# Firefox Developer Edition keeps switching to Firefox icon

**URL:** <https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085>\
**Category:** Help\
**Tags:** plasma\
**Created:** [May 17, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085 "2026-05-17T16:21:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 19\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/1 "2026-05-17T16:21:39Z")

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![Screenshot_20260517_074028](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/3X/0/e/0ec19824b1fee72c127d6e3f758f2538de0fce3b.webp)

I use ‘Firefox Developer Edition’ (blue icon) but as I am using it, it constantly switches to the ‘Firefox’ orange icon, as above.

I don’t know what triggers it and the switch is seamless - i.e. I don’t notice it happening while using it.

System monitor shows that ‘Firefox Developer Edition’ is running.

Default application = ‘Firefox Developer Edition’ for web + PDF.

I’ve spent hours on this but no solution. Help!!

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**Author:** ![lolcabanon](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@lolcabanon](https://discuss.kde.org/u/lolcabanon)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/2 "2026-05-20T17:42:06Z")

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I have the same problem on multiple machines. It seems to happen randomly after a delay, but might be tied to a panel refresh (when I plug/unplug my headphones for example).

plasmashell -v : 6.6.4

firefox -v : 150.0.3

firefox-developer-edition -v : 151.0b4

I can help debug the issue, but would probably need some guidance.

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**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/3 "2026-05-20T19:09:50Z")

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Try to write a KWin Rule, is the window class written as “firefox firefox-developer-edition”? If so then add a property called “Desktop file name” set it to “Force” and the desktop filename to “firefox-developer-edition” that should fix it. Find out more here:

> [@Icon in panel for yad script](https://discuss.kde.org/t/icon-in-panel-for-yad-script/46764/14):
>
> Sure! You launch yad with your needed args: yad --title="Backup" --text="Backup completed successfully." --button=OK Notice how I removed --window-icon='dialog-information', that hint is ignored under Wayland. Either press Alt + F3 then M, W OR Right Click on the yad dialog titlebar then go Special Actions \> Configure Special Window Settings... Write a name/description for the rule, then for the Window title option either write the whole title or use a regular expression (in t…

> [@Change kitty task manager icon to Neovim when using Neovim](https://discuss.kde.org/t/change-kitty-task-manager-icon-to-neovim-when-using-neovim/46590):
>
> I wrote 2 Window Rules for 2 reasons one is purely esthetic the 2nd one is for it to be easier to differentiate kitty with neovim from other kitty instances. [Change icon back to kitty] Description=Change icon to back to kitty desktopfile=kitty desktopfilerule=2 title=^(?!nvim) titlematch=3 wmclass=kitty wmclassmatch=1 [kitty - change icon to neovim] Description=kitty - change icon to neovim desktopfile=nvim desktopfilerule=2 title=^nvim titlematch=3 wmclass=kitty wmclassmatch=1 If there’s a …

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**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 7:23am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/4 "2026-05-21T07:23:10Z")

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@lolcabanon - I’m pretty sure it’s not hardware-triggered for me. I’m not doing anything other than using the browser when it silently switches icons on the taskbar (which I don’t notice because my task manager is hidden).

@reisub - I’ll try that now. Will edit this with result.

* * *

Forgot to add my specs:

Kernel: Linux 7.0.9-1-cachyos  
OS: CachyOS x86\_64  
DE: KDE Plasma 6.6.5  
WM: KWin (Wayland)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:13am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/5 "2026-05-21T09:13:13Z")

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@reisub - that didn’t work for me. Here’s what I have:

 ![Screenshot_20260521_101148](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/3X/e/3/e36c19cc78b41dd5f253f04517f6f92026120bd8.webp)

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**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/7 "2026-05-21T10:14:02Z")

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Try this:

 ![image](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/3X/1/1/11199b44e75e3e9256a59c769ea4239e89d4ab0e.png)

Update: I ended up installing Firefox Developer Edition myself and I found that while this works it still leaves a firefox icon in the dock for a bit then it gets removed automatically. I also found out that the process itself is called “firefox” not “firefox-developer-edition”, that’s probably one of the reasons you get a regular firefox icon from time to time

```bash
pgrep -fl firefox

67744 firefox
67749 crashhelper
67824 forkserver
67841 Socket Process
67858 Privileged Cont
67868 RDD Process
68018 WebExtensions
68082 Utility Process
68094 Web Content
68111 Web Content
68116 Web Content

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/8 "2026-05-21T12:34:09Z")

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Thanks, I’ve updated and will see how that goes. Note: Window title = ‘… - Mozilla Firefox’ when I use ‘Detect Window Properties’.

I wonder if this is related to CachyOS using RAM for browser profiles (‘profile-sync-daemon’)?

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**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/9 "2026-05-21T13:18:34Z")

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I am not sure, but I remember having this issue on another distro, it was either Ubuntu or Pop OS. Currently I’m on Arch which Cachy OS is based on, so it’s probably a Firefox Developer Edition issue.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/10 "2026-05-21T14:25:15Z")

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So the KWin rule did not work. Issue remains. I’ll maybe spend more time on it in the future - had enough of it for now!

Thanks for your help.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![litmusdiameter](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@litmusdiameter](https://discuss.kde.org/u/litmusdiameter)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/11 "2026-05-21T14:27:04Z")

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I’d run into similar issues previously (about a year or so ago) when I wanted to create a new `.desktop` file for firefox, but launched with a different profile.

What I’ve tried:

1. Copy .desktop file to local

