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Q&A Increase contrast between current and other tabs in Firefox

Option 1: Choose a different theme Just go to Settings > Extensions and Themes (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme. Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color Firefox UI de...

posted 2y ago by Quasímodo‭ · edited 2y ago by Quasímodo‭

Answer

#3: Post edited by

Quasímodo‭ · 2022-03-10T16:17:58Z (about 2 years ago)

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### Option 1: Choose a different theme
Just go to _Settings > Extensions and Themes_ (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme.
### Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color
Firefox UI defaults to your system theme, which you may want to stick to or to only make a small adjustment. In this case, use [`userChrome.css`][1]:
> userChrome.css in the chrome folder is a CSS file that can be used to change the way Mozilla applications' interfaces look. This file does not exist in a new profile. You can create it manually.
1. Enter `about:config` in the address bar and toggle `toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets` to true.
2. Enter `about:support` in the address bar, look for _profile directory_ and open it.
3. Enter the `chrome` directory (if absent, create it) and create the `userChrome.css` file with the following contents:
```
#tabbrowser-tabs{
background: #900090 !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab[selected] .tab-content{
background: #009090 !important;
color: #FFFFFF !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab:not([selected]) .tab-content{
background: #FFFF00 !important;
color: #000000 !important;
}
```
The colors — that are exaggerated for clarity — are in [#RRGGBB format][2].
Some generic names such as "green", "black" etc. also work.
When you restart Firefox the tab bar will look like this:
![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/Pw54q3QMnG3CjLbo7PF61gwW)
At this point, you may think that there is too much wasted space in the bar (although this really only changed colors). In this case, see [compact mode workaround in Firefox][3].
[1]: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=UserChrome.css&printable=yes
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Numeric_representations
[3]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compact-mode-workaround-firefox

### Option 1: Choose a different theme
Just go to _Settings > Extensions and Themes_ (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme.
### Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color
Firefox UI defaults to your system theme, which you may want to stick to or to only make a small adjustment. In this case, use [`userChrome.css`][1]:
> userChrome.css in the chrome folder is a CSS file that can be used to change the way Mozilla applications' interfaces look. This file does not exist in a new profile. You can create it manually.
1. Enter `about:config` in the address bar and toggle `toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets` to true.
2. Enter `about:support` in the address bar, look for _profile directory_ and open it.
3. Enter the `chrome` directory (if absent, create it) and create the `userChrome.css` file with the following contents:
```
#tabbrowser-tabs{
background: #900090 !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab[selected] .tab-content{
background: #009090 !important;
color: #FFFFFF !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab:not([selected]) .tab-content{
background: #FFFF00 !important;
color: #000000 !important;
}
```
The colors — that are exaggerated for clarity — are in [#RRGGBB format][2].
Some generic names such as "green", "black" etc. also work.
When you restart Firefox the tab bar will look like this:
![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/Pw54q3QMnG3CjLbo7PF61gwW)
At this point, you may think that there is too much wasted space in the bar (although this really only changed colors). In this case, see [compact mode workaround in Firefox][3].
If you would like to keep the button-like look, consider
```
#tabbrowser-tabs{
background: #900090 !important;
}
.tab-background[selected]{
background: #009090 !important;
}
.tab-background:not([selected]){
background: #FFFF00 !important;
}
```
which yields (with compact mode applied):
![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/ghZdDYrTA9vHnSGz23bU8hRL)
[1]: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=UserChrome.css&printable=yes
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Numeric_representations
[3]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compact-mode-workaround-firefox

#2: Post edited by

Quasímodo‭ · 2021-12-30T15:43:19Z (over 2 years ago)

