Assign Keyboard Shortcuts to Extensions in Firefox

A new feature has landed in pre-release versions of Mozilla, and it will reach the production branch soon. Firefox users will be able to assign keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys) to actions available for installed extensions.

Firefox features a new keyboard shortcut editor available on the Extensions page of the Add-on manager. If an extension provides a list of actions, here you can assign a keyboard shortcut to a particular action.

Notice the 'Keyboard Shortcuts' button below the search box (I am running Firefox 66 'Nightly').

Clicking on that button will lead you to the following page.

To assign keyboard shortcuts to extensions in Firefox, do the following.

1. Open Firefox.
2. Click on the menu button with the hamburger icon.
3. Click on the Add-ons item. Tip: The Add-ons manager can be quickly opened by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + A keys on Windows and Linux.
4. In the Add-ons manager, click on the Keyboard Shortcuts. 
5. Find the add-on that provides an action you want to assign a keyboard shortcut to.
6. Type the desired keyboard sequence in the text box next to the action's name. The sequence must include the Ctrl and/or Alt key. It is not possible to use the Shift key for some reason.

You are done. Repeat the steps above for each action you need.

The assigned keyboard shortcuts will be available on any page you browse except internal pages of the browser. The browser doesn't execute any extension when you open its settings, about: pages, and so on.

It is worth mentioning that many extensions have no actions for which you can assign a keyboard shortcut. Also, you cannot remap the built-in hotkeys like the Ctrl + T shortcut. If you try to set such a sequence for an extension's action, the browser will warn you about the issue.

This useful feature is not exclusive to the Firefox browser. Google Chrome has the ability to assign keyboard shortcuts for extensions for at least 3 years. Finally, we are getting the same option in Mozilla Firefox.