How to Add a Custom Search Engine in Firefox
Last Updated: 06 March 2025
1. Find a Search Engine
In this example, we're going to use Reddit (reddit.com).
2. Fill out the Form on OSDGen.com
2.1 Short Name: This should be a brief title that identifies this search engine. For our example, this would be Reddit.
Note: Firefox does not allow more than one search engine with the same Short Name (case-sensitive). This includes the built-in search engines, even after they are removed (e.g. "Google").
2.2 Description: While unused in Firefox, it's a mandatory specification for OpenSearch and should be a description of the search engine. We're going to use Reddit's motto: Dive into anything.
2.3 Results URL: This is the actual search URL we want to add. Remember, it's important to add {searchTerms} in place of the query. For Reddit, this will be https://www.reddit.com/search/?q={searchTerms}.
2.4 Suggestions URL (Optional): A URL by which a client can make requests for JSON search suggestions. If you don't want search suggestions, or if the site doesn't support it, you can leave this blank. Reddit doesn't support OpenSearch suggestions, so we're going to leave this blank.
2.5 Image (Optional): This can be any image you want, but will typically be the website's logo or favicon. For Reddit, this is going to be https://www.reddit.com/favicon.ico.
3. Generating and Adding the Search Engine
After filling in the above fields, you can go ahead and click the big "Generate OpenSearch Description" button. If you've missed any of the required fields, they will turn red.
After generating the OpenSearch description document, you'll be presented with instructions on how to add it to Firefox or download it. If you're having trouble, you can read the "Add or remove a search engine in Firefox" support article.
4. Adding Keywords
After adding your custom search engine to Firefox, you can then give it a keyword to make using it even easier.
To do this, go to Settings > Search > Search Shortcuts and double-click on the Keyword column next to your custom search engine. Then, give it a keyword like @reddit or even r/.
Now, instead of selecting the search engine from the menu, you can simply type @reddit cats or r/ cats.