July 9, 2010, 12:35 p.m.
posted by redcraft
Start Up from the Command Line
You can start Firefox without using the mouse.
How is Firefox started? This hack describes all the command-line options. To see
command-line options, most technical people instinctively open a
command-line window, such as an xterm (Linux) or
an MS-DOS or cmd window (Windows). Then they type
program /? or
program --help,
depending on the operating system. The latter option works everywhere
except in Windows, because Firefox doesn't provide
console-based help there. So Windows is a special case: help
information isn't automatically spat out there. To
see command-line options on Windows, you have to go further with a
DOS or cmd box. On Windows, start up a command
line (Start
ProgramsMS-DOS Prompt) and follow
these steps:
C: cd "Program Files" cd Firefox firefox --help > help.txt type help.txt
The help options will appear in the newly created file help.txt. This advice goes for all options that provide command-line output, such as -version. You don't need to redirect anything on other platforms.
On Windows, you can use / (forward slash) or // (double forward slash) as the command-line switch prefix. On all platforms, Firefox-specific options can be preceded with - (minus) or -- (minus, minus). These two command lines are the same on Windows, but only the first one will work on Linux:
firefox -console --jsconsole http://www.example.com firefox --console /jsconsole http://www.example.com
On Unix/Linux, some X11 options are supported. X11 X resources aren't supported, because the Unix/Linux port uses the Gtk configuration system. Figure describes the user-oriented options.
|
Option |
Windows? |
Unix/Linux? |
Macintosh? |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General options | ||||
-h, -help |
Y |
Y |
Y |
State command-line help and exit. |
-v, -version |
Y |
Y |
Y |
State Firefox version and exit. |
|
Browser options | ||||
URL |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Display a browser showing this URL. |
-height X |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Specify window height in pixels. |
-width X |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Specify window width in pixels. |
-edit |
N |
N |
N |
Support for old Composer; does nothing by default. |
-inspector |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start the DOM Inspector window. |
-jsconsole |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start the JavaScript Console window. |
-register |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Re-register the set of chrome packages. |
-safe-mode |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start without any extensions or plug-ins and stick to the default theme. Use as a last resort. |
-install-global-extension "{UUID}" |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Move the extension with registration number UUID from the profile area to the install area. |
-install-global-theme "{UUID}" |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Move the theme with registration number UUID from the profile area to the install area. |
-list global-items |
Y |
Y |
Y |
List extensions and themes added to the install area. |
-lock-item "{UUID}" |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Lock the extension or theme with this UUID so that the user can't delete it via the user interface. |
-unlock-item "{UUID}" |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Unlock the extension or theme with this UUID so that the user can delete it via the user interface. |
|
Mozilla options | ||||
-chrome D |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start up a plain, chromeless window and display the document at URL D. |
-installer |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Migrate data from other browsers on startup. |
-P Foo |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start up with profile Foo, or with the Profile manager if that profile doesn't exist. |
-SelectProfile |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start up with the profile selection dialog box. |
-CreateProfile "prof dir" |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Auto-create a profile named prof in directory dir and make it the current profile. dir defaults to "." |
-ProfileWizard |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start up with the Profile Wizard and step the user through profile creation. |
-ProfileManager |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start up with the Profile Manager. On Mac OS X, Option-double-click Firefox. |
-UILocale L |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start with language locale L string labels for XUL content (toolbars and menus) |
-contentLocale C |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Start with content locale C string labels for displayed pages' content. |
|
Windows options | ||||
-kill |
Y |
N |
N |
Stop any running Firefox instance. |
-console |
Y |
N |
N |
Tie any stdout and stderr output to a simple text window and display that as well. |
|
Unix/Linux/X11/Gtk options | ||||
--g-fatal-warnings |
N |
Y |
N |
All warnings kill Firefox. |
--display=X |
N |
Y |
N |
Choose the X11 display X. |
--sync |
N |
Y |
N |
Synchronize all X11 calls. |
--no-xshm |
N |
Y |
N |
Don't use X shared memory extension. |
--install |
N |
Y |
N |
Give Firefox a private Gtk colormap. |
|
See Also
For the more detailed programmatic command-line options, search for the DumpHelp() function at http://lxr.mozilla.org. For Unix/Linux specifically, consider also this URL: http://www.mozilla.org/unix/remote.html.
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