A reader tipped me about an experimental Firefox feature that allows it to work seamlessly with PWAs, just like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and other Chromium-based browsers.
What’s strange about this feature is that Mozilla originally innovated the ability to run web pages and applications as if they were native applications, using a technology called Prism, which has long since been removed from that browser. But as web apps have become more sophisticated in recent years, Chrome and other browsers have acquired similar features, and Google has an entire platform, called Chrome OS, dedicated to running those apps outside of the normal browser container.
I have long wondered why Mozilla abandoned Prism and discontinued the ability to run web applications as if they were native applications. But it turns out that the company has not given up completely. Mobile versions of Firefox have been able to create web page apps since 2017. And Mozilla started testing a similar approach to providing this functionality on the desktop almost a year ago.
I can’t explain why I didn’t know that (at least the desktop part), but it’s called the Site Specific Browser (SSB) and is here now for those interested in testing it.
“An SSB is an application with a built-in browser designed to work exclusively with a single web application,” explains Mozilla. “It doesn’t have the menus, toolbars and accessories of a normal browser. Some people call it a ‘browser without distractions’ because none of the typical browser chrome is used. An SSB also has tighter integration with the operating system and desktop than a typical web application that runs through a web browser. “
To use SSB with Firefox, you must be running Firefox 73 or later – which will not be difficult, since the latest version is 84 – and you must enable it first. To do this, type about: config in the Firefox address bar and click on the warning. Then type browser.ssb.enabled in the address bar to find the element. It is currently set to false. Use the toggle button on the right to change it to true and restart Firefox.
You can now run any web page (not just PWAs and other web applications) as if it were an application. To do this, navigate to the web page or web application you want to use, click Actions on the page (“…”) in the address bar and choose “Use this website in application mode”.
When you do this, the page / application will appear as a standalone application window and the shortcuts will appear on the desktop and in the Start menu. You can pin this application to the taskbar or to the block area of the Start menu, just like any other application.
To manage the applications you have installed this way, open Firefox, open the menu (hamburger) and choose “Sites in application mode”. You can uninstall any application here by choosing its Uninstall button (“x”).
Thanks to SherlockHolmes for alerting me about this feature.
Tagged with Desktop PWAs, Progressive Web Apps, PWAs