Get started with Firefox - An overview of the main features

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Welcome to Firefox! We'll show you all the basics to get you up and running. When you're ready to go beyond the basics, check out the other links for features you can explore later.

New Tab page: great content at your fingertips

By default, Firefox gives you access to great content every time you open a new tab. Customize this page by hovering over the sections and thumbnails or click the cogwheel Fx88NewTabCogwheel iconPersonalize buttongear Fx89Personalize-GearIcon icon at the top right corner of the New Tab page for more options.

new tab page 57New Tab Fx89Fx90NewTab

Want to learn more? See New Tab page in Firefox.

Search everything with the unified search/address bar

Whether you know the exact web address or you're just searching, Firefox's address bar handles it all. Firefox's unified search and address bar gives you suggestions based on your existing bookmarks and tags, history, open tabs, and popular searches. Just start typing in a search term or web address and watch the magic happen!

awesome bar 57Fx89AutocompleteDropdownFx96 Address bar autocomplete

To learn more search tricks, see Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox.

Page Actions menu: Bookmark, snap, save or share

Found a great web page? Save it or share it! The Page Actions menu in the address bar lets you bookmark web pages, pin tabs, copy or email links, take screenshots, and send pages to your phone or to your Pocket list so you can read them whenever and wherever you want.

Fx80PageActions

Bookmark a page

Found a great web page you want to save? To create a bookmark, click the star in the address bar:

Fx89 bookmarks star address bar

The box that opens lets you give your bookmark a name and choose where to save it. You can keep it just a click away by saving it to the Bookmarks Toolbar, or save it for later in the Bookmarks Menu.

For more, see the bookmarks article.

Private Browsing with Enhanced Tracking Protection: Browse fast and free

Browse the Internet without saving any information on your computer about which sites and pages you’ve visited. Firefox will also block creepy trackers that follow your behavior across the Web.

  • Click the menu button Fx57Menu and then click New Private Window. (Tip: You can also right-clickcontrol + click on a link on a web page, then click Open Link in New Private Window.)
private mask 57 winprivate mask 57private mask 57 linuxFx96 Win11 private mask
See Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history, Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop and SmartBlock for Enhanced Tracking Protection to learn more.

Keep your Firefox in sync

Set up a Firefox account, so you can take your browsing information with you wherever you go. Click the menu button Fx57Menu, choose Sign in to Firefox and follow the instructions to create your account. Then sign in to the newly-created account on your other devices, and that's it!

For detailed instructions, see How do I set up Sync on my computer?

Customize the menu or the toolbar

We've streamlined the toolbar with the most popular features, but Firefox has even more features tucked away. Take a peek!

  1. Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, then click More tools and select Customize Toolbar…
  2. Drag and drop the features you want onto your toolbar or the panel on the right.
    customize drag 57Fx89 Customize drag
  3. When you are done, click the Done button.
To learn more, see the Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars article.

Add features to Firefox with add-ons

Add-ons are like apps that you can install to make Firefox work the way you want.

  1. Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, click Add-ons and themes and select Recommendations.
  2. To install a recommended add-on, click the blue + Install Theme or + Add to Firefox button, depending on the type of add-on.

At the bottom of the list of recommended add-ons, there's also a Find more add-ons button you can click. It will take you to addons.mozilla.org where you can search for specific add-ons.

To learn more about add-ons, see Find and install add-ons to add features to Firefox.

Tip: Some add-ons place a button in the toolbar after installation. You can remove those or move them into the menu if you want – see Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars.

Get help

If you have more questions or ever need help with Firefox, you're on the right website.

  • This site has hundreds of Firefox articles that cover many of the questions you might have.
  • You can also get help from the Mozilla community, by asking a question on the support forum. See Get community support.