Mozilla Firefox showing several extensions and a custom theme

See also: List of Firefox extensions

Extensions are installable enhancements to the Mozilla Firefox or Mozilla web browsers, and add features to the application or allow existing features to be modified. Mozilla developers intend Firefox to be a fairly minimal browser in order to reduce software bloat and bugs, while retaining a high degree of extensibility, so that individual users can add the features that they prefer. They are installed via XPInstall modules. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 64 KB)A screenshot, taken by ugen64 using The GIMP, of Mozilla Firefox version 1. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 64 KB)A screenshot, taken by ugen64 using The GIMP, of Mozilla Firefox version 1. ... Firefox extensions are software plugins that add new features to the Mozilla Firefox web browsers. ... Mozilla Firefox is a free, open source, cross-platform, graphical web browser developed by the Mozilla Corporation and hundreds of volunteers. ... The Mozilla Application Suite (originally known as Mozilla, marketed as the Mozilla Suite, and code named Seamonkey) is a free, cross-platform internet suite, whose components include a web browser, an email and news client, an HTML editor, and an IRC client. ... It has been suggested that Comparison of web browsers be merged into this article or section. ... Software bloat is a derogatory term used to describe the tendency of newer computer programs to use larger amounts of system resources (mass storage space, processing power and/or RAM) than older programs. ... Extensibility is a system design principle where the current implementation takes into consideration future growth. ... A typical XPInstall confirmation dialog XPInstall (Cross-Platform Install) is a technology used by Mozilla Application Suite, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird and other XUL-based applications for installing Mozilla extensions that add functionality to the main application. ...

Extension technologies

• XPI — Cross-Platform Installer module
• JavaScript – The primary language of Mozilla Browsers
• XUL (XML User Interface Language) – Used to define the UI (User Interface) and interaction with user.
• DOM (Document Object Model) – Used to change XUL in real-time or to edit HTML that is currently loaded
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• XPCOM/XPConnect

A typical XPInstall confirmation dialog XPInstall (Cross-Platform Install) is a technology used by Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird and other XUL-based applications for installing Mozilla extensions that add functionalities. ... JavaScript is the name of Netscapes implementation of ECMAScript, a scripting programming language based on the concept of prototypes. ... XUL (XML User Interface Language) is a user interface markup language developed to support Mozilla applications like Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird. ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... Document Object Model (DOM) is a description of how an HTML or XML document is represented in an object-oriented fashion. ... A piece of HTML code with syntax highlighting In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. ... In computing, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language. ... XPCOM (Cross Platform Component Object Model) is a simple, cross platform component model similar to CORBA or Microsoft COM. It has multiple language bindings and IDL descriptions so programmers can plug their custom functionality into the framework and connect it with other components. ... XPConnect (Cross Platform Connect) is a technology which enables simple interoperation between XPCOM and scripting programming language like JavaScript. ...

Primary function of extensions

Firefox extensions are generally used to add functions to the browser. Examples of functions which an extension might add include RSS readers, Bookmark organizers, Toolbars (for example, the Wikipedia editor toolbar), website-specific client programs, FTP, e-mail, mouse gestures, proxy server switching, or debugging tools. Many Firefox extensions implement features formerly part of the Mozilla Suite, such as the ChatZilla IRC client and a calendar. RSS may mean: RSS, acronym for Really Simple Syndication, a family of XML file formats for web syndication used by news websites and weblogs: By extension, web syndication in general, and alternative syndication standards such as Atom Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist right-wing Hindutva group in India Radio Service... 1) A bookmark is a thin marker, commonly made from paper or leather, used to keep ones place in a printed work and so be able to return to it with ease at some time in the future. ... An early toolbar on a Xerox Alto Computer In a graphical user interface on a computer monitor a toolbar is a row, column, or block of onscreen buttons or icons that, when clicked, activate certain functions of the program. ... It has been suggested that FTP over SSH be merged into this article or section. ... A spiral mouse gesture in the computer game Black and White. ... A proxy server is a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. ... A debugger is a computer program that is used to debug (and sometimes test or optimize) other programs which might be running on the same computer (host computer) as the debugger is running, or running on a second remote computer which might be a similar machine, a dissimilar computer, or... ChatZilla is an IRC client for Mozilla web browsers written in XUL and JavaScript. ... Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of instant communication over the Internet. ...

Modifying how the user views web pages

Many firefox extensions can change the content of a webpage, not on the webpage itself, but as it is displayed in an individual user's browser. For example, Adblock extensions can prevent the browser from loading images which are advertisements. Another popular extension, CustomizeGoogle, modifies how the Google page is displayed, for example by providing links to competing search engines. Finally, the Greasemonkey extension allows the user to install scripts which modify the look of specific pages or the web in general. Scripts can be obtained from http://userscripts.org/. If a user doesn't find the script he is looking for, he can use the Platypus extension to generate his own script, which might delete content from, move content around, or add content to a page. Adblock is a popular content-filtering extension for the Mozilla Firefox web browser. ... CustomizeGoogle is a Mozilla Firefox extension, which enhances the search results you get when searching the web with Google. ... Screenshot of the BookBurro user script running in Greasemonkey. ... A shell script is a script written for the shell, or command interpreter, of an operating system. ... Firefox extensions are software plugins that add new features to the Mozilla Firefox web browsers. ...

Other uses

Firefox extensions also exist for frivolous, humorous or satirical purposes. Some allude to historical features of the Firefox browser, for example restoring the "delicious delicacies" placeholder text removed in Firefox 0.9, or generating random browser names to parody the changes from Phoenix to Firebird to Firefox in 2003–2004. The Mozilla Firefox project was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Updating extensions

Firefox periodically checks for updates to installed extensions, although they can be manually checked in the extension window. If the extension's install.rdf manifest contains a custom update RDF file, this will be used to check for updates. Otherwise, Firefox will look for updates at addons.mozilla.org.

See also

• Mozilla Update
• Theme (computing)
• List of Firefox extensions

The main page of Mozilla Update Mozilla Update is a website to get add-ons for the Mozilla Foundations flagship products: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Suite. ... Maple Story desktop theme for Windows Server 2003. ... Firefox extensions are software plugins that add new features to the Mozilla Firefox web browsers. ...

External links

• Firefox extensions / add-ons
• Extensions documentation on Mozilla Developer Center
• All extensions related articles on Mozilla Developer Center
• The Extension Room
• The Extension Mirror