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Firefox Datasource

The Firefox datasource extracts browsing history from Firefox's places.sqlite database file, allowing you to index and search your web browsing activity.

Overview

This datasource reads visit data from Firefox's local SQLite database, including:

  • URLs visited
  • Page titles
  • Descriptions (when available)
  • Visit timestamps

The datasource safely creates a temporary copy of the database to avoid conflicts with Firefox when it's running.

Configuration

Basic Configuration

[datasources.firefox-browsing]
type = 'firefox'

[datasources.firefox-browsing.config]
database_path = '/path/to/your/firefox/profile/places.sqlite'

Required Fields

  • database_path: Full path to Firefox's places.sqlite file

Finding Your Firefox Profile

The location of your Firefox profile varies by operating system:

Linux

~/.mozilla/firefox/PROFILE_NAME/places.sqlite

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/PROFILE_NAME/places.sqlite

Windows

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\PROFILE_NAME\places.sqlite

To find your exact profile path:

  1. Open Firefox
  2. Navigate to about:profiles
  3. Look for "Root Directory" under your active profile
  4. The places.sqlite file will be in that directory

Multiple Profiles

You can configure multiple Firefox profiles as separate datasources:

[datasources.firefox-work]
type = 'firefox'

[datasources.firefox-work.config]
database_path = '/home/user/.mozilla/firefox/work.profile/places.sqlite'

[datasources.firefox-personal]
type = 'firefox'

[datasources.firefox-personal.config]
database_path = '/home/user/.mozilla/firefox/personal.profile/places.sqlite'

Usage

Once configured, the Firefox datasource works with all standard ergs commands:

# Fetch browsing history
ergs fetch

# Search your browsing history
ergs search --query "github"

# List recent visits
ergs list --datasource firefox-browsing --limit 10

Data Fields

Each visit record includes:

  • url: The visited URL
  • title: Page title (if available)
  • description: Page description/meta description (if available)
  • visit_date: When the page was visited

Important Notes

  • Database Locks: Close Firefox before running ergs to avoid database locking issues
  • Privacy: Only visits stored in Firefox's history are included; private browsing sessions are not recorded
  • Safety: The datasource creates a temporary copy of your database file, so your original Firefox data is never modified
  • Performance: Large browsing histories may take longer to process initially

Troubleshooting

"Database file does not exist"

  • Verify the path to your Firefox profile
  • Check that the places.sqlite file exists in the specified location
  • Ensure you have read permissions for the file

"Required Firefox tables not found"

  • The database file may be corrupted or from a very old Firefox version
  • Try using a different Firefox profile
  • Verify the file is actually a Firefox database (not Chrome or another browser)

Empty results

  • Check that your Firefox profile has browsing history
  • Verify Firefox is completely closed when running ergs
  • Try running ergs with --debug flag for more detailed logging
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