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.

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

Keyword for search engines in Firefox 57 and 58 (and what does it mean if they are checked off)?

more options

Hello! With Firefox >57 the way search engines are added and managed has changed. New search eninges are added as plugins (i.e. qwant or startpage). Aside from the qwant plugin which defines "q" as the keyword for a search all other keywords in the list are empty and I have found no way in the settings to add a keyword for Google, Startpage and Duckduckgo. All articles discussing this seem to be for pre-57 Firefoxes. So how can I define a keyword for the search engines listed in settings? And what does it mean if they are "checked off" in front of their name (I have found no functional difference)? Thanks for a reply Moriarty

Hello! With Firefox >57 the way search engines are added and managed has changed. New search eninges are added as plugins (i.e. qwant or startpage). Aside from the qwant plugin which defines "q" as the keyword for a search all other keywords in the list are empty and I have found no way in the settings to add a keyword for Google, Startpage and Duckduckgo. All articles discussing this seem to be for pre-57 Firefoxes. So how can I define a keyword for the search engines listed in settings? And what does it mean if they are "checked off" in front of their name (I have found no functional difference)? Thanks for a reply Moriarty

All Replies (2)

more options

If you shut the keyword off, it won't be used. To add keywords, double click on the field under keyword, that will allow you to make your own keyword for a particular search engine. Does this help you?

more options

In case you need a visual to go with that explanation, here's a screenshot I marked up.

<center></center>