How to Show Full URL in Address Bar on Firefox Browser

By default, Firefox hides the "https://" and "www." portions of URLs in the address bar. While this streamlines the appearance for most users, web developers and other users may need to see the full URL for various reasons, such as debugging or ensuring a site’s integrity during development.

This guide will walk you through the steps to display the full URL in the Firefox address bar on Windows 10, although these steps work on other platforms as well.

Why Show the Full URL?

Web Development: Knowing whether a site is using "https://" or "http://" can be crucial during site development or migration.
Security Awareness: The "https://" portion of a URL indicates that a site is secure, which can be useful information for all users.
Better Navigation: Seeing the full URL helps users understand exactly what page they are on, which can be helpful in multi-domain environments.

Steps to Show Full URL in Firefox Address Bar

Step 01: Open Firefox

Launch Mozilla Firefox on your computer.

Step 02: Access the Configuration Page

In the address bar, type the following path:
```
about:config
```
Press Enter to navigate to the advanced configuration page.

Step 03: Accept the Risk Warning

You will see a warning message indicating that you are entering the advanced settings area. Click the I accept the risk! button to proceed.

Step 04: Locate the URL Trimming Setting

In the search bar at the top of the configuration page, type:
```
browser.urlbar.trimURLs
```
Press Enter to search for the setting.

Step 05: Disable URL Trimming

The setting browser.urlbar.trimURLs will appear in the search results.
To disable the trimming of URLs, click the toggle button on the right side. This will change the setting's value from true to false.

Final Step: Verify the Change

Once you’ve toggled the setting, Firefox will immediately apply the change.
You can test this by navigating to any website. The full URL, including the "https://" or "http://" and "www." portions, should now be visible in the address bar.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can configure Firefox to always display the full URL in the address bar. This small but significant tweak can enhance your browsing experience, especially if you’re involved in web development or just prefer seeing the complete address of the websites you visit.

Additional Tips

Reverting the Change: If you prefer the default, cleaner look of the address bar, you can revert the change by toggling browser.urlbar.trimURLs back to true.
Other Useful Tweaks: The about
page allows for a wide range of customization options. Explore carefully to see what other settings might enhance your Firefox experience.