Silently install Okta Browser Plugin on Firefox

Use this guide to silently install the Okta Browser Plugin on Firefox for your groups.

Start this procedure

Mozilla Firefox deprecated silent installations after the release of Firefox version 74. Firefox only supports this feature in the Extended Support Release (ESR) versions.

  1. Right-click this Okta Browser Plugin file and select Save Link As to download the most recent version of the plugin. Version 5.39.0 is the final version of the plugin that supports silent installation.

  2. Rename the file to plugin@okta.com.xpi. The digital signature check fails if the file isn’t named plugin@okta.com.xpi.

  3. Move plugin@okta.com.xpi to the Firefox extensions directory. Create the directory if it doesn't exist.

    Platform Example location
    Windows

    C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\browser\extensions\plugin@okta.com.xpi

    Mac OSX

    /Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/plugin@okta.com.xpi

    Linux /usr/lib/mozilla/extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/plugin@okta.com.xpi

  4. Create a text file called okta-mozilla.cfg and copy and paste in the following content.

    Copy 
    // Don't skip this comment. If the first line isn't a comment, the file won't load.
                        lockPref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0); // Don't show the 'enable plugin' splash page.

    This configuration file enables the Okta Browser Plugin by default. The next time users sign in, a splash page appears asking whether to enable the plugin.

  5. Save okta-mozilla.cfg to the Firefox install directory:

    Platform Example location
    Windows C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\okta-mozilla.cfg
    Mac OSX /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/okta-mozilla.cfg
    Linux /usr/lib/firefox/okta-mozilla.cfg

  6. Create a text file called okta-prefs.js with the following contents:

    Copy 
    // Don't skip this comment. If the first line isn't a comment, the file won't load.
                            pref("general.config.obscure_value", 0); // Don't use ROT13 encoding for the config file.
                        pref("general.config.filename", "okta-mozilla.cfg"); // Tell Firefox to load the okta-mozilla.cfg config file.

  7. Save okta-prefs.js to the /defaults/pref subdirectory of the Firefox install directory:

    Platform Example location
    Windows C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\okta-prefs.js
    Mac OSX /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/defaults/pref/okta-prefs.js
    Linux /usr/lib/firefox/defaults/pref/okta-prefs.js

  8. Open Firefox. The Okta icon appears in the upper right side of the toolbar.

For more information on Firefox extensions, see https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/publish/signing-and-distribution-overview/.