Middle-click to open new tab unintentionally pastes clipboard contents into address bar

[seh-GAH-toh]

Captchas

• [x] I have read the instructions.
• [x] I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• [x] I am not filing an enhancement request.
• [x] I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
• [x] I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

When opening a new tab by middle-clicking on the tab bar, the contents of the system clipboard are pasted into the address bar of the new tab.

I’ve been experiencing this bug across multiple versions of Zen and on different Linux distributions (Ubuntu and Fedora 41/42), but a fix has never came—so I’m finally submitting a bug report.

Os: Linux Fedora 6.14.2-300.fc42.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Apr 10 21:50:55 UTC 2025 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version

1.11.5b

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Linux (Flatpak)

What component is this issue related to?

Tabs

Relevant log output if applicable

[sjclayton]

This issue is caused because of a default flag Mozilla sets in Firefox on Linux:

Set browser.tabs.searchclipboardfor.middleclick to false in about:config to fix it.

[YouCanTouCan]

Yes, I have spoken to the maintainer and this is intended behavior. As sjclayton said, it can be disabled through about:config

[Propheticus]

Quite handy. Turned it on :)

Going to close this issue because:

• It's the default Firefox behaviour on Linux.
• It can be disabled, see @sjclayton 's response.

[seh-GAH-toh]

I see, you guys are right about the flag browser.tabs.searchclipboardfor.middleclick.

However, Firefox only opens the link from the clipboard when you click on the "+" icon. When you click on the tab bar, it opens a new empty tab. That is not the behavior that Zen follows—if you click on either the "+" icon or the tab bar, it will open a new tab with the clipboard contents anyway.

@Propheticus could you re-open the issue, please?

Firefox:

Zen:

[Propheticus]

I see, so there is a slight difference. (Zen in this case feels more consistent to me) I'll re-open, but can imagine this bug (or quirk) might be low on the Devs prio list. For now you can work around by double clicking or setting the advanced preference sjclayton mentioned to false.

[seh-GAH-toh]

Thank you very much!

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @seh-GAH-toh. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported a bug in the Zen browser on Linux where middle-clicking opens a new tab and pastes clipboard contents into the address bar.
• @sjclayton identified this as default behavior in Firefox on Linux, with a workaround available by changing a setting in about:config.
• You noted a discrepancy between Firefox and Zen's behavior, leading to the issue being reopened by @Propheticus.
• The issue remains open, with a workaround available.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the Zen browser. You can keep the discussion open by commenting on the issue.
• If there is no further activity, the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[seh-GAH-toh]

Hi, @seh-GAH-toh. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

* You reported a bug in the Zen browser on Linux where middle-clicking opens a new tab and pastes clipboard contents into the address bar.

* [@sjclayton](https://github.com/sjclayton) identified this as default behavior in Firefox on Linux, with a workaround available by changing a setting in about:config.

* You noted a discrepancy between Firefox and Zen's behavior, leading to the issue being reopened by [@Propheticus](https://github.com/Propheticus).

* The issue remains open, with a workaround available.

Next Steps:

* Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the Zen browser. You can keep the discussion open by commenting on the issue.

* If there is no further activity, the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

Yes, the problem still occurs in the latest version of Zen on Linux.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @seh-GAH-toh. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary

• You reported a bug in the Zen browser on Linux where middle-clicking opens a new tab and pastes clipboard contents into the address bar.
• @sjclayton noted this is default behavior in Firefox on Linux, which can be disabled via about:config.
• You highlighted a discrepancy between Firefox and Zen's behavior, leading to the issue being reopened.
• Despite a workaround, you confirmed the problem persists in the latest version of Zen.

Next Steps

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here to keep the discussion open.
• If no further updates are provided, the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[seh-GAH-toh]

Hi, @seh-GAH-toh. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary

* You reported a bug in the Zen browser on Linux where middle-clicking opens a new tab and pastes clipboard contents into the address bar.

* [@sjclayton](https://github.com/sjclayton) noted this is default behavior in Firefox on Linux, which can be disabled via about:config.

* You highlighted a discrepancy between Firefox and Zen's behavior, leading to the issue being reopened.

* Despite a workaround, you confirmed the problem persists in the latest version of Zen.

Next Steps

* Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here to keep the discussion open.

* If no further updates are provided, the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @seh-GAH-toh. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported a bug in the Zen browser on Linux where middle-clicking opens a new tab and pastes clipboard contents into the address bar.
• @sjclayton identified this as default behavior in Firefox on Linux, which can be disabled via a setting in about:config.
• You noted a discrepancy between Firefox and Zen's behavior, leading to the issue being reopened by @Propheticus.
• Despite a workaround, you confirmed the problem persists in the latest version of Zen.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here to keep the discussion open.
• If no updates are provided, the issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!