The default search engine in Firefox is Google. There is a way to change it to whichever search engine you wish. In this post I will talk for transferring the default search from Google to DuckDuckGo. I am experimenting with DDG now and seeing if it will suit my needs better than Google.

Instant Search

For the instant search () you can easily add new search engines or select one on the go, there is even a GUI which will help you add new ones, remove and edit them

When you are on a website that offers search services, you will see a new entry “Add <site>” in the instant search list of engines, click it and it will be added automatically. So visit https://www.duckduckgo.com/ now to add it if you wish.

Default Search in Address Bar

The default search is the address bar (), instead of typing a URL, you type a search query and hit enter. The search query is then passed to your default search engine and the results are displayed on their website.

There is a way to modify the default search engine in Firefox, start by typing this in the address bar:

about:config

agree to the warning and in the search field enter the following:

browser.search.defaultenginename

It should show one row and the Value field should be Google. Double click on it, and enter the value of your desired default search engine (in this case DuckDuckGo).

Click OK and you are good to go.

Note: The search engine that you want to make as your default must be in the Instant Search list.

This is good for productivity if you are using multiple search engines, you can set them on each and search faster without distractions.

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