick your head under the hood) if the "toolkit.cosmeticAnimations.enabled" entry is set to false. If not, click on the opposing arrows at the end of its line to set it to false.
    – user1019780
    Apr 8, 2020 at 7:57
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    @Didier Thanks for the hint. Just tried toolkit.cosmeticAnimations out. But no, this setting is obviously not responsible for this behavior.
    – automatix
    Apr 8, 2020 at 8:19
  • I haven't set the search bar as separate from the address bar, but even after enabling it, I do see that the address bar seems bigger, but I think it's because you've disabled autocomplete. When I click in the address bar, I see suggestions based on my previous searches and visited URLs, and the list that drops down masks the bigger cursor. It may have to do with the font you use as default for the interface, too. What happens when you press F6?
    – user1019780
    Apr 8, 2020 at 10:33
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    If you don't mind me asking, throughout your years on Super User do you typically see Windows-related questions that say "Microsoft Windows 10" in the title, or simply "Windows 10" ??
    – Run5k
    Apr 9, 2020 at 15:29
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    @Run5k Both is OK for me. I understand your point. Nevertheless there is a small difference between "Microsoft Windows" and "Mozilla Firefox": Nobody says "Microsoft" by meaning "(Microsoft) Windows", but there are still users, who say "Mozilla" and mean "(Mozilla) Firefox" (and not Thunderbird or other Mozilla products).
    – automatix
    Apr 10, 2020 at 5:35

2 Answers 2

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Type in about:config in the address bar. This opens the Configuration Editor that lists Firefox settings known as preferences.

Set browser.urlbar.update1 to false, and restart the browser.

(Source: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1274579)

Note, this solutions does not work as of Firefox 77

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    Actually, what did it for me was to set "browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus" to false. You still get focus in the address bar to type a URL or keywords for a search by clicking on it, but you don't get a whole list or priorly visited URLs and search queries. Others values that could be set to false to put things back where they were can be found here: ghacks.net/2020/04/08/…
    – user1019780
    Apr 8, 2020 at 22:08
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    You're welcome! I like how you can do pretty anything you want with Firefox, in terms of customization. Reminds of the old Opera days, 12.19, pre-Chromium, before the Norwegians lost their souls to the false gods of Moutain View. However, sometimes, Moz devs lose sight of what makes the essence of a good browser: a piece of software that's easy to use, not just laden with eye-candy. It takes some tinkering, but you can regain control over it, though.
    – user1019780
    Apr 10, 2020 at 13:47
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    The config options will be removed in FF 77
    – marczellm
    Apr 11, 2020 at 6:46
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    @marczellm which ones? Could you add a link for that? But hopefully, by then FF will realize that the feature isn't universally loved... update: ok, I found it, both options 1 2 will be removed :(
    – tim
    Apr 11, 2020 at 9:08
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    FWIW, and not to undermine deviant 's proposal in any way, it didn't work for me. The address bar was still way bigger than it used to be, too much for me. What did it is @ChrisMidgley 's idea. It takes some effort, but it's worth it.
    – user1019780
    Apr 11, 2020 at 9:49
17

If you want to remove only the small expansion of the bar on new tab (or otherwise change the styling), you can use userChome.css. If you want to remove padding all the time, remove the ":not([open])" parts of the below.

/* based on https://old.reddit.com/comments/fwhlva//fmolndz */
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend]:not([open]) {
  top: calc((var(--urlbar-toolbar-height) - var(--urlbar-height)) / 2) !important;
  left: 0 !important;
  width: 100% !important;
}
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend]:not([open]) > #urlbar-input-container {
  height: var(--urlbar-height) !important;
  padding-block: 0px !important;
  padding-inline: 0px !important;
}
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend][breakout-extend-animate] > #urlbar-background {
  animation-name: none !important;
}
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend]:not([open]) > #urlbar-background {
  box-shadow: none !important;
}

(Source: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1627861#c3)

If you've not used userChrome.css before, you'll need to enable it.

  1. First, go to about:config, then set toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true.
  2. Open about:support, then click the "Open Folder" button under "Profile Folder"
  3. Create a new directory called chrome.
  4. Under the chrome directory, create a file called userChrome.css.

Add the rules specified above and restart Firefox.


If you want a more thoroughly modified address bar, userchrome.org now offers some interactive dropdowns where you can choose exactly how you want the bar to look, along with some screenshots showing you what it will look like.


The megabar pref browser.urlbar.update1 to allow going back to the old version of the bar will be removed entirely as of Firefox 77.

(Source: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1627969)

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    Very good! I'm not surprised they'll remove the ability to go back to the old ways, though. It's been like that for a while at Mozilla, now. One step forward, two steps to the side and, oh, wait, user, where are you? Thanks for the tip!
    – user1019780
    Apr 10, 2020 at 13:50
  • Firefox is getting to be more like Chrome. Now we are even naming files under Firefox directory as *Chrome. Hmm - is Mozilla bent on destroying its own creation? Maybe they'll wake up sooner rather than later.
    – AnthonyK
    Jun 13, 2020 at 15:26
  • Userchrome.css (and .js) don't refer to Chrome the web browser, but to the browser chrome, -- a name for how the UI looks. Rather, this is a relic from the days when Firefox was even more customizable than it is now -- so even less like Chrome, for which you can only change how it looks using themes (or downloading a variant, like Vivaldi). Jun 15, 2020 at 7:21

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