How do I permanently set Firefox snap as default browser?

Question

I've recently upgraded to Kubuntu 22.04. I've attempted several times to set Firefox as the default browser in about:preferences without success. I select 'Make default', then 'yes' to 'Allow settings change', but the message, 'Firefox is not your default browser' persists.

I've come across the following ticket about this same issue. If I'm reading it correctly it was fixed four years ago.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1444313

Does this answer your question? Kubuntu 18.04 can't set default web browser and How do I change my default browser? — karel, May 05 '22 at 18:04
It's a known bug. Three workarounds are offered by Snap developers https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/firefox-snap-cannot-be-set-as-default-browser/26636 until the bug is fixed. — user535733, May 05 '22 at 20:02
That is normal behaviour of snap and flatpak firefoxes. They won't check if they are the default browser though when starting up. — Joepie Es, May 05 '22 at 20:20

smonff · Answer 1 · 2023-08-11T09:11:09.290

2023-08-11 edit: I guess this is solved on the Snap side, for sure on Ubuntu 22.04.* and more.

There is a PPA from Mozilla existing. You can follow this procedure to remove the snap and replace it by the Mozilla .deb.

It would solve the default browser issue by reverting you to the old package system, although the main snap problem still need to be solved on Snapcraft side.

Note: I am aware that it doesn't solve anything. From a user-centric point of view, it is the simplest method to make Firefox the default browser. I have nothing against snaps, and use them for many applications that are not available through packages. But Ubuntu's Firefox snap is just not well integrated yet. Hopefully, this situation won't last long.

Thank you @smonff, I will give it a try. – ArthurDent May 06 '22 at 15:35 — ArthurDent, May 06 '22 at 15:35

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 09 '22 at 16:42

3

You can set it in the Settings app under

answered Oct 09 '22 at 16:42

isapir

513

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 06 '22 at 07:46

1

The comment from user535733 deserves more visibility, in my opinion.

The update-alternatives mechanism is not yet integrated with snaps and don't know if there are plans for the near future.

According to the snapcraft forum, firefox can be set as default browser, using three alternative methods:

from firefox itself, browsing to about:preferences and clicking the “Set default” button
in a terminal, running xdg-settings set default-web-browser firefox_firefox.desktop
in a GNOME desktop environment (not applicable in the OP specific use case), running gnome-control-center default-apps and selecting the entry for the firefox snap there.

answered May 06 '22 at 07:46

Lorenz Keel

8,905

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried the first two without success. – ArthurDent May 06 '22 at 15:29
1

Didn't work for me under Plasma either. – smonff May 06 '22 at 15:59
worked for me with KUbuntu – atsu85 Aug 14 '22 at 10:55

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 05 '22 at 07:03

I faced the same issue. I think it is caused by two bugs in Firefox (snap package). I worked around it by:

Open preferences / go to about:preferences in Firefox
Disable "Always check if Firefox is your default browser", because Firefox (snap package) doesn't properly recognize if Firefox is set as default (Bug 1).

Checking "Don't ask me again" in the prompt on Firefox startup will also not disable this (Bug 2).

You might verify success e.g. by:

type xdg-settings get default-web-browser in the terminal
enter http://example.org in the file browser (Dolphin) address bar
…

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 10 '22 at 07:38

1

I had the same issue (installing ubuntu 22.04, but using my old home directory from ubuntu 21.10). Solution: Go to system settings --> standard applications --> standard applications --> Webbrowser. Change it from "Firefox" to "Firefox Web Browser" by using "other..." and search for "Firefox Web Browser" in the "internet"-section.

edited Aug 10 '22 at 07:38

smonff

498

answered Aug 08 '22 at 18:03

user1621490

11
1

That way, for example when clicking on a web address in Konsole, instead of seeing an error about not finding /usr/bin/firefox... Firefox (which is in /snap/bin/firefox) is launched. OK. – Ganton Sep 23 '22 at 09:49

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered May 05 '22 at 17:08

0

You may use the command line:

sudo update-alternatives –config x-www-browser

And select Firefox as the default browser.

answered May 05 '22 at 17:08

dlazesz

65

This parameter is not available anymore on 22.04. – smonff May 05 '22 at 18:59
4

update-alternatives is for deb packages. It won't work with Snaps. – user535733 May 05 '22 at 20:02

How do I permanently set Firefox snap as default browser?

6 Answers6