Adding custom search engines

[maria2101]

I still miss the ability to add a custom search engine in Firefox Desktop, which has been there in Firefox for Android for years. Kinda weird that Android has an option the desktop version lacks of. Or do I need to enable dev mode or something in the config?

Clicking "find more search engines" only leads to the addons page. On android however, you can add your own site and you can then directly search it from the address bar, for example I added https://www.m.dict.cc/?s=%s to quickly lookup dict.cc for translations, it directly searches for the word I type in.

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[gor1kartem]

You can actually add your website as a search engine. Go to "https://www.dict.cc/?s=", then right-click on a search bar and you will be given the option to add it as a search engine. However, this does not always work. I can't add "https://learn.microsoft.com/ru-ru/search/". So Mozilla should definitely add it.

[bryant183]

Why can't you add a custom search engine by adding a URL? We all need this function! The browser can have your search engine, but the customized search engine is also necessary! The current way is very troublesome!

[Jon]

(Note: a similar idea has been merged into this thread)

[maria2101]

@gor1kartemthank you! it's at least something.

[emvaized]

You can install custom search engines from Mycroftproject — there's plenty of them, and you can submit more.

Also, you can visit about:config page and set browser.urlbar.update2.engineAliasRefresh flag as "true" — this way you'll be able to add any search engine you want.

[a2kolbasov]

Firefox Desktop supports adding your own search engines, but it's very strange.

1. Right-click on the input field.
2. Select "Add a Keyword for this Search".
3. Enter your keyword for this search engine and save it.

As a result, the search engine will be added as a bookmark. It will not appear among other search engines. But you can search for it by entering “you_keyword your_query” in the address bar.

[Blocky]

Request for Improved Search Engine Customization in Firefox

Dear Mozilla Support,

I'm writing to express my feedback on the current state of search engine customization in Firefox. As a power user, I value the ability to personalize my browsing experience, and adding custom search engines is an important aspect of my workflow.

While I appreciate the focus on a simplified user experience in recent Firefox iterations, the process for adding custom search engines feels cumbersome and hidden. Previously available methods seem less accessible now.

I believe offering a more straightforward way to add custom search engines would cater to power users like myself without compromising the overall user experience for others. Perhaps a dedicated menu option or a more user-friendly interface for managing custom search engines could be implemented.

I understand the importance of security and stability, and I would be happy to see a solution that balances customization with these priorities.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to any future improvements in this area.

Sincerely,

Blocky

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[Jon]

Similar idea here: Adding custom search engines 

[grg1]

Allow users to add custom search engines and make a custom engine the default

Google Chrome allows users to add custom search engines (e.g., I can customize DuckDuckGo to specific parameters: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s&kp=-2&kav=1&kae=d&kn=1&k1=-1&kk=-1&kak=-1&kax=-1)

Why can I not add search engines like this and select one of them to be my default search engine? Firefox used to have this capability. Why did you remove it? Add it back?

[Jon]

(Note: similar ideas have been merged into this thread)

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Others
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/custom-search-engines-like-chrome/m-p/23892
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/search-engine-customization/m-p/63165

[LGM159]

Add my vote for the feature that all other search engines use: adding custom search engines. In my case, I want to add search settings to common searches that I perform, e.g. searching google but eliminating youtube videos from the search results.  In any chrome-based browser, you open settings for search engines and add your own, and here's a common one for me:
Name: Google sans youtube
Shortcut: gg
URL: {google:baseURL}search?q=%s+-site%3Ayoutube.com&hl=en

The above method is simple, fully customizable, and works in any Chrome-based browser, verified with Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Brave.

PS The method proposed in prior posting in this thread don't always work, desktop or mobile, it doesn't matter as there is apparently a secret algorithm that triggers being able to save an URL. Furthermore, even when you can save an URL, you're not allowed to edit it. So much for customizing.

[YPAP2205]

Kinda strange why this option was removed. I remember  being  able to add custom search engines. Then all of a sudden after an update that setting just  disappeared. I'd rather add search engines manually like in chrome, instead of installing extensions for a search engine to be added.