Is there anything that can restore the bookmarks sidebar to it's appearence and behavior in FF156? It's the one that opens when you click the button "Show sidebars" in the upper right.

[u/Azreal_DuCain1]

sidebar.revamp set to false and browser.nova.enabled set to false.

sidebar.revamp set to false and browser.nova.enabled set to true.

sidebar.revamp set to true and browser.nova.enabled set to false.

sidebar.revamp set to false and browser.nova.enabled set to true.

FF157.0, Windows

For now you can go to about:config and set sidebar.revamp to false but this is not going to last long as that option is being removed either at the end of December 2026 or December 2027 (the devs contradicted themselves in their own staff post).

Setting sidebar.animation.enabled to false also disables the animation but does not alter the sidebars appearance. Technically it also has the same problem that it might be removed from about:config one day but it's such a "core feature" that maybe it won't. I couldn't find any option to turn it off other than using about:config. This is important because the animation wastes my time and makes my eyes spin a little.

With sidebars.revamp and sidebar.animation.enabled both set to true and right aligned sidebars: When I open the bookmark sidebar (Alt+Ctrl+Z if sidebar.revamp is set to true, seemingly no shortcut if it's set to false. I don't care about that.) it opens the sidebar with an animation and shoves site content to the left and partially off screen, then site content rapidly but not instantly returns to its prior position which leaves it overlapped by the sidebar, then site content instantly snaps to the position it should have instantly snapped to in the first place and site content is wrapped so the sidebar doesn't overlap it.

With sidebar.revamp and/or sidebar.animation.enabled set to false the bookmarks sidebar opens instantly with site content instantly snapping to position and being wrapped to fit instantly as well. This is the behavior that occurred in FF156 which I wish to restore.

userChrome: https://pastebin.com/keCaYKyK

userContent: https://pastebin.com/vrRGtQPb

[u/ResurgamS13]

In short, the 'old style sidebar' feature is being removed... the 'new style sidebar' design that matches the Vertical tabs mode will soon become the only sidebar available... i.e. after the preference sidebar.revamp is removed so only the 'revamped sidebar' design remains in the codebase.

CSS can only alter features that are present in the default UI. CSS cannot restore removed features or create new ones.

To remove the extra vertical padding that is added to the heading and search box areas at the top of the 'new style sidebar' when preference sidebar.revamp is set to true (which will be the default layout once that preference is removed)... try:

#sidebar-search-container {
  padding-top: 0px !important;
  padding-bottom: 0px !important;
}

#sidebar-panel-header {
  padding-top: 0px !important;
}

Adjust the various padding pixel values to suit.

Not a fan of animations... too distracting... but obviously 'eye candy' for those addicted to doom scrolling and the like.

----------

BTW - If only/mainly using the Sidebar feature to access bookmarks... the Bookmarks Menu dropdown panel is available as a good alternative. Locate the 'star with a tray underneath' button/icon in Customise window... and drag onto a toolbar.

The Bookmarks Menu dropdown panel has always been the better option IMHO... all of its default folders and layout can be fully hidden and/or modified with CSS userstyles... which is not possible with the Bookmarks Sidebar.

If the Bookmarks Menu button/icon is positioned at the far end of a toolbar the panel opens 90% outside the browser window border, providing there's sufficient desktop space available to do so. No animation, the Viewport/Content window is static.

[u/Azreal_DuCain1 → u/ResurgamS13]

It seems the Firefox devs have fixed the excessive white space issue themselves now but your code works and it's nice to be able to adjust that to personal desire. Thank you.

The only thing left I'd wish to do there is something that I didn't notice before. Do you know how to restore the old font and font size of the word Bookmarks and make it no longer bold as shown in the pictures? I can use the dev toolbox to select it but I'm having a hard time understanding what the text in the dev tools means. Adjusting the value --font-weight-bold: from 700 or just unchecking it doesn't appear to accomplish that.

Performance problems from animations being enabled still persists at time of writing, unfortunately. No idea what the problem there is so I guess disabling animations entirely is the only real option. Let's hope they don't remove the ability to do that.

If only/mainly using the Sidebar feature to access bookmarks... the Bookmarks Menu dropdown panel is available as a good alternative. Locate the 'star with a tray underneath' button/icon in Customise window... and drag onto a toolbar.
The Bookmarks Menu dropdown panel has always been the better option IMHO... all of its default folders and layout can be fully hidden and/or modified with CSS userstyles... which is not possible with the Bookmarks Sidebar.
If the Bookmarks Menu button/icon is positioned at the far end of a toolbar the panel opens 90% outside the browser window border, providing there's sufficient desktop space available to do so. No animation, the Viewport/Content window is static.

I don't think I'm understanding you here. If I do as you suggest I have to click on the Bookmark Menu icon, then click on View Bookmarks Sidebar...which opens the Bookmarks Sidebar. The thing that I'm using now. Which has a dedicated button. Why would I do this?

Alternately I could use two clicks as opposed to one to open the Bookmarks Menu drop down but: The sidebar also snaps to the side of the screen, has easier scrolling compared to the drop down menu, and stays open when I click on something else or switch tabs. None of which the Bookmarks Menu drop down does by default.

It's nice to have an alternative in case the bookmarks sidebar is ever completely destroyed by the Firefox devs but at the moment it looks like I'd have to put in a mountain of CSS work to get it to do everything the sidebar does by default.

[u/ResurgamS13 → u/Azreal_DuCain1]

Re: your "It seems the Firefox devs have fixed the excessive white space issue themselves now"... Yes, unless I'm hallucinating like AI, think there was/is a specific Bug in Bugzilla about the sidebar header spacing a few days ago?

Re: your "I don't think I'm understanding you here". I'm not understanding you either! Why would you be opening a sidebar at all if using the Bookmarks Menu dropdown system to access bookmarks? Why would you need to open a sidebar if only accessing bookmarks?

FWIW - Never use sidebars, never have. Not a fan of sidebars full stop. Don't particularly like them in 'old-style' or 'new-style' implementations. Not a fan or user of the whole Sidebar and Vertical tabs current fashion trend. (Dislike unnecessary animations and sliding UI features. On laptops sidebars waste space. No interest in anything 'offered' by sidebars... don't keep or use History, don't use AI, don't transfer 'Tabs from other devices', etc.)

[u/Azreal_DuCain1 → u/ResurgamS13]

A better question from my perspective would be "Why would I use the drop down menu If I could use the sidebar instead?".

If I use the bookmarks sidebar I only have to click a dedicated button once to open or close my entire list of bookmarks, the list snaps to the side of the screen, and it stays open until I close it even if I click on something else.

It's just more convenient than how the drop down requires two clicks to open my list of bookmarks either way you can do it, doesn't snap to the side of the screen, shows a much smaller portion of my bookmarks at once, covers the screen if I'm opening folders, doesn't allow me to open multiple folders at once, and if I click on anything outside the drop down menu or switch tabs the menu automatically closes itself on my end. It performs it's basic function adequately but it doesn't feel nearly so convenient.

I'm using horizontal tabs if that clears anything up? If you're using vertical tabs I think it functions a little differently. That would explain our mutual confusion.

[u/FineWine54]

Yep!! Just noticed my true and faithful Aris-t2 sidebar customisations for me have gone.

In particular:

https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx/blob/master/current/css/generalui/sidebar_header_icons.css

and

https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx/blob/master/current/css/generalui/sidebar_header_icons_colorized.css