How to Overwrite Remote Cloud Firefox Sync with Local

[bedHedd]

background

Has this ever happened to you?

firefox signed me out and cleared my extension settings on my laptop

whoops I just signed into firefox on a fresh profile and just wiped all my remote cloud sync settings

Have no fear, this guide is here for you!

steps to fix the problem

assumptions

This guide will be helpful if you have:

1. another offline computer with your desired settings
   OR
2. your profile backed up locally

how to backup your profile locally

1. navigate to about:profiles
2. click on root directory outlined in red
   
   
3. go up one directory and look for the folder that has your profile name. In my case, it’s vt3nzbcd.default
4. copy that directory to another folder
5. you’re done!

the steps

1. access your local backup or offline computer
   a. if you are accessing a offline computer, login to your computer and disconnect your computer from the internet. Back up your profile using the steps above. With your backup created, connect back to the internet
   b. if you already have a local back up, open the containing directory and prepare it to be copied. In the off chance that the cloud sync is triggered, we have a backup we can fall back to.
2. navigate to the sync section of the settings
   • settings > sync
   • 
   • 
3. disconnect the sync without signing out
   • Under Sync Items click Change
   • 
   • When the menu shows up, click Disconnect
   • 
   • you’ll be warned that local settings will be maintained, go ahead and click the blue disconnect button
   • 
   • your screen should look like this
   • 
4. wait a minute or two for the changes to apply
5. after waiting click the Turn on Syncing
   • 
   • you’ll be prompted to select what items to sync, click Save Changes if you are fine with the selection
   • 
   • your screen will look like this as the sync gets pushed to remote
   • 
6. Assuming nothing went wrong your extensions should be synchronized

help I was signed out before and clicked sign out instead of disconnect

don’t worry, that’s why I wrote the step to backup a local copy. I’ve made the same mistake before

bedHedd's blog because discourse > twitter

more firefox debugging, a draft of a guide coming soon update on these instructions so turns out I forgot that signing out and in != disconnecting. Also mozilla devs must have moved the disconnect button. [image] [image] Unfortunately I was signed out, so I couldn’t change the settings. The solution was to back up my local config, sign in,…

this is actually the reason why I wrote this guide, so that I can refer back if I forget.

1. sign back into firefox/librewolf
2. within the sync settings disable Add-ons and Settings. then Save Changes
   • 
3. quit out of firefox/librewolf
   • 
4. using your backup, copy your backup folder and replace the one within firefox/librewolf folder
5. start up firefox/librewolf
   • if you’re settings are restored then you can stop here
6. click Sign in to sync...
   • 
7. you’ll be redirected to the mozilla accounts page. Sign in
   • when prompted with the warning click Continue
   • 
8. confirm that your settings and extension configs were loaded
9. with the config and settings set, go back to the sync settings to re-enable addons and settings so that it gets pushed to the remote
   • 
10. you’re done!

help I disconnected the settings and I’m prompted to sign back in

similar to the previous section, only you are disconnected from the sync

1. copy the backup folder and replace the current profile
2. in another floating window have your network menu ready to disconnect the internet
3. navigate to the sync settings, click Sign in
   • 
4. when prompted to sign in, sign in
5. upon signing in, immediately disable the internet (to prevent the local copy from getting overwritten by the remote)
6. navigate to the sync settings, disable addons and settings
   • click Change
     • 
   • similar to the previous section’s instruction to disable Add-ons and Settings see the screenshot below for the specific settings to disable
     • 
7. turn internet back on. and sync the settings using the Sync Now button
   • 
8. once firefox has synced the changes, turn the settings back on and resync it using the Sync Now button again
   • 
9. confirm the desired settings are back, if so, you are done!

Other helpful resources

Force sync all Firefox installations/clients

bedHedd's blog because discourse > twitter

Had a issue when setting up Firefox container tabs where my local accidentally overwrote my remote. Fortunately, I had a computer that was 1 version behind. This was a good guide to overwrite the remote firefox sync with the local Specifically this section

https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/qymga9/where_are_all_the_extension_settings_stored/