Announcing Faster, Lighter Firefox Downloads for Linux with .tar.xz Packaging!

submited by
Style Pass
2024-11-28 13:30:02

We’re excited to announce an improvement for our Linux users that enhances both performance and compatibility with various Linux distributions.

In our ongoing effort to optimize Firefox for all users, we are transitioning the packaging format of Firefox for Linux from .tar.bz2 to .tar.xz (utilizing the LZMA compression algorithm). This change results in smaller download sizes and faster decompression times, making your experience smoother and more efficient.

Starting today, November 27th, 2024 you can find the new .tar.xz archives on our downloads page. Simply select the Firefox Nightly for Linux that you desire, and you’ll receive the new packaging format.

For package maintainers or scripts that reference our download links, please note that this packaging change is currently implemented in Firefox Nightly and will eventually roll out to the Beta and Release channels in the weeks to come.

To maintain uninterrupted updates now and in the future, we recommend updating your scripts to handle both .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz extensions, or switching to .tar.xz format when it becomes available in your preferred channel.

Leave a Comment