Mozilla Firefox 100 Silent Install (How-To Guide)

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of Mozilla Firefox 100 from the command line using both EXE & MSI installers.

How to Install Firefox Silently

Mozilla Firefox 100 (32-bit) Silent Install (EXE)

Navigate to: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win32/en-US/
Download the Firefox Setup 100.0.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
Enter the following command: "Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms
Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the Firefox Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:	Mozilla Firefox 100.0 (x86)
Vendor:	Mozilla
Version:	100.0
Architecture:	32-bit
Installer Type:	EXE
Silent Install Switch:	`"Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms`
Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Download Link:	https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win32/en-US/
PowerShell Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/mozilla-firefox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-mozilla-firefox-powershell/

Mozilla Firefox 100 (64-bit) Silent Install (EXE)

Navigate to: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win64/en-US/
Download the Firefox Setup 100.0.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
Enter the following command: "Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms
Press Enter

Software Title:	Mozilla Firefox 100.0 (x64)
Vendor:	Mozilla
Version:	100.0
Architecture:	64-bit
Installer Type:	EXE
Silent Install Switch:	`"Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms`
Silent Uninstall Switch:	`"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Download Link:	https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win64/en-US/
PowerShell Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/mozilla-firefox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-mozilla-firefox-powershell/

Mozilla Firefox 100 (32-bit) Silent Install (MSI)

Navigate to: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win32/en-US/
Download the Firefox Setup 100.0.msi to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
Enter the following command: MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" /qn
Press Enter

Software Title:	Mozilla Firefox 100.0 (x86)
Vendor:	Mozilla
Version:	100.0
Architecture:	32-bit
Installer Type:	MSI
Silent Install Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" /qn`
Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Download Link:	https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win32/en-US/
PowerShell Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/mozilla-firefox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-mozilla-firefox-powershell/

Mozilla Firefox 100 (64-bit) Silent Install (MSI)

Navigate to: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win64/en-US/
Download the Firefox Setup 100.0.msi to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
Enter the following command: MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" /qn
Press Enter

Software Title:	Mozilla Firefox 100.0 (x64)
Vendor:	Mozilla
Version:	100.0
Architecture:	64-bit
Installer Type:	MSI
Silent Install Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" /qn`
Silent Uninstall Switch:	`"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S`
Download Link:	https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/100.0/win64/en-US/
PowerShell Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/mozilla-firefox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:	https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-mozilla-firefox-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.

Additional Configurations

Create an Installation Log File

The Firefox MSI installer offers the option to generate a log file during installation to assist with troubleshooting should any problems arise. You can use the following commands to create a verbose log file with details about the installation.

Mozilla Firefox 100 (MSI) Silent Install with Logging

MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" /qn /L*v "%WINDIR%\Temp\Firefox-Install.log"

Skip Mozilla Maintenance Service Install

The Mozilla Maintenance Service is used for silent updates and may be used for other maintenance related tasks. It is an optional component and the installation can be skipped by running the following command line switch.

Mozilla Firefox 100 (EXE) Disable Mozilla Maintenance Service Install

"Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms /MaintenanceService=false

Mozilla Firefox 100 (MSI) Disable Mozilla Maintenance Service Install

MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" INSTALL_MAINTENANCE_SERVICE=false /qn

Exclude Desktop Shortcut During Install

The Mozilla Firefox installer creates a desktop shortcut by default. If you don’t want the desktop shortcut, then you can run the following command line switch to exclude it.

Mozilla Firefox 100 (EXE) Silent Install No Desktop Shortcut

"Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms /DesktopShortcut=false

Mozilla Firefox 100 (MSI) Silent Install No Desktop Shortcut

MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" DESKTOP_SHORTCUT=false /qn

Exclude Taskbar Shortcut During Install

The Mozilla Firefox installer creates a shortcut on the taskbar by default. If you don’t want the shortcut to appear on the taskbar, then you can run the following command line switch to exclude it.

