I use Firefox (LibreWolf with Mozilla sync) on multiple devices. To have my tabs, extensions and history easy available I use Mozilla for syncing that data.
Would it be possible to just use a generic sync service like rsync or something, to sync the profile folders and every file in it?
Or would that break or corrupt data?
In theory yes, in reality I just couldn’t make it work. The browser just writes way too much data to the profile dir, and it’s all across tiny files which depending on your sync solution makes things really slow.
And on a setup like this, you’re limited to only using the browser on one device at a time, otherwise it blows up with sync conflicts, so you can’t use your laptop and desktop at the same time, for example.Nowadays I just copy my profile once to a new device (because FF Sync doesn’t bring over extension settings or the Toolbar layout at all for some reason) then continue using Sync for bookmarks and history.
Thnx, so practically not doable. Also file and directory structure differs between PC and Android adding further to the problem.
An article was posted recently that you can host the Firefox sync server yourself. Supposedly a bit fiddly, but doable. If you’re considering self hosting something anyway, might as well be the right tool for the job.
Hope these help:
Yeah I justed edited my answer, because OP needs to sync everything (Tabs, History, extensions…)
https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs
Is the newer version rewritten in rust ! And probably OPs best bet :)
Will check this out, thanks!
Keep in mind though that with Firefox Sync, all your data is encrypted, whereas a generic sync of your profile folder will have all that data on your sync server without encryption.
Fair point, so I need to trust this server or control it myself etc.
I do use Syncthing one way sync to a server to sync the whole Firefox directory and it does work quiet well !
I already did a backup test and It works without data loss. However, not sure this is a great way to accomplish this task… Why? Because while in use your Browser writes a lot of data and could potentially cause sync issues, specially it’s databases.
A better way would be to sync all your bookmarks to a WebDAV server with floccus and save your LibreWolf override.cfg
The downside is that you need to reinstall and reconfigure your addons, haven’t found a satisfactory solution for those :/
Edit: Maybe a better solution in your case would be to make an automated daily backup of your user directory while your browser is not in use.
Edit2: However not sure your tabs are getting saved that way !
Thanks!
Must admit … I realise now I am tweaking something I got used to, but going back to why and all … because I do use Floccus icw my own NextCloud instance. But mainly for long-term-archival-avalability and for laptop devices, because Floccus doesnt sync Firefox Android. So from mobile its this:
- Firefox Android add a bookmark
- Sync Firefox Android with Mozilla
- Back at laptop, sync with Mozilla.
- Follow up with Floccus sync on laptop …
At the moment:
- Bookmarks: Floccus sort of
- History: maybe I dont need it if I bookmark more but still usefull …
- Open Tabs: cant live without it
- Adresses: Turned on, but not a knock out,
- Payment: Bitwarden data
- Add-ons: This is very convenient but not a knock out criteria, could just maintain documentation (a list with sources).
- Passwords: Bitwarden sync
So, the focus would be syncing Open Tabs and History …
because Floccus doesnt sync Firefox Android.
You sure about that? From memory It did work with floccus (though it does it in a weird way).
Open Tabs: cant live without it.
Yeah that’s probably the tricky part in your workflow ! Not sure if syncing your directory will keep the open tabs. Though I may be wrong here because I personally don’t use that functionality !
Yeah maybe my instructions are ment for backups rather than keeping a workflow in sync with all your devices. Sorry for my bad reading skills !
Dunno if a self-hosted Firefox sync does sync Open Tabs between devices, if it does It’s probably your best bet !Also, syncing your whole profile between Desktop/laptop and your phone won’t work that easily… They behave very differently and do not have the same directory structure/files on your phone.
Edit: Here’s the self-hosted Mozilla Sync storage server
https://github.com/mozilla-services/syncstorage-rs
After skimming through the docs it seems to sync everything (bookmarks, tabs, history, extensions…)
You sure about that? From memory It did work with floccus (though it does it in a weird way).
Floccus for Android is a local standalone app, usefull but doesnt read / write to Firefox Android bookmarks …
Yeah maybe my instructions are ment for backups rather than keeping a workflow in sync with all your devices. Sorry for my bad reading skills !
Appreciated still, I backup with restic but indeed these are usefull for backup.
Also, syncing your whole profile between Desktop/laptop and your phone won’t work that easily… They behave very differently and do not have the same directory structure/files on your phone.
This, for me, is the real answer to “Is filebased sync for Firefox possible?”! Because in a pc / smartphone scenario those apps cant work then with each others directories, thanks!
You can self host Firefox sync although it’s a pain. Or you can sync only bookmarks using an extension like xbrowsersync or floccus. Otherwise using the official Firefox sync is the best option.
XBrowserSync and Floccus don’t sync to local files, unless you self-host the server or a webDAV respectively.
Lofloccus makes it easy to spawn a local webDAV server (making Floccus save your bookmarks to local files) which I can then sync with rsync or Syncthing or whatever system I already like. It’s only available for Windows and MacOS though.
Also can easily run a local webdav server with SFTPGo on Linux/BSD/OSX/Windows: https://docs.sftpgo.com/latest/installation/
Or use it directly with your devices to sync instead of going through syncthing.
I’d suggest weekly system image backups and daily differential/incrementals. A couple of minutes a day saves everything (and you will sleep soundly)
I would love to see something like that. I started self hosting Firefox sync, but it’s not working too well and I don’t have the time to troubleshoot and test things.
