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The configuration file cannot be read on Mac Sierra, ESR 54

  • 4 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by KentW

KentW
KentW
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Mac OS Sierra
Firefox ESR 52.4.0 (64-bit)

# cd /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/defaults/pref/
# ls -lah
total 16
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 teacher  admin   136B Sep 29 10:05 .
drwxr-xr-x@ 3 teacher  admin   102B Sep 21 10:05 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 root     admin   149B Sep 29 10:33 autoconfig.js
-rw-r--r--@ 1 teacher  admin   241B Sep 21 09:12 channel-prefs.js

#cat autoconfig.js
// Any comment. You must start the file with a comment!
pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg");
pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0);

# cd ../../../
# ls
Info.plist	Library		MacOS		PkgInfo		Resources	_CodeSignature
# cd MacOS/
# ls -lah
total 307384
drwxr-xr-x@ 19 teacher  admin   646B Sep 29 10:32 .
drwxr-xr-x@  8 teacher  admin   272B Sep 21 10:06 ..
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   139M Sep 21 10:06 XUL
drwxr-xr-x@  3 teacher  admin   102B Sep 21 10:05 crashreporter.app
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin    59K Sep 29 10:31 firefox
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin    59K Sep 21 10:06 firefox-bin
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   937K Sep 21 10:06 libfreebl3.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   120K Sep 21 10:06 liblgpllibs.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   3.1M Sep 21 10:06 libmozavcodec.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   419K Sep 21 10:06 libmozavutil.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   257K Sep 21 10:06 libmozglue.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   4.3M Sep 21 10:06 libnss3.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   910K Sep 21 10:06 libnssckbi.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   299K Sep 21 10:06 libnssdbm3.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin    46K Sep 21 10:06 libplugin_child_interpose.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x@  1 teacher  admin   448K Sep 21 10:06 libsoftokn3.dylib
-rwxrwxr-x   1 teacher  admin   1.5K Sep 29 08:55 mozilla.cfg
drwxr-xr-x@  3 teacher  admin   102B Sep 21 10:05 plugin-container.app
drwxr-xr-x@  3 teacher  admin   102B Sep 21 10:05 updater.app

# cat mozilla.cfg 
// Any comment. You must start the file with a comment!

Try starting Firefox with a new user:

Configuration Error: Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator.

Thanks for any help!

/Kent

<pre> Mac OS Sierra Firefox ESR 52.4.0 (64-bit) # cd /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/defaults/pref/ # ls -lah total 16 drwxr-xr-x@ 4 teacher admin 136B Sep 29 10:05 . drwxr-xr-x@ 3 teacher admin 102B Sep 21 10:05 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root admin 149B Sep 29 10:33 autoconfig.js -rw-r--r--@ 1 teacher admin 241B Sep 21 09:12 channel-prefs.js #cat autoconfig.js // Any comment. You must start the file with a comment! pref("general.config.filename", "mozilla.cfg"); pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0); # cd ../../../ # ls Info.plist Library MacOS PkgInfo Resources _CodeSignature # cd MacOS/ # ls -lah total 307384 drwxr-xr-x@ 19 teacher admin 646B Sep 29 10:32 . drwxr-xr-x@ 8 teacher admin 272B Sep 21 10:06 .. -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 139M Sep 21 10:06 XUL drwxr-xr-x@ 3 teacher admin 102B Sep 21 10:05 crashreporter.app -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 59K Sep 29 10:31 firefox -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 59K Sep 21 10:06 firefox-bin -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 937K Sep 21 10:06 libfreebl3.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 120K Sep 21 10:06 liblgpllibs.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 3.1M Sep 21 10:06 libmozavcodec.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 419K Sep 21 10:06 libmozavutil.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 257K Sep 21 10:06 libmozglue.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 4.3M Sep 21 10:06 libnss3.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 910K Sep 21 10:06 libnssckbi.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 299K Sep 21 10:06 libnssdbm3.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 46K Sep 21 10:06 libplugin_child_interpose.dylib -rwxr-xr-x@ 1 teacher admin 448K Sep 21 10:06 libsoftokn3.dylib -rwxrwxr-x 1 teacher admin 1.5K Sep 29 08:55 mozilla.cfg drwxr-xr-x@ 3 teacher admin 102B Sep 21 10:05 plugin-container.app drwxr-xr-x@ 3 teacher admin 102B Sep 21 10:05 updater.app # cat mozilla.cfg // Any comment. You must start the file with a comment! </pre> Try starting Firefox with a new user: Configuration Error: Failed to read the configuration file. Please contact your system administrator. Thanks for any help! /Kent

Modified by KentW

Chosen solution

You need to look further down to "Changes Over Time" to find the "Mac Directory Change" section where you will find the path I posted. 

Mac Directory Change

Due to Apple's stricter approach to software signing, as of about version 35 or so configuration files should now be placed relative to /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources (so mozilla.cfg should go there, and autoconfig.js under /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/defaults/pref.)
Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (4)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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mozilla.cfg needs to be in this folder on Mac:

  • /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources
KentW
KentW Question owner
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cor-el said

mozilla.cfg needs to be in this folder on Mac:
  • /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources

I'm unable to test this at the moment, but can you document it for me? According to the "Deploying Firefox in an enterprise environment" document at https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox/Enterprise_deployment:

Create a .cfg file in the Firefox program directory. By convention, mozilla.cfg, but it can be any file name really.

which I take to mean the directory that contains "firefox.bin", as Step 1 in that same document says:

Find the Firefox program directory where the Firefox executable is located. For example, in Windows this is typically either C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox or C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox in macOS it is typically /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS

Thanks!

/Kent

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Chosen Solution

You need to look further down to "Changes Over Time" to find the "Mac Directory Change" section where you will find the path I posted. 

Mac Directory Change

Due to Apple's stricter approach to software signing, as of about version 35 or so configuration files should now be placed relative to /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources (so mozilla.cfg should go there, and autoconfig.js under /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/defaults/pref.)
KentW
KentW Question owner
more options

Perfect! Thank you very much!