Mozilla Firefox 100 (EXE) Silent Install No Taskbar Shortcut

"Firefox Setup 100.0.exe" -ms /TaskbarShortcut=false

Mozilla Firefox 100 (MSI) Silent Install No Taskbar Shortcut

MsiExec.exe /i "Firefox Setup 100.0.msi" TASKBAR_SHORTCUT=false /qn

Disable Mozilla Firefox Updates

By default, Firefox will automatically check for application updates. If you are in an environment that requires more control over when updates are performed, you can follow the steps below.

Open Notepad or your favorite text editor
Add the following lines:

{
  "policies": {
    "DisableAppUpdate": true
  }
}

Save the file and name it: policies.json
Follow the “How to Install Firefox Silently” steps mentioned earlier in the article
Create one of the following directories (if not present) based on Firefox installation location
- “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
- “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
Copy the policies.json file to the “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory or “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory depending on the operating system architecture and what version of Firefox (32-bit or 64-bit) you have installed

Disable the Refresh Firefox Button

This setting disables the Refresh Firefox button, as well as the prompt that displays offering to refresh Firefox when you haven’t used it in a while.

Open Notepad or your favorite text editor
Add the following lines:

{
  "policies": {
    "DisableProfileRefresh": true
  }
}

Save the file and name it: policies.json
Follow the “How to Install Firefox Silently” steps mentioned earlier in the article
Create one of the following directories (if not present) based on Firefox installation location
- “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
- “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
Copy the policies.json file to the “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory or “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory depending on the operating system architecture and what version of Firefox (32-bit or 64-bit) you have installed

Disable Firefox Default Browser Check

This setting will prevent the default browser check at startup.

Open Notepad or your favorite text editor
Add the following lines:

{
  "policies": {
    "DontCheckDefaultBrowser": true
  }
}

Save the file and name it: policies.json
Follow the “How to Install Firefox Silently” steps mentioned earlier in the article
Create one of the following directories (if not present) based on Firefox installation location
- “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
- “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
Copy the policies.json file to the “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory or “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory depending on the operating system architecture and what version of Firefox (32-bit or 64-bit) you have installed

Customizing Firefox Using JSON File

In this example, I am configuring the follow settings within the policies.json file:

Disable Automatic Application Updates
Disable Refresh Firefox Button
Disable Telemetry
Disable Default Browser Check
Disable First Run Page
Disable Post Update Page
Configure Firefox Homepage
- Show Search
- Hide Top Sites
- Hide Highlights
- Hide Pocket
- Hide Snippets

Find Additional Policy Settings Here: https://github.com/mozilla/policy-templates

Open Notepad or your favorite text editor
Add the following lines:

{
  "policies": {
    "DisableAppUpdate": true,
    "DisableProfileRefresh": true,
    "DisableTelemetry": true,
    "DontCheckDefaultBrowser": true,
    "OverrideFirstRunPage": "",
    "OverridePostUpdatePage": "",
    "FirefoxHome": {
      "Search": true,
      "TopSites": false,
      "Highlights": false,
      "Pocket": false,
      "Snippets": false,
      "Locked": false
    }
  }
}

Save the file and name it: policies.json
Follow the “How to Install Firefox Silently” steps mentioned earlier in the article
Create one of the following directories (if not present) based on Firefox installation location
- “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
- “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\”
Copy the policies.json file to the “%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory or “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\” directory depending on the operating system architecture and what version of Firefox (32-bit or 64-bit) you have installed

How to Uninstall Firefox 100 Silently

Check out the Mozilla Firefox Install and Uninstall (PowerShell) post for a scripted solution.

Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Enter one of the following commands:

Mozilla Firefox 32-bit Silent Uninstall on 32-bit System

"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S

Mozilla Firefox 32-bit Silent Uninstall on 64-bit System

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S

Mozilla Firefox 64-bit Silent Uninstall on 64-bit System

"%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe" /S

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.