Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

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.

Search Support

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.

Learn More

Always show tabs, always show close tab (x)

  • 7 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by riquez

more options

Hi there, I am coming back to Firefox after about 10 years. I would really like to customise how TABS work because I find the default behaviour disorientating.

Can you help me with the following? 1) I would like the tab bar to ALWAYS be shown, even if there is only one tab. 2) I would like the (x) to close tabs to always be shown, not just when you hover over them with the mouse. I find this confusing because I don't know where the close button is until i mouse over the tab; since the size of the tabs is always different & the border between tabs is hard to see. or if there was some way to keep tabs to a standard width that would be welcome too.

Are these things possible?

Hi there, I am coming back to Firefox after about 10 years. I would really like to customise how TABS work because I find the default behaviour disorientating. Can you help me with the following? 1) I would like the tab bar to ALWAYS be shown, even if there is only one tab. 2) I would like the (x) to close tabs to always be shown, not just when you hover over them with the mouse. I find this confusing because I don't know where the close button is until i mouse over the tab; since the size of the tabs is always different & the border between tabs is hard to see. or if there was some way to keep tabs to a standard width that would be welcome too. Are these things possible?

Chosen solution

I don't know what the issue was but I removed & reinstalled Firefox & now the whole app looks different. The tabs are shown just as I wanted & the tab bar it as the top now. Its odd... The version is still v91.0 Firefox was included with the OS, so this re-install is my first actual requested install.

if you compare the screenshots, there's a dramatic difference, the icons are different & everything. oh well, I don't need to worry about it anymore, but very odd why that happened.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (7)

more options

In a new tab enter about:config in the url bar, accept the risk, find the following preference and change it to false. browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab

For close buttons, this answer may help. I have banned them. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1341968

more options

See also these prefs:

  • browser.tabs.tabClipWidth
  • browser.tabs.tabMinWidth
more options

Thanks Terry. I am fine with CSS so I should be able to figure out the close button as I require. Thank for pointing me in the right direction.

The about:config setting didn't appear to have any effect however, the tab bar is still not visible unless I have 2+ tabs

more options

Perhaps I see the tab bar because of css I am using. The tab bar is present with one tab if I open a new window. The width preferences may make a difference. Can you show a screenshot?

more options

TerryN21 said

Can you show a screenshot?

Yes of course. Here are screenshots with 1 tab, & then 2 tabs. (Firefox v.91.0, Manjaro Linux v21.1) As you can see, no tab/tab bar is visible when only one tab is open, but with two tabs it shows both.

Modified by riquez

more options

Thanks. I hope someone can help. There used to be a preference in Preferences (now Settings) but it has gone. Again, css may be the answer.

more options

Chosen Solution

I don't know what the issue was but I removed & reinstalled Firefox & now the whole app looks different. The tabs are shown just as I wanted & the tab bar it as the top now. Its odd... The version is still v91.0 Firefox was included with the OS, so this re-install is my first actual requested install.

if you compare the screenshots, there's a dramatic difference, the icons are different & everything. oh well, I don't need to worry about it anymore, but very odd why that happened.