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diff --git a/content/posts/2022/2022-02-14-librewolf.md b/content/posts/2022/2022-02-14-librewolf.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5aa8480 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/2022/2022-02-14-librewolf.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +--- +date: 2022-02-14 +title: Trying out LibreWolf +tags: +- Firefox +- LibreWolf +--- + +Over the past week, I've been trying out [LibreWolf](https://librewolf.net/) as +an alternative to mainline Firefox. I generally don't hold a high opinion on any +"modern" browser to begin with, but Firefox has been the least bad for quite +some time. I used to actually like Firefox, but Mozilla has done their best to +alienate their user base in search for profits, and is eventually left with +neither. Their latest effort in digging their own grave is teaming up with Meta. + +As such, I have been searching for an alternative (modern) browser for a long +time. One major requirement that I've had is to have something like +[uMatrix](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/umatrix/). And +obviously major features to block any and all advertisements, as these are a +major detriment to your own mental health, and to the resources your machine +uses. So, when someone recommended me LibreWolf, which is just a more +user-respecting fork of Firefox, I didn't hesitate to try it out. + +The migration from Firefox to LibreWolf was remarkably simple. Since I use [a +small +wrapper](https://git.tyil.nl/dotfiles/tree/.local/bin/firefox?id=1c8e9b136d9d00decc1d3570fe58072427107148) +to launch Firefox with a specific profile directory, I just had to update that +to launch LibreWolf instead. It kept all my settings, installed add-ons, and even +open tabs. It seems that by default, however, it will use its own directory for +configuration. If you want to try out LibreWolf and have a similar experience, +you can just copy over your old Firefox configuration directory to a new +location for use with LibreWolf. In hindsight, that probably would've been the +safer route for me as well, but it already happened and it all went smooth, so +no losses. + +Now, while LibreWolf is more-or-less like Firefox, but less harmful to its own +users, some of the tweaks made by the LibreWolf team may or may not be desired. +I've taken note of any differences that could be conceived as issues. So far, +they're not breaking for me, but these may be of interest to you if you're +looking to try LibreWolf out as well. + +## HTTP + +By default, LibreWolf will not let you visit sites over HTTP. This is generally +a very nice feature, but for some public hot-spots, this may cause issues. These +are generally completely unencrypted, and LibreWolf will refuse to connect. The +page presented instead will inform you that the page you're trying to visit is +unencrypted, and allow you to make a temporary exception. Not a very big issue, +but it may be a little bit more annoying than you're used to. + +## Add-ons + +While all my add-ons were retained, I did want to get another add-on to redirect +me away from YouTube, to use an Invidious instance. The page for installing +add-ons itself seems to work fine, but upon clicking the Install button, and +accepting the installation, LibreWolf throws an error that it simply failed to +install anything. The Install button is nothing more than a fancy anchor with a +link to the `xpi` file, so you can manually download the file and install the +add-on manually through the [Add-ons Manager](about:addons). + +## Element + +I've been using Matrix for a while, as an atechnical-friendly, open source +platform, for those unwilling to use IRC. Their recommended client, +[Element](https://app.element.io/), is just another web page, because that's +sadly how most software is made these days. The chat itself works without a +hitch, but there are two minor inconveniences compared to my regular Firefox +setup. + +The first one is that LibreWolf does not share my local timezone with the +websites I visit. This causes timestamps to be off by one hour in the Element +client. A very minor issue that I can easily live with. + +The other is that the "default" icons, which is a capital letter with a colored +background, don't look so well. There's some odd artifacts in the icons, which +doesn't seem to affect the letter shown. + + + +## Jellyfin + +For consuming all sorts of media, I have [Jellyfin](https://jellyfin.org/) set +up for personal use. This worked fine in my regular Firefox setup, but does not +seem to be willing to play any videos in LibreWolf. The console logs show some +issues with websockets, and I've not been able to find a good way to work around +this yet. For now, I'll stick to using `mpv` to watch any content to deal with +this issue. + +All in all, I think LibreWolf is a pretty solid browser, and unless I discover +something major to turn me off, I'll keep using it for the foreseeable future. |