Firefox has recently moved forward in its development by adding support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), a feature that users have been requesting for years. If you are using a recent build of Firefox Nightly, you can activate an experimental feature called Taskbar Tabs by enabling a hidden flag in the about:config settings.
Enabling Web App Support
To enable this feature, you’ll need to set the flag browser.taskbarTabs.enabled to true. However, at this stage, turning on the flag does not yet result in any visible changes across platforms, indicating that while the feature is in the pipeline, it’s still a work in progress.
What to Expect
According to Firefox’s product manager, David Rubino, the aim of this feature is to provide an app-like experience for any website without losing the core functionalities of the browser. Unlike other browsers, Firefox’s approach will maintain the standard browser interface rather than provide a stripped-down app framework.
Users can expect the following core functionalities from web apps in Firefox:
- Independent launcher icons that can be found in application menus or taskbars.
- Persistent sessions with web apps remaining open until explicitly closed by the user.
- Link handling, where clicking a link will open it in the associated web app instead of a new tab in the main browser.
Rubino also noted that any regular tab can transition into ‘web app mode’ if the user opts for it, making link association more streamlined, similar to mobile experiences.
A Cautious Development
While Firefox’s plans for integrating PWAs sound promising, some observers feel that the approach could come off as minimalistic compared to the more comprehensive integrations seen in Chromium-based browsers. Nonetheless, it is still a significant move for Firefox, demonstrating their commitment to improving user experience with web apps.
For those interested in trying it out, keep an eye on the Firefox Nightly updates as the feature progresses, even if there isn’t much to see right now.
Are you excited about the potential web app support, or have you been indifferent to its development? Let us know your thoughts!