```auto
cp /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/firefox-diff-icon.desktop

```

1. Update new `.desktop` file window class and icon to something else.

Maybe creating a new window class + kwin window rule would work?

Edit: I see that in the forum links that you posted, something similar was tried.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/12 "2026-05-21T17:10:54Z")

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Yeah, it kinda works but you might see the regular firefox logo for a bit then it removes itself from the dock and you’re left with the right firefox-developer-edition logo almost like firefox-developer-edition is opening regular firefox first then the dev edition.  
Another nuclear option I just thought if is maybe finding the regular firefox icon png or svg in the system / icon pack and replacing it with the firefox-developer-edition unless you got both firefox versions and you wanna keep using both

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**Author:** ![lolcabanon](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@lolcabanon](https://discuss.kde.org/u/lolcabanon)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/13 "2026-05-21T18:11:12Z")

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Hey, to add in, I’m currently experiencing this exact issue on Manjaro so it’s probably not distro related. (still have to confirm it’s not Arch-based distros related I guess?)

I use Firefox and Firefox Developer Edition, so I’d like a fix to keep both. I’ve been using them on both my machines for over a year, and the issue only appeared recently.

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**Author:** ![lolcabanon](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@lolcabanon](https://discuss.kde.org/u/lolcabanon)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/14 "2026-05-21T18:15:17Z")

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I just witnessed the behaviour live, firefox-dev-edition was open and using the right icon and position (have it pinned in second on my panel), then I launched Slack (yuck ik) with KRunner and it kinda “reloaded” the icons and then the original orange FF icon appeared beside my pinned apps, just like if I launched FF, but it’s running the same process from before.

Edit : more details, it does not trigger when I launch discord ou thunderbird, but I’ve just replicated it again launching Slack. The Slack tray icon first load last (left position) then replace itself in the middle automatically after a couple seconds. The FF icon desync happens when Slack first load with the tray icon on the left. Discord tray icon pop on the left and stay there, and thunderbird’s one appear directly in the middle.

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**Author:** ![lolcabanon](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@lolcabanon](https://discuss.kde.org/u/lolcabanon)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/15 "2026-05-21T18:25:49Z")

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Okay another reproduction launching mongodb-compass.

```auto
mongodb-compass --versions

{
  "node": "22.21.1",
  "acorn": "8.15.0",
  "ada": "2.9.2",
  "amaro": "1.1.4",
  "ares": "1.34.5",
  "brotli": "1.0.9",
  "cjs_module_lexer": "2.1.0",
  "cldr": "44.1",
  "icu": "74.2",
  "llhttp": "9.3.0",
  "modules": "136",
  "napi": "10",
  "nbytes": "0.1.1",
  "ncrypto": "0.0.1",
  "nghttp2": "1.64.0",
  "openssl": "0.0.0",
  "simdjson": "3.13.0",
  "simdutf": "7.0.0",
  "sqlite": "3.50.4",
  "tz": "2025b",
  "undici": "6.22.0",
  "unicode": "15.1",
  "uv": "1.51.0",
  "uvwasi": "0.0.23",
  "v8": "13.8.258.32-electron.0",
  "zlib": "1.3.1",
  "zstd": "1.5.8",
  "electron": "37.10.3",
  "chrome": "138.0.7204.251"
}

```

```auto
yay -Qi slack-desktop

Nom : slack-desktop
Version : 4.49.89-1
Description : Slack Desktop (Beta) for Linux

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/16 "2026-05-21T20:17:21Z")

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https://embed.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/huiyy7/firefox_developer_edition_linux_shows_wrong_tray/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share

This has been a thing for a long time

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:43pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/17 "2026-05-21T21:43:39Z")

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@lolcabanon - for me, it has nothing to do with other apps launching. The problem happens when all I’m doing is using Firefox DE - one minute it’s using the correct blue icon which is pinned, the next it’s ‘jumped’ to the orange icon which is not pinned.

@reisub - good detective work! So, that’s the same issue from 6 (!) years ago. Ouch.

I just found: [https://bugs.kde.org/show\_bug.cgi?id=519839](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=519839) - is that the same issue?

It’s annoying enough that I’m either going to try [Mozilla Firefox Developer Edition, Portable | PortableApps.com](https://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox-developer-portable) or just use Chromium for dev stuff and go back to Firefox standard.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/18 "2026-05-21T21:52:07Z")

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> **[Two Of The Same Blue Firefox Developer Edition Icons On My Dock! WTH?](https://dev.to/beeburrt/two-of-the-same-blue-firefox-developer-edition-icons-on-my-dock-wth-404p)**
>
> Recently, I ran into some issues trying to install Firefox Developer Edition and so I'm writing this...

Could be the solution? I’ll try it tomorrow.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![reisub](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/reisub/32/28313_2.png) [@reisub](https://discuss.kde.org/u/reisub)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 6:13am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/19 "2026-05-22T06:13:00Z")

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You could try but I don’t think that would actually fix it. In the meantime try using the AppImage version from here:

> **[Release Latest Continous build for firefox-devedition v152.0.r20260520111910...](https://github.com/srevinsaju/Firefox-AppImage/releases/tag/firefox-devedition)**
>
> Mozilla Firefox Stable AppImages by Continuous Integration - Release Latest Continous build for firefox-devedition v152.0.r20260520111910 · srevinsaju/Firefox-Appimage

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dcog989](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/dcog989/32/31006_2.png) [@dcog989](https://discuss.kde.org/u/dcog989)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 10:05am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/firefox-developer-edition-keeps-switching-to-firefox-icon/47085/20 "2026-05-22T10:05:49Z")

</div>

Thanks, but having slept on it, I’m going to revert to standard Firefox and just use Chromium for dev stuff. There’s not enough reward for the effort of the other options - plus I want to keep my CachyOS ‘pure’, no flatpak or appimage.

Thank you everyone for input on this. 👍

P.S. I stupidly linked to PortableApps - can you tell I’m a recent Winbloat refugee?! 🙂