[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret AS Router DevTools Page in Firefox to Tweak New Tab Page and Homepage

This article will help you in enabling a special and hidden secret page called “AS Router DevTools” or “AS Router Admin” in Mozilla Firefox web browser. This secret page will allow you to tweak and customize many options and stuff present on the New Tab page (NTP) and Homepage of Firefox which can’t be modified using Firefox Settings.

What is AS Router DevTools or Admin Page in Firefox?

Firefox web browser comes with a hidden secret page called “ASRouter DevTools” (Messaging System Router) which has been developed for experts and advanced users to add/remove features and functionality from the New Tab page and Homepage in the browser. As the name suggests it’s actually a page dedicated for developers and administrators to tweak the code and functions responsible to show various components on the New Tab page.

Following screenshot shows the secret AS Router DevTools page revealed in Firefox web browser:

The page contains following 5 tabs or sections to use:

• General
• Targeting
• Message Groups
• Discovery Stream
• Errors

You can use this secret page to enable/disable promotional messages and snippets which are displayed on New Tab page and Homepage of Firefox. You can also modify existing messages with your own customized messages. You can block/unblock certain messages to appear on New Tab page.

It’s an all-in-one customization page which will please expert users and developers.

How to Open and Use AS Router DevTools Page in Firefox?

This secret page is disabled by default and not available for general users. To access and use this secret page, you’ll need to first activate the page using about:config page as mentioned later in this article. Once you activate the feature, you can direct access it by using any of following URLs in Firefox address bar:

about:newtab#asrouter

about:home#asrouter

Also a new Wrench icon is added on the New Tab page and Homepage to launch AS Router DevTools page as shown in following screenshot:

How to Activate and Enable AS Router DevTools Page in Firefox?

If you also want to enable and test this hidden secret page in Firefox, following steps will help you:

1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type asrouter in Search filter box and you’ll see following preference in the window:

There will be many more preferences related to ASRouter available on about:config page, we don’t need to modify them.

3. Double-click on the preference browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.asrouter.devtoolsEnabled and set its value to true. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

That’s it. Now open a new tab and you’ll see a new small wrench icon added at the top-right corner below the cog wheel icon on New Tab page.

Enjoy tweaking and customizing the New Tab page and Homepage in Firefox.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default settings and disable this secret AS Router DevTools page in Firefox, set the above mentioned preference to false again.

Also Check:

[Fix] Restore Real Working Search Box on New Tab Page in Firefox

[Tip] New Working Method to Restore Classic Theme and UI in Firefox