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How to copy my about:config tweaks from FF on Windows to FF on OS X?

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  • 2 have this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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I have made a bunch of about:config tweaks on my Windows version of FireFox, and I'd rather not have to manually redo them again (I have already used FireFox sync to have my addons and other settings synced over). I know that my about:config settings are stored in the "prefs.js" file. Is it just a matter of copying that file from Windows and replacing that same file in OS X? Or is there anything else I should move as well? (obviously I will make a backup of those files on OS X before replacing them)

I have made a bunch of about:config tweaks on my Windows version of FireFox, and I'd rather not have to manually redo them again (I have already used FireFox sync to have my addons and other settings synced over). I know that my about:config settings are stored in the "prefs.js" file. Is it just a matter of copying that file from Windows and replacing that same file in OS X? Or is there anything else I should move as well? (obviously I will make a backup of those files on OS X before replacing them)

Modified by ClassyPandaBear

All Replies (2)

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Since you use Sync, some of your custom preferences may have been copied over already. Hopefully a Sync expert can advise on how best to merge in the others without disrupting the harmony of your devices.

If we set Sync aside, copying over prefs.js will introduce some Windows-specific preferences as well as data on nonexistent printers, but overall I think your Mac Firefox probably will be okay. The alternative of doing a lot of text editing may be more of a headache, but that would be plan B...

As for other possibly useful files, this article describes the types of data they contain: Recovering important data from an old profile.

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You should be cautious with copying over files form one OS (Windows) to another OS (Mac).

Best would still be to check the prefs.js file and remove all prefs that aren't related to the tweaks you made and only leave the prefs that you recognize as related to the tweaks.
Note that you may have added prefs in the past that are no longer supported in the current Firefox release.