Waterfox Essentials: Download, Install and Migration, Profiles - Where Waterfox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data

All of the changes you make in Waterfox, such as your home page, what toolbars you use, extensions you have installed, saved passwords and your bookmarks, are stored in a special folder called a profile. Your profile folder is stored in a separate place from the Waterfox program so that, if something ever goes wrong with Waterfox, your information will still be there. It also means that you can uninstall Waterfox without losing your settings and you don’t have to reinstall Waterfox to clear your information or troubleshoot a problem.

How do I find my profile?

• Click the menu button , click Help and select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
• Under the Application Basics section next to Profile Folder, click Open Folder. Your profile folder will open.

Note

If you are unable to open or use Waterfox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Waterfox.

Finding your profile without opening Waterfox

1. Click the Windows Start button, and select Run….

2. Type in: **%APPDATA%\Waterfox\Waterfox\Profiles** then click OK. A window will open containing profile folders.

3. Double-click the profile folder you wish to open. If you only have one profile, its folder would have “default” in the name.

What information is stored in my profile?

Note

This is not a complete list. Only important information is described.

Bookmarks, Downloads and Browsing History:

• places.sqlite This file contains all your Waterfox bookmarks and lists of all the files you’ve downloaded and websites you’ve visited.
• bookmarkbackups This folder stores bookmark backup files, which can be used to restore your bookmarks.
• favicons.sqlite This file contains all of the favicons for your Waterfox bookmarks.

For more information, see Bookmarks in Waterfox and Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer.

Passwords:

• key4.db
• logins.json

Your passwords are stored in these two files. For more information, see Password Manager - Remember, delete and edit logins and passwords in Waterfox.

Site-specific preferences:

• permissions.sqlite
• content-prefs.sqlite

These two files store many of your Waterfox 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:

• search.json.mozlz4 This file stores user-installed search engines. For more information, see Add or remove a search engine in Waterfox.

Personal dictionary:

• persdict.dat This file stores any custom words you have added to Waterfox’s dictionary.

Autocomplete history:

• formhistory.sqlite This file remembers what you have searched for in the Waterfox search bar and what information you’ve entered into forms on websites. For more information, see Control whether Waterfox automatically fills in forms.

Cookies:

• cookies.sqlite 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 this file.

DOM storage:

DOM Storage is designed to provide a larger, more secure, and easier-to-use alternative to storing information in cookies.

• webappsstore.sqlite Information is stored in this file for websites
• chromeappsstore.sqlite This file stores information for about:* pages.

Extensions:

• extensions This folder, if it exists, stores files for any extensions you have installed. To learn more about Waterfox extensions and other add-ons, see Find and install add-ons to add features to Waterfox.

Security certificate settings:

• cert9.db This file stores all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported into Waterfox.

Security device settings:

• pkcs11.txt This file stores security module configuration.

Download actions:

• handlers.json This file stores your preferences that tell Waterfox what to do when it comes across a particular type of file. For example, these are the settings that tell Waterfox to open a PDF file with Acrobat Reader when you click on it. For more information, see Manage file types and download actions in Waterfox.

Stored session:

• sessionstore.jsonlz4 This file stores the currently open tabs and windows. For more information, see Restore previous session - Configure when Waterfox shows your most recent tabs and windows.

Toolbar customization:

• xulstore.json This file stores toolbar and window size/position settings. For more information, see Customize Waterfox controls, buttons and toolbars.

User preferences:

• prefs.js This file stores customized user preference settings, such as changes you make in Waterfox Options dialogs. The optional user.js file, if one exists, will override any modified preferences.

Containers:

• containers.json This file stores the details of containers used by the Container Tabs feature, including those created by extensions such as Facebook Container.

Working with profiles

• Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Waterfox profiles explains how to do things like, create a new profile, set a new default profile, and delete an old profile.
• Recover user data missing after Waterfox update explains how to use the Profile Manager to switch profiles, if multiple profiles exist.
• Back up and restore information in Waterfox profiles explains how to back up and restore a profile. It also explains how to move your profile information to a different location on your hard drive or to another computer.
• Recovering important data from an old profile explains how to copy files to a new profile and includes a list of files that store information useful for recovery.