We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

সহায়তা খুঁজুন

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

আরও জানুন

Lowercase "firefox" process using lots of resources

  • 3 উত্তরসমূহ
  • 2 এই সমস্যাটি আছে
  • 3 দেখুন
  • শেষ জবাব দ্বারা FredMcD

more options

I recently noticed that every once in a while my Mac gets hot and busy. Checking Activity Monitor when this happens shows that lots of CPU is being used by a process called "firefox" (all lowercase, with no icon, as opposed to the main Firefox process, which is appears as "Firefox" with the first letter capitalized, and the Firefox logo next to it). When I force quit the "firefox" process, the computer calms down. Shutting down "firefox" doesn't seem to have any effect on the main "Firefox" process - the browser stays open etc.

So what is this "firefox" process? Is it actually part of Firefox? If not, what could it be? And why does it keep starting up again every once in a while after I force quit?

I recently noticed that every once in a while my Mac gets hot and busy. Checking Activity Monitor when this happens shows that lots of CPU is being used by a process called "firefox" (all lowercase, with no icon, as opposed to the main Firefox process, which is appears as "Firefox" with the first letter capitalized, and the Firefox logo next to it). When I force quit the "firefox" process, the computer calms down. Shutting down "firefox" doesn't seem to have any effect on the main "Firefox" process - the browser stays open etc. So what is this "firefox" process? Is it actually part of Firefox? If not, what could it be? And why does it keep starting up again every once in a while after I force quit?

All Replies (3)

more options

More than one process is normal for the current Firefox. http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/22/multi-process-firefox/

Multi-process Firefox is codenamed "e10s". https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/multiprocess


Try to disable multi-process tabs in Firefox. You can disable multi-process tabs in Firefox by setting the related prefs to false on the about:config page.

browser.tabs.remote.autostart = false browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/22/multi-process-firefox/

Type about:config<enter> in the address bar. If a warning screen comes up, press the I Accept the Risk button. At the top of the screen is a search bar.

more options

Thanks for the info.

browser.tabs.remote.autostart.2 was set to true so I changed it. However the "firefox" process appeared again afterwards (I am pretty sure I restarted my browser in between).

However it still seems to me that the behavior of this lowercase "firefox" process is very strange. It always seems to use massive amounts of resources (to the point where computer heats up and the fan gets loud), and quitting Firefox doesn't do anything to stop "firefox". The only way I know how to stop "firefox" is by Force Quit from Activity Monitor.

Also, I can't tell what this second process is actually doing - force quit doesn't have any noticeable effect on the main "Firefox" process or the computer, except giving the CPU resources back.

more options

Reboot the computer. Then try Firefox again. The problem FF might be a rogue that didn't shut down.