How to Save Passwords in Firefox (and Fix It When It Won’t Save) 2026
Back in 2005 Firefox’s password manager wouldn’t remember my Yahoo Mail login, no matter what I tried, because Yahoo told browsers not to save passwords. A bookmarklet fixed it then. Today Firefox ignores that instruction for login forms, and its built-in manager (now called Passwords) is much smarter. Here’s how to save passwords in Firefox and fix it when it doesn’t work.
Quick answer: Go to Firefox Settings > Privacy & Security > Passwords and tick Ask to save passwords. Log in to a site and click Save when Firefox asks. View, edit or export saved logins from the menu > Passwords (about:logins). If Firefox never offers to save, check that the site isn’t on the Exceptions list and that private browsing isn’t on.
Table of Contents
How to save passwords in Firefox
- Open Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Under Passwords, tick Ask to save passwords and Fill usernames and passwords automatically.
- Optionally tick Suggest strong passwords.
- Log in to a website and click Save in the prompt.
View, edit and export saved passwords
- Open the menu > Passwords, or type about:logins.
- Click a login to reveal, copy or edit it.
- Use the three-dot menu to export to a CSV file (store it securely and delete it after use).
- Set a Primary Password in Settings to protect saved logins on shared computers.
Firefox won’t save a password? Fixes
- Exceptions: you may have clicked “Never save” for that site. Remove it under Passwords > Exceptions.
- Private window: Firefox doesn’t offer to save in private browsing by default.
- History settings: “Never remember history” disables saving; switch to “Remember history” or custom settings.
- Unusual login forms: sites that log in over several steps or use pop-ups can confuse the manager. Use about:logins > Create New Login to add it manually.
- Extensions: another password manager may be taking over; disable it to test.
Sync and other devices
Sign in with a Mozilla account to sync passwords to Firefox on your phone and other computers. Prefer a cross-browser option? A dedicated password manager works in every browser.
Speed things up too: how to speed up Firefox. Mozilla’s password manager help covers more settings.
FAQ
Is it safe to save passwords in Firefox?
Yes, especially with a Primary Password or device lock, and a secure computer.
Where are Firefox passwords stored?
Encrypted in your Firefox profile (logins.json with key4.db).
Can I import passwords from Chrome?
Yes. In about:logins, use Import from Another Browser.
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If anyone’s not sure how to use this bookmarklet:-
1) Follow the link
2) Right-click on the button (!), and bookmark it. It should offer ‘remember password’ as a name. Don’t bookmark the page!!!
3) Go to whatever site you want to log in to, enter your details, don’t log in yet though
4) In the same tab, go bookmarks > remember password. The link was for a load of pure javascript, so it’ll come up with a message but won’t take you away from the page.
5) Click okay, log in, and ‘Do you want to remember this password?’ should come up. If all the numbers in the message were 0 and it doesn’t work, you might need to find something else.
It’s working for me in FF3 with Web Developer Plugin for Firefox ( https://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/ ) the same solution is in menu “Forms > Enable autocompletion”. But it seems that it’s necessary to click this option every time when logging to, otherwise the saved password won’t be offered.
Can’t get this to work either. Using firefox 3, os x tiger. Trying to get this to work for Msn hotmail. Tried all of the above, even put the link in the bookmark toolbar for easy access. But to no avail. Password manager won’t offer to remember my Hotmail password. Which is weird, cause on my Xp laptop it’s not a problem. Offers to remember.
Any solutions?
Great tip! :) Just a side note: users of fingerprint password managers like DigitalPersona Password Manager (IE) or FingerAuth Password Manager (Firefox) aren’t affected by this “problem”.
my yahoo account hacked i used this websiet to recover it
but i paid 15$ for it :((
Hey I’m having trouble making it work correctly, it isn’t working for Hotmail, TD, or Yahoo Mail. I did 2 things, 1, I opened the hotmail page, put my password in, then opened the bookmarklet in a new tab and clicked save password link, a windows popup came up saying what it did, but when I hit login Firefox (2.0) didn’t ask to save it.
LK wrote you paste the URL into the same tab before logging in, and then click log in, that didn’t seem to work for me either.
Any suggestions?
Thanks :)
This is awesome! I simply opened the Yahoo login page, and then pasted the URL for the “bookmarklet” in the same browser page. It did it’s thing. Then I put in my password and it worked.
hi,
thanks for the concise and perfect solution to my login problems. I just googled “yahoo password firefox” and i reached right to your solution !!
Good work !
After reading your solution, it irritates me that yahoo and gmail(which also does the same) take it upon themselves to clear login info. In the very least power users like me who prefer quick logins would appreciate that they atleast offer an option for those who need it while making the current solution the defualt.
Thanks for your solution.
Is this safe? To save passwords on the computer. I’ve got some reservations… reasonable?
thanks for the great site!
NSL
PS: I don’t mind the ads.