Install on Firefox for macOS using configuration profiles

This article covers the process to auto-install the Pendo Launcher extension on the Firefox web browser on a Mac computer using Mobile Device Management (MDM) tooling, which involves:

1. Creating a .plist file on your own device.
2. Pushing the .plist file to your end-user devices.
3. Validating that the installation was successful.

Prerequisites

Before you continue, read our Plan your Pendo Launcher installation and Deploying the Pendo Launcher articles. The installation process for a Mac computer is different from the process for a Windows computer.

The installation process doesn’t identify the visitors (end users) or include metadata about them. Pair the installation with a follow-up configuration to identify visitors to Pendo. 

For complete documentation on enterprise management of Firefox, see Mozilla’s article: Customizing Firefox on MacOS using configuration profiles.

Extension ID

The Firefox extension ID for the Pendo Launcher is the same for all customers: lgpofjmgggolmabddgdmbgipcnblpnbm. This extension ID is referenced later in the installation process. It's used by the browser to identify which extension should be installed.

The extension can also be found in the Firefox Add-Ons listing of the Pendo Launcher: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/pendo-launcher/

Step 1. Create a .plist file

Create a file called org.mozilla.firefox.plist on your own device. Copy the following code into the file and save:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" 
"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>EnterprisePoliciesEnabled</key>
    <true/>
    <key>ExtensionSettings</key>
    <dict>
        <key>pendo-launcher@pendo.io</key>
        <dict>
            <key>installation_mode</key>
            <string>force_installed</string>
            <key>install_url</key>
<string>https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/downloads/latest/pendo-launcher/latest.xpi</string>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

If you would like users to have the option to uninstall the Pendo Launcher extension, you can change the keyword force_installed to say normal_installed instead.

Step 2. Push the .plist file to your end-user devices

The preference domain for the configuration profile is org.mozilla.firefox. If your tooling requires the .plist file to be converted to a configuration profile before uploading, you can use the open source tool, mcxToProfile.

Your MDM tooling has specific instructions on how to deploy a custom configuration profile. Below is a list of documentation for some of the most common MDM tools used for Mac devices:

• Jamf
• Kandji
• Hexnode
• Workspace ONE

Step 3. Validate the installation

Pendo recommends gradual rollout of the installation, beginning with a device that you have physical access to. Once the configuration profile is pushed to a given device, confirm its presence to validate your deployment process, and then confirm that the extension is installed to validate the content of your delivered profile.

Confirm the presence of the configuration profile

There are two ways to confirm a configuration profile is successfully installed:

Apple system settings

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Select Privacy and Security in the sidebar.
3. Select Profiles. You might need to scroll down to find it.
4. Search for your configuration profile, which is the name configured in your MDM tool, to check that it's present.

The command line

1. Open the Mac terminal app.
2. Enter the command cd /Library/Managed\ Preferences to navigate to the managed preferences folder.
3. Verify that the org.mozilla.firefox.plist file is present.
4. Enter the command defaults read /Library/Managed\ Preferences/org.mozilla.firefox.
5. Verify the contents match the following:

{
    EnterprisePoliciesEnabled = 1;
    ExtensionSettings =     {
        "pendo-launcher@pendo.io" =         {
            "install_url" = "https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/downloads/latest/pendo-launcher/latest.xpi";
            "installation_mode" = "force_installed";
        };
    };
}

Validate the content of your delivered profile

Once you've confirmed that the configuration file is present, validate that the file is formatted correctly by checking that the browser correctly force-installs the extension.

1. Open Firefox on a device that has the configuration profile present. If the Firefox app is already running, quit and re-open it.
2. In your Firefox browser, navigate to the about:addons page by copying and pasting that exact text into your URL bar.
3. Find the Pendo Launcher, listed under Extensions. If you chose force_installed when creating the configuration profile, there is no option to disable the extension from the page.