How to Open Mozilla Firefox Bookmarks in New Tabs by Default

Mozilla Firefox Nightly 57.0 build introduces an option where you can configure bookmarks to open in a new tab by default. This feature has been requested by many Firefox users, and Mozilla seems to have listened to them.

Previously, to open bookmark items in a new tab by default, a third-party Add-on was needed. Alternately, many users still prefer Ctrl + clicking on a bookmark to open a bookmark in a new window. Clicking on the middle mouse scroll button and selecting a bookmark will work, too.

Firefox “loadBookmarksInTabs” setting in about:config

A new preference has been added to the Firefox advanced configuration page “about:config” where you can configure how bookmarks open — whether in the current tab or a new tab.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox. Type about:config in the address bar and press Enter.
2. You’ll see a “This might void your warranty” warning message. Click “I accept the risk!” to proceed.
3. Type loadBookmarks in the search filter box to show only the bookmark-related settings.
4. Set browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInTabs to true to always open bookmark in new tab.
5. Optionally, you can also set browser.tabs.loadBookmarksInBackground to true to open bookmarks in a background tab.

That’s it! As said earlier, this feature will be available in Firefox 57 and higher.

(Last reviewed in September 2022 – Firefox’s current version is 104.0.1.)