Uninstalling add-ons

This article was written for Firefox and Thunderbird but also applies SeaMonkey 2 (not yet released). Mozilla Suite/SeaMonkey 1.x users should read the article Uninstalling extensions - SeaMonkey.

Uninstalling extensions and themes

Extensions and themes can be uninstalled using the Add-ons manager, as follows.

1. Click "Tools -> Add-ons"
2. Click on the Extensions or Themes button on the top.
3. Click on the extension or theme you want to uninstall.
4. Click Uninstall.
5. Restart your Mozilla application.

Uninstalling an extension might not completely remove all of the extension's data. For example, if you reinstall the extension, then you might find that it still uses its previous settings. There is no general way to remove all of an extension's data. See Resetting preferences for how to remove added preferences and restore the default preference values.

Troubleshooting

If you have trouble uninstalling an extension or theme:

• Make sure you completely closed your Mozilla application after clicking Uninstall by using the File menu and selecting "Exit" or "Quit". You can even restart your system to make absolutely sure.
• If something is wrong that prevents you from accessing the Add-ons manager, you can restart Firefox or Thunderbird in Safe Mode to uninstall the extension or theme. (In Firefox, click "Continue in Safe Mode" after the "Firefox Safe Mode" window appears. See the linked article for details).
• If the uninstall button and menu item are disabled, the add-on is locked. To uninstall a locked add-on, you'll first have to unlock it via Safe Mode.
• If the add-on repeatedly shows "This item will be uninstalled after you restart Firefox" even after restarting, either create a new profile or try uninstalling manually.
• You may have uninstalled a program or one of its components that left behind an entry in the Add-ons Manager, for an extension that was installed by that program. [1] In Firefox 1.5 or Thunderbird 1.5, you may have an entry in the extensions list that ends in ".xpi" that does nothing when clicking on it. [2] [3] In such cases, you can remove the entry from the Extensions list by exiting your Mozilla application and deleting the following files from your profile folder:
  • extensions.cache
  • extensions.ini
  • extensions.rdf

Uninstalling an extension manually

If you are unable to uninstall, even from within Firefox or Thunderbird Safe Mode:

Exit your Mozilla application, go to your profile folder and open the "extensions" directory. Each directory there is an extension. Remove the directory that corresponds to the extension you want to uninstall. (To uninstall ALL extensions, remove the entire "extensions" directory)

If an add-on directory there does not have a meaningful name, look inside it for its "install.rdf" file. Open that file in a text editor (such as Notepad) to see which extension the directory contains. Alternatively, in the parent folder, "extensions.rdf" contains a list of extensions, their names and corresponding GUIDs.

Global extension

In a few cases, an extension may be installed globally. Installing a global extension is something an administrator might do so that the add-on can be used by any user on the machine. It is also possible that another software installation may have included a global extension (for example, the Java JRE installer adds a hidden global extension to Firefox, for the Java Console [4]).

To manually uninstall a global extension, open the "extensions" directory in your Mozilla application's installation directory and remove the directory that corresponds to the extension you want to uninstall. [5].

Windows Registry extension

In some cases, a third-party software installer can register extensions for Firefox or Thunderbird. For example, a Windows Registry entry can be added for Firefox under one of these keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions\

The Registry entry name will be the ID name or GUID of the add-on and the value data will be the path to the folder containing the extension (see Adding Extensions using the Windows Registry - MDC for details). When Firefox or Thunderbird next starts, it will notice the entry and install the extension. The Lenovo ThinkVantage Password Manager extension for Firefox is installed this way; you will be able to disable the extension but you will not be able to uninstall it using the Add-ons manager. If you are an experienced user, you can uninstall the extension by removing the associated Registry entry; otherwise, simply disable it. [6] [7]

Uninstalling an extension using Windows Control Panel

Some installed programs may add a toolbar or other extension to your Mozilla application. For example, CA (Computer Associates) Internet Security Suite 2008 includes the Website Inspector component, which adds the CA Link Advisor and CA Toolbar extensions in Firefox. [8] If you are not able to uninstall the extension from within your Mozilla application (see above), you may be able to uninstall it via the Windows Control Panel list of installed programs ("Add or Remove Programs" list). For example, you can remove the CA Link Advisor and CA Toolbar extensions by removing the Website Inspector component from CA Internet Security, as shown here. If entries for the removed add-ons remain in the Extensions list, exit your Mozilla application, open the profile folder and delete the files "extensions.cache", "extensions.ini", and "extensions.rdf". [9]

Uninstalling plugins

Starting in Firefox 3 and SeaMonkey 2, the Add-ons Manager includes a list of installed plugins, in addition to extensions and themes. You can select a plugin in the Add-ons list and disable it, but you cannot uninstall a plugin from the Add-ons Manager. In many cases, browser plugins are included as part of a larger application, so you would normally just the disable the browser plugin instead of removing the entire application. For more information about browser plugins, see Issues related to plugins and PluginDoc.

See also

• Uninstalling toolbars

External links

• Uninstalling add-ons (Firefox Support)
• Cannot uninstall an add-on (Firefox Support)
• Troubleshooting extensions and themes (Firefox Support)