Finding your profile without opening Firefox
Firefox stores your profile folder in this location on your computer, by default: C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\.
Windows hides the AppData folder by default but you can find your profile folder as follows:
Press the Windows Key +R on the keyboard. A Run dialog will open.
Type in: %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ then click OK. A window will open containing profile folders. Double-click the profile folder you wish to open.
If you only have one profile, its folder would have “default” in the name.
Alternatively, you can find your profile by pressing the Windows Key key and then start typing: %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
How do I find my profile on a MAC and PC?
Click the menu button ≡ menu, select “Help” and select “Troubleshooting Information“. The Troubleshooting Information tab will then open.
Under the “Application Basics” section, click on “Open Folder“. This will open the profile folder location.
What information is stored in my profile?
- Bookmarks, Downloads and Browsing History: The places.sqlite file contains all your Firefox bookmarks and lists of all the files you’ve downloaded and websites you’ve visited. The bookmarkbackups folder stores bookmark backup files, which can be used to restore your bookmarks. The favicons.sqlite file contains all of the favicons for your Firefox bookmarks. For more information, see Bookmarks in Firefox and Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer.
- Passwords: Your passwords are stored in the key4.db and logins.json files. For more information, see Password Manager – Remember, delete, change and import saved passwords in Firefox.
- Site-specific preferences: The permissions.sqlite and content-prefs.sqlite files store many of your Firefox permissions (for instance, which sites are allowed to display popups) or zoom levels that are set on a site-by-site basis (see Font size and zoom – increase the size of web pages).
- Search engines: The search.json.mozlz4 file stores user-installed search engines. For more information, see Add or remove a search engine in Firefox.
- Personal dictionary: The persdict.dat file stores any custom words you have added to Firefox’s dictionary. For more information, see How do I use the Firefox spell checker?
- Autocomplete history: The formhistory.sqlite file remembers what you have searched for in the Firefox search bar and what information you’ve entered into forms on websites. For more information, see Control whether Firefox automatically fills in forms.
- Cookies: A cookie is a bit of information stored on your computer by a website you’ve visited. Usually this is something like your site preferences or login status. Cookies are all stored in the cookies.sqlite file.
- DOM storage: DOM Storage is designed to provide a larger, more secure, and easier-to-use alternative to storing information in cookies. Information is stored in the webappsstore.sqlite file for websites and in the chromeappsstore.sqlite for about:* pages.
- Extensions: The extensions folder, if it exists, stores files for any extensions you have installed. To learn more about Firefox extensions and other add-ons, see Find and install add-ons to add features to Firefox.
- Security certificate settings: The cert9.db file stores all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported into Firefox.
- Security device settings: The pkcs11.txt file stores security module configuration.
- Download actions: The handlers.json file stores your preferences that tell Firefox what to do when it comes across a particular type of file. For example, these are the settings that tell Firefox to open a PDF file with Acrobat Reader when you click on it. For more information, see Change what Firefox does when you click on or download a file.
- Stored session: The sessionstore.jsonlz4 file stores the currently open tabs and windows. For more information, see Restore previous session – Configure when Firefox shows your most recent tabs and windows.
- Toolbar customization: The xulstore.json file stores toolbar and window size/position settings. For more information, see Customize Firefox controls, buttons and toolbars.
- User preferences: The prefs.js file stores customized user preference settings, such as changes you make in Firefox Options dialogs. The optional user.js file, if one exists, will override any modified preferences.