MacOS Firefox bitwarden extension rejects Touch ID

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1

I’m trying to get the Bitwarden extension working on firefox on my MacOS. Firefox browser 147.0.1 (aarch64) and MacOS Tahoe 26.2

In the desktop app i have browser integration checked but when I try to enable touch ID in the browser extension I get

Screenshot 2026-01-25 at 10.52.52 AM
Screenshot 2026-01-25 at 10.52.52 AM688×622 31.1 KB

I get no notification on the desktop and after a few seconds it errors out.

  • I have tried uninstalling bitwarden app and reinstalling it, both the browser extension and the desktop app.
  • Unchecking the “allow browser integration”, logging out, logging back into the desktop app and re-checking it and then logging into the browser extension app but nothing working so far.
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2

I’ve been having the same issue recently and I couldn’t find any information on it besides this post. I’m glad I’m not the only one having the same issue.

3

@completely Welcome to the forum!

  1. What is your desktop app version?
  2. What is your Bitwarden browser extension version on Firefox?
  3. Can you unlock the desktop app with Touch ID? → If not, that has to work first, before you can set it up for the browser extension. (–> see also here: Unlock With Biometrics | Bitwarden)
  4. Did you check your username directory?
    2026-01-25--18-54-31-vivaldi_JxrDDGQDqv
    2026-01-25--18-54-31-vivaldi_JxrDDGQDqv810×203 26.9 KB

What I found when setting up biometric unlock: do it step by step… if something doesn’t work, close all apps and browsers, open everything again and continue where you left off. – And always open the desktop app first, and before you even open the browser where you want to set up (or later: use) biometrics.

See also here for setting it up on the browser extension: https://bitwarden.com/help/biometrics/#tab-chromium-based-&-firefox-4qWdCGOfvbgQwCdzhcj1UN

PS: @nickk Same questions for you (given that you are also on MacOS and Firefox – and then: what versions?)

4

Also, try getting it working in Safari first. That will help distinguish between a browser issue and an app/OS issue.

5

it works on safari

6

The Bitwarden extension version for Firefox is Version: 2025.12.1

SDK: ‘main (93a331f)’

Server version: 2026.1.0

I can unlock the desktop version with Touch ID and I can unlock it on safari with Touch ID.

Bitwarden app version is Version 2025.12.0 (52522)

7

I’m marginally sure that the issue is that for some reason

~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts

is not being created but I’m not sure how to force Mozilla or Bitwarden to create the folder and from what I’ve read

8

If the folder is not there, you can just create it yourself. However, it needs to contain the manifest file (com.8bit.bitwarden.json). If the manifest is absent, you could try copying it from the NativeMessagingHosts subfolder from another browser (one in which biometrics work). Or you could go through the biometrics setup process, which should allow the Desktop app to place the necessary manifest file in the NativeMessagingHosts subfolder.

9

@completely Do you open Firefox before you open the desktop app? – It is important to always open the desktop app, before you even open the browser where you want to set up (or later: use) biometrics.

(I now also added that to my previous post.)

10

Hi. I have the same issue. I made a post on the Bitwarden subreddit TouchID works with Safari extension + Bitwarden desktop app but not with Firefox extension. : Bitwarden where you can see the things I have tried to resolve the problem. Unfortunately nothing has worked.

I have tried a fresh Firefox profile with just the Bitwarden extension to rule out any config changes I might have made to Firefox but it still fails to communicate with the Bitwarden desktop app.

All my version details, etc. are in the reddit post. It also works in Safari so it seems isolated to Firefox.

Also just to mention I don’t have a ~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts on my machine now do I seem to have had one for months from looking at my backups as it is not present in any of them going back to 2024. Unsure why Firefox is not creating it if it is needed to communicate with the Bitwarden app.

11

I have the same issue.

I am able to log in using the desktop app AND with the browser extension in Edge using touch ID no problem. However, no matter how many times I try uninstalling or using a fresh profile, the Firefox extension will not talk to desktop application.

It gets held at that same warning, and eventually pops up “Unable to set up biometrics. Action was canceled by desktop application”

As far as I can tell there is no permission Edge or Safari has that Firefox doesn’t. Seems to be issue with extension itself

EDIT:

147.0.2 (aarch64) On a MacBook M3 Pro. Tahoe 26.2 (25C56)
Extension version 2025.12.1

Screenshot 2026-02-02 at 1.27.08 PM
Screenshot 2026-02-02 at 1.27.08 PM736×172 13.2 KB

12

I’m experiencing the same thing :frowning: tried installing latest version, resetting etc

13

@unknown Welcome to the forum!

I think, this time I can only post something I just posted in a similar thread, as a few people seem to be not successful with biometrics on the Firefox extension on MacOS (given Unlock With Biometrics | Bitwarden and Unlock With Biometrics | Bitwarden was already followed down to the smallest detail) – and unfortunately, as I don’t use a Mac, I can’t provide first hand experience here (I only know, on Windows 11 it works also with Firefox), so…

Three ideas:

  1. You can contact BW support to try to get assistance with this. (–> if there is a solution, I think we would be glad to know about it here later on)

  2. There recently was a bug report about that, but it was closed. If some other people would add their experience there, it might get re-opened. (–> disadvantage: it might not get re-opened…)

  3. You could also open a new GitHub issue and hope for a better outcome. (I would at least reference the other issue then… though – maybe depending on how you frame it – this potentially also includes the risk to get your new issue closed as a duplicate…)

14

There is a new comment to a corresponding GitHub issue that suggests this worked for them:

Create a file ~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts/com.8bit.bitwarden.json with the following content:

{
  "name": "com.8bit.bitwarden",
  "description": "Bitwarden desktop <-> browser bridge",
  "path": "/Applications/Bitwarden.app/Contents/MacOS/desktop_proxy",
  "type": "stdio",
  "allowed_extensions": [
    "{446900e4-71c2-419f-a6a7-df9c091e268b}"
  ]
}

PS: I don’t know MacOS well enough to know if e.g. the exact path in that file can vary or not.

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