FAQ: What does the “Load list of sites from URL” field do?

The Load list of sites from URL field allows you to obtain the list of sites to block from a URL (e.g., a text file on a web server). The list will be loaded when the browser is first started and also when the options are changed. This feature is useful if you have LeechBlock installed on multiple machines and want to avoid having to update the settings on each machine in turn whenever you need to change the list of the sites to block. (Note also that if you put $S in the URL it will be replaced with the number of the block set and $T will be replaced with a UTC timestamp in milliseconds. The latter can be useful for avoiding caching problems.)

Note that Firefox’s security model doesn’t allow extensions to load local files (even with the file:// protocol). As a workaround, you can use Dropbox:

  • Copy your text file with the list of sites into a Dropbox folder and share the file.
  • Copy the download link to the file into the Load list of sites from URL field, replacing www.dropbox.com with dl.dropboxusercontent.com.

Alternatively, you can use Google Drive to host the text file, as long as you use a direct download link rather than the regular share link.

If you don’t understand any of this then you almost certainly don’t need it! If in doubt, just leave the Load list of sites from URL field blank.