“Vacuum Places Improved” Speeds Up Firefox With One Click
Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): On Monday we showed you how to speed up Firefox by vacuuming your fragmented database regularly using a copy-and-paste Error Console command. Sounds like a pain, right? Vacuum Places Improved handles it for you with a mouse click.
This experimental extension adds a small icon to the Firefox status bar that, when clicked automatically “vacuums” your Places database—the one that slows down Firefox when it gets fragmented. You can also automate the task by ticking the Automatically clean places checkbox in the Vacuum Places Improved extension Preferences and entering your desired number of Firefox startups since last cleaning.
It still doesn’t solve one of the biggest items on our Firefox wishlist (i.e. better memory management), but at least its an easy way to execute one of the workarounds.
Vacuum Places Improved is an experimental extension (so install with caution), works wherever Firefox does.
Vacuum Places Improved 0.3 [Firefox Add-ons via gHacks]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@kettlewhistle: You can configure it to only pop up & display every 'x' days or every 'x' number of FireFox starts. You can also have it auto-clean or do it manually yourself.
kamnet
@Star me or I'll peck your eye out: It does help, it took my places.sqlite down to 7.8M, from 92M.
I think this is great. Every little bit helps... and it can't hurt.
gpzbc
Installed with no problem and has made a noticeable if not jaw-dropping difference. Thanks for the tip, LH.
nolabar10der
These extensions are fine (two or three have this purpose) but they clean/compact only the places.sqlite.
There is a small software called SpeedyFox ([www.crystalidea.com]) which compacts ALL SQLite databases in the user's Firefox application folder. Really neat.
@kettlewhistle: 1.43mb starting size? Call me when you have 16.1mb (as I do now) and higher... I remember mine being 32mb in the past, but I'd recently run Vacuum (what an odd name) when that post first went up. Believe me, it helps.
I just tried this. My places.sqlite went from 1.43 MB to 1.41. Not sure I'll be leaving this installed, but maybe I'll bookmark it for when FF gets sluggish.
Does anyone know if it helps to clean out the prefs.js file once in a while? Even when you uninstall addons, a lot of leftover junk stays in there. You can just exit FF, delete it, and a new one will be created when you relaunch FF, but you will have to reset a lot of your preferences.
I personally like to save a copy of it after I do a new install and get all my addons and prefs situated. That way I can just revert back to the original if I ever want to clean it up. But maybe I'm just being anal for no reason.
kettlewhistle
hooray! I can be lazy and enjoy slightly quicker firefox all at the same time!
Jurandr