[Firefox] Add-on Compatibility Reporter allows users to run incompatible add-ons in Firefox

Add-ons are great. Without a doubt add-ons are one of the most important reasons behind the success of Firefox (and Chrome). The issue is most add-ons are created in the spare time of developers who have day jobs. As such, some add-ons aren’t maintained and become “incompatible” with newer versions of Firefox. Or, alternatively, new add-ons are incompatible with older versions of Firefox. This incompatibility issue is very annoying and often can be disheartening. I mean nothing ruins a ~~day~~ week more than not being able to install an enticing add-on, right? Right? Right? This is where Add-on Compatibility Reporter comes in.

What Is Add-on Compatibility Reporter?

Add-on Compatibility Reporter is a Firefox add-on by Mozilla intended to use the Firefox community to assist developers in determining if their add-ons work with the latest versions of Firefox or not. The idea behind Add-on Compatibility Reporter is users report if an add-on properly works with their version of Firefox or not. The reports are then passed onto developers who then either update the compatibility information on their add-on(s) or fix the add-on(s) so they work with newer builds of Firefox. Reporting is as easy as going to Add-ons Manager -> Extensions and marking an incompatible add-on as compatible or not:

If the add-on works properly and you mark it as compatible, you submit a report that says so:

If the add-on does not work properly and you mark it as incompatible, you submit a report in which you must provide a short paragraph on why its incompatible (what is wrong with) and have the options to include a list of your add-ons and disable the incompatible add-on:

So Why Should I Care?

You should care because your feedback helps developers maintain the add-ons you hold so dear to your heart. That not cutting it for you? Okay here’s another reason. In order to report on the compatibility of add-ons you must be able to use the add-ons, right? So, to do that, Add-on Compatibility Reporter enables all incompatible add-ons. So even if you don’t feel the communal spirit, you can use Add-on Compatibility Reporter to force incompatible add-ons to work in your specific version of Firefox. This is for add-ons that don’t yet support newer versions of Firefox and add-ons that don’t support older versions of Firefox.

How Do I Use Add-on Compatibility Reporter To Enable Incompatible Add-ons?

It doesn’t take much to make Add-on Compatibility Reporter enable incompatible add-ons. You first, obviously, need to install Add-on Compatibility Reporter. After installing, you need to restart Firefox. After restarting Firefox, you need to restart Firefox again. After that second restart, incompatible add-ons are automatically enabled by Add-on Compatibility Reporter – there is nothing else you need to do. (Already installed incompatible add-ons are enabled automatically and incompatible add-ons you will install later will be enabled automatically when installed.)

If, however, you find Add-on Compatibility Reporter is not enabling an incompatible add-on, you can go to Add-ons Manager -> Extensions and click Enable:

That will (should) solve any issues of disabled incompatible add-ons.

Conclusion

Ideally one never wants to be in a position to force an incompatible add-on to run in Firefox. There may, after all, be a valid reason as to why the add-on is incompatible — such as security concerns or instability. However, if you ever come across the need to install and use an incompatible add-on in Firefox, Add-on Compatibility Reporter is the perfect tool to do just that.

You can grab Add-on Compatibility Reporter from the links below:

Version reviewed: v1.0.2