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### Option 1: Choose a different theme
Just go to _Settings > Extensions and Themes_ (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme.
### Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color
~~Firefox defaults to your GTK system theme, which you may want to stick to or to only make a small adjustement. In this case, use [`userChrome.css`][1]:~~
> userChrome.css in the chrome folder is a CSS file that can be used to change the way Mozilla applications' interfaces look. This file does not exist in a new profile. You can create it manually.
1. Enter `about:config` in the address bar and toggle `toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets` to true.
2. Enter `about:support` in the address bar, look for _profile directory_ and open it.
3. Enter the `chrome` directory (if absent, create it) and create the `userChrome.css` file with the following contents:
```
#tabbrowser-tabs{
background: #900090 !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab[selected] .tab-content{
background: #009090 !important;
color: #FFFFFF !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab:not([selected]) .tab-content{
background: #FFFF00 !important;
color: #000000 !important;
}
```
The colors — that are exaggerated for clarity — are in [#RRGGBB format][2].
Some generic names such as "green", "black" etc. also work.
When you restart Firefox the tab bar will look like this:
![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/Pw54q3QMnG3CjLbo7PF61gwW)
At this point, you may think that there is too much wasted space in the bar (although this really only changed colors). In this case, see [compact mode workaround in Firefox][3].
[1]: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=UserChrome.css&printable=yes
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Numeric_representations
[3]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compact-mode-workaround-firefox

### Option 1: Choose a different theme
Just go to _Settings > Extensions and Themes_ (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme.
### Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color
Firefox UI defaults to your system theme, which you may want to stick to or to only make a small adjustment. In this case, use [`userChrome.css`][1]:
> userChrome.css in the chrome folder is a CSS file that can be used to change the way Mozilla applications' interfaces look. This file does not exist in a new profile. You can create it manually.
1. Enter `about:config` in the address bar and toggle `toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets` to true.
2. Enter `about:support` in the address bar, look for _profile directory_ and open it.
3. Enter the `chrome` directory (if absent, create it) and create the `userChrome.css` file with the following contents:
```
#tabbrowser-tabs{
background: #900090 !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab[selected] .tab-content{
background: #009090 !important;
color: #FFFFFF !important;
}
.tabbrowser-tab:not([selected]) .tab-content{
background: #FFFF00 !important;
color: #000000 !important;
}
```
The colors — that are exaggerated for clarity — are in [#RRGGBB format][2].
Some generic names such as "green", "black" etc. also work.
When you restart Firefox the tab bar will look like this:
![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/Pw54q3QMnG3CjLbo7PF61gwW)
At this point, you may think that there is too much wasted space in the bar (although this really only changed colors). In this case, see [compact mode workaround in Firefox][3].
[1]: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=UserChrome.css&printable=yes
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Numeric_representations
[3]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compact-mode-workaround-firefox

#1: Initial revision by

Quasímodo‭ · 2021-12-30T14:37:12Z (over 2 years ago)

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### Option 1: Choose a different theme

Just go to _Settings > Extensions and Themes_ (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A) and choose a suitable theme.

### Option 2: Use CSS to set the exact tab color

Firefox defaults to your GTK system theme, which you may want to stick to or to only make a small adjustement. In this case, use [`userChrome.css`][1]:

> userChrome.css in the chrome folder is a CSS file that can be used to change the way Mozilla applications' interfaces look. This file does not exist in a new profile. You can create it manually.

1. Enter `about:config` in the address bar and toggle `toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets` to true.

2. Enter `about:support` in the address bar, look for _profile directory_ and open it.

3. Enter the `chrome` directory (if absent, create it) and create the `userChrome.css` file with the following contents:

   ```
   #tabbrowser-tabs{
       background:  #900090 !important;
   }
   .tabbrowser-tab[selected] .tab-content{
       background:  #009090 !important;
       color:       #FFFFFF !important;
   }
   .tabbrowser-tab:not([selected]) .tab-content{
       background:  #FFFF00 !important;
       color:       #000000 !important;
   }
   ```

The colors — that are exaggerated for clarity — are in [#RRGGBB format][2]. 
Some generic names such as "green", "black" etc. also work.

When you restart Firefox the tab bar will look like this:

![Tab bar after setting up the CSS](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/Pw54q3QMnG3CjLbo7PF61gwW)

At this point, you may think that there is too much wasted space in the bar (although this really only changed colors). In this case, see [compact mode workaround in Firefox][3].


[1]: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=UserChrome.css&printable=yes
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model#Numeric_representations
[3]: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compact-mode-workaround-firefox

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