By adding Memory column in the about:performance page a complete task manager for Firefox browser is now ready in Firefox 65 nightly, which now shows CPU and memory consumed by each tab.
The Windows or Mac Operating System provided task manager doesn’t give info about resource usage of browser add-ons whereas task manager built-into Firefox -that can be opened by selecting menu item present in More Sub-menu in the application menu (available in Firefox 64 also) – displays more details about memory and CPU usage of the tabs, extensions (including system add-ons), browser process and Firefox internal pages.
Note: Firefox 64 to ship with basic Task Manager, Memory column will not be a part of it, read Mozilla overhauls Firefox about:performance
Firefox task manager vs Chrome Task Manager
While Chrome Task Manager opens in a separate Window and shows information like Memory footprint, CPU, Network and Process ID, Firefox about:performance offers these details within the browser in a page, it shows name of tab, type -whether it is a browser process or add-on or other – Energy impact and Memory.
While you can end a process running in Task Manager in Chrome after selecting a task, you have to hover over the tab item and click on close button available at the end to close tab when comes to Task Manager in Firefox.
Now stop comparing Chrome and Firefox Task Mangers and get back to Firefox’s.
Have you spotted a extension or theme slowing down Firefox browser, while you can’t close an add-on like tab in Task Manager, you can certainly uninstall it, for that about:performance offers arrow, which on hover over says ‘show in add-on manger’ and takes you to add-on details in about:addons.
When you reach about:add-ons by this fashion, you’ll lose the track of already opened Task Manager, that something Mozilla needs to work on. And you can have only one Task Manager open irrespective of the number of windows and tabs open.
Interestingly, if you click on Firefox Screenshots item, Screenshots add-on details will be shown by add-ons manager, which generally doesn’t show system add-ons and their details.
Still to come
You can able to pause a tab, when you do that, JavaScript in that tab will be paused, by clicking the play button you can able to resume JS execution in the tab.
Performance section in Control Center to show memory and CPU usage per site you’re on.
Since Firefox 65 is still in Nightly, expect the remaining features to land before entering beta. Finally, Firefox is getting a task manager, what do you say on that?