#Improve firefox startup time install#
#Improve firefox startup time update#
#Improve firefox startup time software#
#Improve firefox startup time series#

What we hadn’t initially considered was that the Firefox snap depends on both the gnome-3-38-2004 and gtk-common-theme snaps, which were still being delivered compressed using the XZ algorithm. Prior to the start of this series, we had already improved Firefox startup performance by using LZO compression for the Firefox snap. Our testing shows an average reduction of about 6 seconds on modern systems with fast storage.

#Improve firefox startup time install#

This primarily affects the very first launch of Firefox after a fresh install and significantly reduces the initial setup time.

Mozilla’s latest fix means that Firefox now only loads one locale at a time, based on the system setting. Previously, Firefox copied all language packs on first start, a large and unnecessary overhead since most people run Firefox with only one user interface language, e.g.: English or French.

#Improve firefox startup time update#

The second is an update to the GNOME and GTK theme snaps that Firefox depends on. The first is a change from Mozilla regarding how Firefox handles language packs. There have been two major improvements since the last update. Simply run the snap refresh command to ensure all your snaps are up to date. These fixes are now available in the latest stable version of Firefox. Our latest improvements look to deliver an average 50% reduction in start time after a fresh install compared to Firefox 101, consistent across a range of distributions and platforms. Since the last update, we have made significant progress in Firefox startup performance. You can catch up on the story so far in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

#Improve firefox startup time series#

This series tracks our progress in improving startup times to ensure we are delivering the best user experience possible.Īlong the way, we’ll also be addressing specific use-case issues that have been identified with the help of the community. It improves security, delivers cross-release compatibility and shortens the time for improvements from Mozilla to get into the hands of end-users.Ĭurrently, this approach has trade-offs when it comes to performance, most notably in Firefox’s first launch after a system reboot. The Firefox snap offers a number of benefits to daily users of Ubuntu, as well as a range of other Linux distributions. This week, we cover two significant performance improvements that have just landed for all users. Want to see if it’s made an improvement on your system? You can install the app GNOME extension to measure app startup times on Ubuntu.Welcome to the latest update in our Firefox snap performance series.

#Improve firefox startup time software#

The next batch of startup time optimisation is going to look at multi-thread CPU decompression for Squashfs, software rendering, and pre-caching. Better yet, this change benefits all Snap apps that make use of these GNOME and GTK libraries, such as the Chromium Snap. Firefox uses libraries from the gnome-3-38-2004 and gtk-common-theme Snaps which, during launch, it has to decompress to access.īy switching the compression algorithm used from the slower XZ to the faster LZO (which is what the Firefox Snap itself uses) there’s an instant speed boost. Our testing shows an average reduction of about 6 seconds on modern systems with fast storage.”Ī second speed boost comes by way of compression algorithms. The first key improvement is courtesy of Mozilla developers who have tweaked the browser’s behaviour to only load one locale (aka language pack) on first start, based on system settings, rather than loading in all languages available.Ĭanonical’s Oliver Smith says this change “significantly reduces the initial setup time. Startup time of the Firefox Snap is up to 50% faster on fresh installs than before. Canonical has, over the years, often talked about how it has improved the startup time of Snap apps yet, for many of us, those improvements have been …theoretical at best.īut in its latest ‘update’ on efforts being made to improve Firefox Snap performance the company may, at last, deliver a real-world speed boost to back those claims up.