How to Perform Remote Firefox Debugging

Firefox comprises 7% of the overall browser market share (as of publication date) and is the fourth most popular browser used globally. While the number mentioned above might suggest that one can avoid optimizing or debugging their websites for Firefox, this is not the case.

Firefox has significant brand recognition and it is still one of the most recognizable browsers in the world. To provide a truly inclusive experience, a web app must be tested and debugged for Firefox. Doing so also establishes brand credibility by offering a more browser-agnostic experience.

With easy cross browser testing options available, there is no point in missing out on optimizing websites for Firefox users. Not doing so will cause a site to miss out on revenue and traffic they could easily gain with a little extra effort.

A previous article demonstrated how one can remotely debug websites on Chrome. Similarly, this article will demonstrate how developers or QAs can perform remote debugging on Firefox.

Remote Debugging on Firefox for Websites

Before we get started, let us first understand what is remote debugging in Firefox. Remote debugging is the process of connecting to a remote Firefox browser across different operating systems and debug them.

BrowserStack’s real device cloud enables developers and QAs to remotely debug websites on real Firefox browsers(multiple versions) instantly without any complex setup.

Developers and QAs get instant access to Firefox (version 3 – version 89) running on the latest and legacy versions of Windows and macOS. Additionally, developers get instant access to Firefox DevTools on their chosen Browser-OS combination. This makes it easy for them to remotely debug websites on Firefox.

Follow the steps below to get started with remote debugging on Firefox:

1. Signup for a free trial on BrowserStack Live.
2. Log in. Navigate to the Live dashboard.
3. Choose the desired OS platform to test on (Windows, macOS). Let’s consider Windows 8 as an example in this case.
4. Select the version of Firefox on which the website needs to be debugged.
5. A new Live session will be initiated for Firefox (version 89) in a real Windows 10 environment.
6. Navigate to the website that needs to be tested (In this case, Google) and start debugging using Firefox DevTools.

Open Firefox DevTools by pressing the shortcut -> F12 on Windows or Cmd + option + I for macOS. One can also right-click and select the Inspect Element feature to initialize DevTools.

That’s how effortlessly one can debug on Firefox (multiple versions of Firefox) directly from their browsers without any complex setup. As developers and testers get remote access to Firefox DevTools operating in real user conditions, debugging JavaScript, HTML, and CSS on specific Firefox versions becomes faster, effortless, and more efficient.

Try Testing on Firefox

It’s critical to bear in mind that web users across the globe use different versions of Firefox to access the internet. It’s not possible for every user to migrate to the latest versions immediately, every time a new version is released. Consequently, it becomes very important for developers to ensure that their website is optimized for both the latest and earlier versions of Firefox.

Without an easily accessible cloud-based testing infrastructure, remote debugging on Firefox for Windows and macOS would require a real device lab. Needless to say, such device labs demand significant financial investment. Additionally, updating and maintaining device labs is an effort-intensive task. Adopting a real device cloud provides a cost-effective and convenient alternative by cutting out those overheads entirely.

BrowserStack’s extensive cloud infrastructure empowers testers by providing them with the ability to test on Firefox remotely. Teams do not need to worry about investing huge amounts or setting up complex device labs. They just need to sign up for free, choose the desired operating system, the required Firefox version and start testing their website.