For quite a while, it has been possible to debug tabs on Firefox for Android devices, but there were many steps involved, including manual port forwarding from the terminal.

As I hinted a few weeks ago, WebIDE would soon support connecting to Firefox for Android via ADB Helper support, and that time is now!

How to Use

You’ll need to assemble the following bits and bobs:

  • Firefox 36 (2014-10-25 or later)
  • ADB Helper 0.7.0 or later
  • Firefox for Android 35 or later

Opening WebIDE for the first time should install ADB Helper if you don’t already have it, but double-check it is the right version in the add-on manager.

Firefox for Android runtime appears

Inside WebIDE, you’ll see an entry for Firefox for Android in the Runtime menu.

Firefox for Android tab list

Once you select the runtime, tabs from Firefox for Android will be available in the (now poorly labelled) apps menu on the left.

Inspecting a tab in WebIDE

Choosing a tab will open up the DevTools toolbox for that tab. You can also toggle the toolbox via the “Pause” icon in the top toolbar.

If you would like to debug Firefox for Android’s system-level / chrome code, instead of a specific tab, you can do that with the “Main Process” option.

What’s Next

We have even more connection UX improvements on the way, so I hope to have more to share soon!

If there are features you’d like to see added, file bugs or contact the team via various channels.