Auto-clear downloaded files history in Firefox

When you download a file in Mozilla Firefox, the progress of download can be seen in the Downloads window. When the download is complete the downloaded file entry stays in the Downloads window until you clear the entry manually. This can be a headache if you download lots of files everyday. You can set Firefox to automatically clear the downloaded files list in the Downloads window. Here is how :

  1. Start Mozilla Firefox.
  2. Type about:config in the location bar and press Enter.
  3. Firefox will show a warning. Click on the button labeled I’ll be careful I promise! to proceed.

  4. In the Filter field type retention. You would see a preference named browser.download.manager.retention as shown.

  5. It has a default value of 2. Double click on browser.download.manager.retention to change its value. If you want the downloads list to be cleared everytime you exit the Firefox, then change the value to 1. If you want the downloads list to be cleared immediately after the completion of download, then change the value to 0.
  6. After changing the value, restart the browser for the changes to take effect.