macOS External PiP Bridge

Firefox add-on + local macOS helper

Firefox video in a native always-on-top macOS window.

Install both parts: the Firefox add-on and the macOS helper. Then open a video, click the extension button, and keep the video floating while you work in other apps.

Install Firefox Add-on Download Helper

Both downloads are required. Beta for macOS. The helper is free, ad-hoc signed, and not Apple-notarized yet.

firefox.example/video
HTML5 video
Extension button
local bridge

How it works

Nothing is uploaded. The bridge stays on your Mac.

1

Click the add-on

The Firefox extension looks through the active tab and embedded frames to find the best HTML5 video.

2

Send locally

It connects to the helper app running on your Mac. The video data stays on your computer.

3

Play in helper

The helper opens a small always-on-top macOS window and keeps playback controls synced with Firefox.

Two playback paths

Direct media first, fallback stream if needed.

Direct mode

If Firefox sees a playable media URL, the helper plays that media itself. This keeps Firefox from capturing and re-encoding frames.

Fallback mode

If no direct URL works, the extension can use video.captureStream() and MediaRecorder to send encoded WebM chunks locally.

Install

You need the Firefox add-on and the macOS helper.

1. Install the Firefox add-on

Install the browser button from Mozilla Add-ons. If the listing is still under review, check the GitHub release notes.

Open AMO listing

2. Download the helper

Choose the build for your Mac, unzip it, and move the helper app to /Applications.

Apple Silicon Intel Mac

3. Open the helper

Right-click the helper app and choose Open. macOS may warn because this beta is not notarized.

View release

Privacy

Local by design.

The extension does not use analytics, advertising, tracking, or a remote server. Video URLs, playback state, and fallback media chunks are sent only to the helper on your own Mac.

Current limits

Beta means some videos will not work yet.