How can I restore the tabs from my previous session in Firefox 57.0.2 (64-bit)
Hello, my last session did not close appropriately. I had two windows open, one with all the tabs that I normally use and another with just one tab that I used to log into a wifi network. I closed the window with all the tabs I need first and then closed the second window with the single wifi tab. When I opened Firefox I could not restore the tabs in the first window. I had installed an add-on called Session Manager to avoid this problem but apparently it was disabled in the latest Firefox update. I would really appreciate any help as to how I can restore the last session. Many thanks!
Chosen solution
Hello jscher2000, many thanks for your help! I was able to open the tabs in the closed window. All the best to you in the New Year!
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Make it a habit and use one of these to close Firefox if you are currently doing that by clicking the close X on the Firefox title bar to prevent losing tabs in this window in case other windows are open.
- "3-bar" menu button -> Exit (Power button)
- Windows: File -> Exit
- Mac: Firefox -> Quit Firefox
- Linux: File -> Quit
If you notice this in time then reopen the window you closed and close Firefox in the proper way.
Did you check "History -> Recently Closed Tabs/Windows"?
Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox Profile Folder to make sure not to lose possible important session data. Do NOT close Firefox when Firefox is already running.
You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
Firefox uses the sessionstore.jsonlz4 file in the profile folder to store session data. The sessionstore.jsonlz4 file is only present when Firefox is closed. The sessionstore.jsonlz4 file is created from recovery.jsonlz4 when you close Firefox and is removed and copied to previous.jsonlz4 when you start Firefox to make is possible to restore the session at any time.
You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:
- previous.jsonlz4 (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.jsonlz4 from previous session that was loaded successfully)
- recovery.jsonlz4 (latest version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
- recovery.baklz4 (previous version of sessionstore.jsonlz4 written during runtime)
- upgrade.jsonlz4-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)
You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.jsonlz4 to replace the current file (make sure to backup the current sessionstore.jsonlz4).
Firefox 56+ releases compress the files in the sessionstore-backups folder and sessionstore.jsonlz4 with LZ4 (.jsonlz4 instead of .js), so it is no longer easy to inspect them.
See also:
Hello COR-EL, many thanks for your detailed feedback. Before proceeding, I would like to make sure I follow the right steps. In response to your question above, "Did you check "History -> Recently Closed Tabs/Windows"?", I did, but there are only two tabs listed. I am planning to follow the steps below: 1. Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox Profile Folder 2. Click "File-->Exit" to close Firefox 3. Backup the sessionstore.jsonlz4 file 4. Delete sessionstore.jsonlz4 5. Copy recovery.jsonlz4 to Firefox Profile Folder 6. Rename recovery.jsonlz4 to sessionstore.jsonlz4 7. Open Firefox
I look forward to your confirmation. Many thanks!
Hi Alwi, in your step #1, the recovery.jsonlz4 file you back up is your current session. So in step #5, if you want to restore an older session from something in your sessionstore-backups folder, you'll need to try either previous.jsonlz4 or one of the other recent files.
I have a tool to preview the contents of session history files in case it's not clear which ones will be useful to "swap in" in place of sessionstore.jsonlz4:
Hello jscher2000, and many thanks for your suggestion. I followed the steps above, using the file previous.jsonlz4 to replace sessionstore.jsonlz4. I inspected this file before replacing it using your tool, however when I opened Firefox only the last window closed opened, with a single tab. Not sure what went wrong... Looking forward to any guidance on how to proceed. Many thanks!
Hi Alwi, did the Scrounger show that the missing tabs were closed tabs in an open window, or they were in a closed window? The History menu provides access to closed windows and tabs. You can either use:
- classic top menu bar (tap Alt to activate if needed) > History > Recently Closed Windows, Recently Closed Tabs
- Library button (
) > History > Recently Closed Windows, Recently Closed Tabs
If all else fails, you can save the scrounged links as a web page of clickable links and use that to re-open the most important tabs manually.
Hello jscher2000, the missing tabs were in a closed window. When I click on the Recently Closed Windows only two tabs appear in the list. These tabs were in the closed window together with many more. I am not sure why the other ones are not listed. I do have an older file from December 16 that would probably be the second alternative in case I can't open the tabs in the closed window anymore. It is the upgrade.jsonlz4-20171206182557. Looking forward to your guidance. Many thanks again!
Hi Alwi, did you re-open all of the closed windows? Each re-opened window will have its own closed tabs list. If that still doesn't allow you to restore all of them... were you using any extensions that hide tab groups or suspend tabs or otherwise might modify how Firefox handles tabs?
Chosen Solution
Hello jscher2000, many thanks for your help! I was able to open the tabs in the closed window. All the best to you in the New Year!