ffssb

ffssb is a tool to create firefox site specific browser's. It turns any web page into a desktop application with firefox.

It's similar in functionality to chrome's Application shortcuts or the ssb feature that existed in firefox, but got removed.

Ssb allow to take advantage of that many common tools have competent web versions. It makes it possible to avoid installing proprietary desktop apps (that will usually run as a web based election apps anyway).

In linux it can sometimes be better supported since web versions seems to be better maintained than the desktop alternatives.

Supports linux, tested on fedora with gnome.

Getting started

Install

The easiest way to get started:

git clone https://github.com/sebastianappler/ffssb
make && make install

You can also specify an alternate Python binary:

git clone https://github.com/sebastianappler/ffssb
PYTHON_BIN="$(which python3)" make && make install

Finally, it's also possible to run the python script directly:

pip install -r requirements.txt
python ffssb.py <cmd>

Create ssb

To create a ssb run:

ffssb create hn https://news.ycombinator.com/ --display-name "Hacker News"

Then search for "Hacker News" in your applications (press Super-key, start typing) and start it. Alternatively, launch the ssb from the command line by typing:

ffssb launch hn

To show more commands:

ffssb --help
ffssb <cmd> --help

How does it work

ffssb takes advantage of firefox profiles and the --no-remote flag in firefox cli. When creating a new ssb it copies the current profile into a new one. Then creates a desktop entry that can be started with the profile as a separate instance. Because of this, it's safe to customize the ssb instance without affecting other firefox profiles.

It also takes advantage of the user chrome feature to make it look cleaner and more suitable as a stand-alone application. This can be disabled with the --no-user-chrome flag.

Q & A

Why not just open a tab and drag it to a new window?

For programs that's used frequently it's easier to open them by name as a separate app from the os.

It's also easier to switch between separated apps than to find it in a tab in a browser window. Compare it to open an IDE as a browser tab or as it's own app.

Known limitations

Links

At the moment links in ssb will be opened inside the ssb instance. There's some workarounds but it requires to install a client application check e.g External Application Button