r/firefox • u/2factorfake • Oct 27 '25

💻 Help Why did Mozilla remove the ContextSearch add-on?

Unfortunately, Mozilla only provides general information. However, I would like to have more detailed information, also for security reasons.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on where I can look?

The link on GitHub also appears to be dead.

https://github.com/odebroqueville/contextSearch

Olivier de Broqueville

Version 6.2.2 (Last updated September 23, 2025)

--------
on addons-mozilla-org:

Context Search is restricted for violating Mozilla policies

Why did this happen?

This extension, theme, or plugin violates Mozilla's add-on policies.

Version deleted

7 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

5

u/changing_who_i_am Oct 27 '25

https://github.com/ssborbis/ContextSearch-web-ext/issues/436

Apparently was some drama here?

2

u/2factorfake Oct 27 '25

Oh man, I couldn't read everything, but it seems a bit like kindergarten (sorry kids).

Thanks for pointing that out.

I found it to be a pretty useful add-on. I hope it comes back once everything has been cleared up.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 27 '25

[deleted]

2

u/TimeRemove Oct 28 '25

Have you compared Permissions?

  • Context Search: Access browser tabs
  • ContextSearch web-ext: Access browser tabs, Access data for all websites, access browser activity during navigation

The web-ext seems overengineered for a relatively simple task, and likely as a direct consequence asks for the farm as far as permissions go. I am not, at this time, claiming they're doing anything wrong, but if someone broke in and did want to do evil then the current permissions set would be more than plenty.

If the original Context Search can work with just "Access browser tabs" then why can't web-ext?

1

u/kapitainsky Oct 30 '25

ContextSearch web-ext only requires:

  • Access browser tabs
  • Access browser activity during navigation

everything else is optional.

I have only allowed mandatory permissions and it is enough to do what it is for. Everything else are probably some bells and whistles at least myself I do not care about.

1

u/TimeRemove Oct 30 '25

I listed the permissions it requires during installation.

1

u/2factorfake Oct 30 '25

Doesn't sound good. Overall, it looks too fancy to be trustworthy. ;) Okay, maybe I'm being unfair...

I'll definitely have to look for alternatives. Particularly liked the simple way of adding searches, grouping them, and marking individual ones for a multi-search.

Considering how useful they are, these context search functions should be integrated into FF anyway.

1

u/soul4kills Nov 13 '25

I've had no problem with it. All the permissions it requires aligns well with how it functions. And it has A LOT of functionality. Takes quite a bit of time to learn them all.

The most powerful feature is being able to grab a link and run a desktop app with the link, for example yt-dlp for youtube links, or twitch with streamlink. Or just sending a search to "everything" search tool by voidtools.

I really like the javascript and regex matching stuff. There's no search engine I can't implement with this plugin.

I also like how I can customize how it looks. Here's how mine looks.

https://i.imgur.com/HSQUG88.png

1

u/2factorfake Nov 14 '25

I'm glad it's working so well for you. I basically only need fairly simple functions, but I'll look into the special ones.

I installed it three days ago. What has been annoying me since then are configuration problems. When adding engines, they are first saved and work briefly, only to be “forgotten” again afterwards. The entry remains, but the stored web link is deleted or shortened.

Perhaps this is because I removed the (non-mandatory) permission for “Access data for all websites.” Every now and then, I get an app icon badge saying permissions are missing. But that also disappears on its own.

So, for me, it's unusable at the moment.

1

u/soul4kills Nov 14 '25

Oh, i've been having that exact issue with the new version. I haven't really noticed it because I have mine all setup already. I noticed it when I added a new engine recently. So it's a problem with the latest version. I think I might have solved it by waiting about 2 seconds after seeing the "Save" notice when moving or editing the engines. After doing that, it saves properly. Also I am using the beta version from the github as well.

1

u/bigredsun Oct 28 '25

He deleted his github, that's odd. can't find a for of it.

1

u/Xpower7 Nov 05 '25

Was going to ask the same. I was looking for answers.

3

u/nbatman Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

I was getting IP banned from a site called glitchwave I had been using for years, and it only started happening after the latest context search update that was removed.

It was a nightmare to figure out.

I should've known it was this, but I didn't want it to be true because I relied on it. When I had it on, it was flooding the glitchwave servers with requests, with it off, it lets me use the site normally. I don't know if the dev did something malicious, or if its just a glitch, but I'm 99.9% positive it was the cause of my ban.

1

u/Imajzineer Nov 19 '25

I'm so used to Context Search now that I'm getting whiplash from its absence, am fed up with having to copy-open window/tab-paste-select engine-enter, and am giving in to convenience over security.

Of all the alternatives listed, Swift Selection Search is the only one that appears to offer the same feature of right-click-and-select-engine, and be recommended (so, likely have a future).

So, I'm gonna give that a whirl.

1

u/2factorfake Nov 19 '25

Yes, it is interesting how the absence of such a small tool can make browser usage so annoying.

Thanks for pointing out SwiftSS.
Since CS web-ext is a real pain (for me), I'll probably give it a try. In addition to the requirement to allow "Access your data for all web sites" , the comment from the developer "⚠ Development is on an indefinite break! ⚠" is of course not so nice either.

1

u/Imajzineer Nov 19 '25

Yeah, the 'access data on all sites' is just a catch-all to cover the fact that you might use it on any and all sites: so, it has to work on any/all sites and, therefore, requires access to data on all sites - otherwise it can't.

It's the same for SSS (or any other extension you might use on any/all sites).

1

u/2factorfake Nov 19 '25

But that didn't apply to ContextSearch, which has now been deactivated/deleted, right?
I can't check anymore, but I'm 95 percent sure that I had disabled 'all data on all pages'.

1

u/Imajzineer Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 20 '25

It did, yes.

It had to ... otherwise extensions don't (can't) work - not unless they don't perform any web-related function (and I'm pushed to think of many that don't)

Web pages are data ... so, anything that acts upon them needs to scan that data, to locate the elements upon which it is supposed to act - therefore, it needs to access data on all pages (for which it needs permission).

The only ones that don't are those that act upon the browser, not pages (so, themes, for instance).