Compiling Firefox Android by yourself to use more addons

2021-03-07
programming android

This article is a bit old and the content may be outdated, so please refer to it with caution and remember to check the latest official materials (such as documentation, etc.)

Yes, very simple and... violent. It's about compiling your own copy of Fenix.

Updated Method #

Just download Firefox Nightly, go to settings -> about, and tap logo 5 times to enter debug mode. Then you can add your own collection in settings.

Old methods below:

Create Your Own Addon Collection #

Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/ and create a collection. Notice your user name and the collection name.

Create Your Own Addon Collection

Modify app/build.gradle #

Modify applicationId and sharedUserId to avoid conflict.

diff --git a/app/build.gradle b/app/build.gradle
index 54e1ea7b5..7c56a2f67 100644
--- a/app/build.gradle
+++ b/app/build.gradle
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ android {
     }

     defaultConfig {
-        applicationId "org.mozilla"
+        applicationId "org.mozilla.allanchain"
         minSdkVersion Config.minSdkVersion
         targetSdkVersion Config.targetSdkVersion
         versionCode 1
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ android {
         buildConfigField "boolean", "USE_RELEASE_VERSIONING", "false"
         // This should be the "public" base URL of AMO.
         buildConfigField "String", "AMO_BASE_URL", "\"https://addons.mozilla.org\""
-        buildConfigField "String", "AMO_COLLECTION_NAME", "\"7dfae8669acc4312a65e8ba5553036\""
-        buildConfigField "String", "AMO_COLLECTION_USER", "\"mozilla\""
+        buildConfigField "String", "AMO_COLLECTION_NAME", "\"more-addons\""
+        buildConfigField "String", "AMO_COLLECTION_USER", "\"your user name / id\""
         // These add-ons should be excluded for Mozilla Online builds.
         buildConfigField "String[]", "MOZILLA_ONLINE_ADDON_EXCLUSIONS",
                 "{" +
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ android {
                     // fatal consequences. For example see:
                     //  - https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36924841
                     //  - https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36905922
-                    "sharedUserId": "org.mozilla.firefox.sharedID",
+                    "sharedUserId": "org.mozilla.firefox.allanchain.sharedID",
                     "deepLinkScheme": deepLinkSchemeValue
             ]
         }
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ android {
                     // fatal consequences. For example see:
                     //  - https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36924841
                     //  - https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36905922
-                    "sharedUserId": "org.mozilla.firefox.sharedID",
+                    "sharedUserId": "org.mozilla.firefox.allanchain.sharedID",
                     "deepLinkScheme": deepLinkSchemeValue
             ]
         }
patch

Or simply a one-liner:

sed -i -e 's/org\.mozilla"/org.mozilla.allanchain"/' -e 's/org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.firefox.allanchain/g' -e 's/7dfae8669acc4312a65e8ba5553036/more-addons/' -e 's/\\"mozilla\\"/\\"Allan Chain\\"/' app/build.gradle
sh

You may also want to set local.properties and / or other properties according to fenix README. For example:

echo autosignReleaseWithDebugKey > local.properties
shell

Compile # 

./gradlew app:assembleRelease
sh

You are done! 🎉 The apk is available at app\build\outputs\apk\release

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