We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

I have set preferences to restore previous session when starting, closed tabs, no tabs restored, and no option to do so

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by pamann88

pamann88
pamann88
more options

I have set preferences to restore previous session, closed tabs, and there was no session restore, no was there a possibility to find this option in history / library Privacy and security were set to remember history. It's very annoying as I closed tabs thinking I could restores.

I do not know how to do this as suggested in other threads - "You need to replace the sessionstore.jsonlz4 in profile folder with the recovery.jsonlz4 file (i.e. rename the file) to make Firefox use this sessionstore file" Please give more step by step instructions, am new to Mac. What profile folder? where?

I have set preferences to restore previous session, closed tabs, and there was no session restore, no was there a possibility to find this option in history / library Privacy and security were set to remember history. It's very annoying as I closed tabs thinking I could restores. I do not know how to do this as suggested in other threads - "You need to replace the sessionstore.jsonlz4 in profile folder with the recovery.jsonlz4 file (i.e. rename the file) to make Firefox use this sessionstore file" Please give more step by step instructions, am new to Mac. What profile folder? where?

All Replies (2)

FredMcD
FredMcD
more options

You may have corrupt sessionstore [v56] sessionstore.jsonlz4 file(s). Delete all sessionstore* files and the sessionstore-backups folder.

Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.

Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.

Linux: Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Directory. To its right press the button Open Directory.

Locate the above file. Then rename or delete it. Restart Firefox.


Don't delete the files if you need to rescue any data from them, just move them out of the profile folder to some location where Firefox doesn't look for them. You can try to read out their contents using this tool: https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/scrounger.html

pamann88
pamann88 Question owner
more options

thank you, Fred! appreciate the quick response. i'm not IT-savvy at all, so am hesitant to mess around with this - i found renamed the sessionstore.jsonlz4 file yesterday and replaced it with the older one, in the hope that mozilla would open up the old tabs. didn't work. am not sure i understand your instructions so it might be better i ask someone savvier to look into this. it's irritating because it was working for a bit (only got my mac end of last year)...