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    How to Refresh Only a Specific URL Path (Not Its Sub-Paths)

    Refresh Only a Specific URL Path with Auto Refresh

    A common use case: you want Auto Refresh to reload only one specific URL, for example example.com/dashboard, but the moment you navigate to example.com/dashboard/settings or any other sub-path of the same site, that page also starts refreshing. The fix is a combination of two settings — the URL itself (without a wildcard) and the "Refresh only on current tab" option in Advance Options.

    Once both are configured correctly, only the exact URL you saved will refresh; every other path on the same domain is left alone.

    Step 1 — Enter the exact URL without a wildcard

    In the Time Interval tab, set the URL field to the exact path you want to refresh. Do not add a * (asterisk) at the end — the wildcard matches every sub-path, which is exactly the behaviour we are trying to avoid here.

    img
    English 
    Running 
    Time Interval
    Refresh List
    Detect Keyword

    URL 

    https://example.com/dashboard
    • Use https://example.com/dashboard — refreshes that URL only.
    • Avoid https://example.com/dashboard* — the trailing * tells Auto Refresh to also refresh every sub-path like /dashboard/settings, /dashboard/anything-else, and so on.
    • Avoid https://example.com/* — this would refresh every page on the domain.

    Step 2 — Uncheck "Refresh only on current tab" in Advance Options

    In the Advance Options panel, make sure "Refresh only on current tab" is unchecked. This is the default state. If it is enabled, Auto Refresh treats the active tab as the target regardless of which URL is in there — which can cause sibling paths on the same domain to also be reloaded.

    img
    English 
    Running 
    Time Interval
    Refresh List
    Detect Keyword

    Advance Options

     Refresh only on current tab 

     Stop after 3 number of auto refresh 

     Show visual timer on the webpage 

     Stop refreshing if click anywhere on the page 

    Step 3 — Save and verify

    1. Click Save in the popup.
    2. Open example.com/dashboard in a tab — it should refresh on schedule.
    3. In another tab, open example.com/dashboard/settings — that page should not refresh.

    Cheat-sheet — URL patterns at a glance

    • https://example.com/dashboard — refreshes exactly that URL.
    • https://example.com/dashboard* — refreshes that URL and every sub-path / query string under it.
    • https://example.com/* — refreshes every page on the domain.
    • https://example.com/dashboard?id=123 — refreshes only the version with that exact query string.

    Learn how to automatically refresh a page on Firefox using the Auto Refresh Page Firefox extension. This easy guide explains how to set custom refresh intervals, reload web pages automatically, and save time when monitoring updates, live data, or frequently changing content.