New WebExtensions Guides and How-tos on MDN

The official launch of WebExtensions is happening in Firefox 48, but much of what you need is already supported in Firefox and AMO (addons.mozilla.org). The best place to get started with WebExtensions is MDN, where you can find a trove of helpful information. I’d like to highlight a couple of recent additions that you might find useful:

Thank you to Will Bamberg for doing the bulk of this work. Remember that MDN is a community wiki, so anyone can help!

12 responses

  1. Joe Ertaba wrote on :

    Is it yet possible to use WebExtensions in SDK based or XUL based add-ons?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      You want to follow this bug. In short, not yet.

      1. Caspy7 wrote on :

        I kind of wonder if he might have actually meant a way to embed webextension APIs into SDK or XUL addons. Either way, I’m curious to that question.

        I have a vague recollection of a blog post saying this was possible (and how) but cannot find it now.

  2. Bruce wrote on :

    I’m looking at nativeMessaging in 49. I ported an NPAPI plugin to Chrome a while back. In Firefox I use js-ctypes but would like to drop in the Chrome extension. This extension is whitelisted to a couple of sites using the “externally_connectable” manifest described at https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/messaging#external-webpage. This means I don’t need a content script as I can connect directly from the web page using chrome.runtime.connect. As far as I can tell externally_connectable is not supported. Are there plans to?

  3. ismnoiet wrote on :

    Great, keep the good work.

  4. franz wrote on :

    When an extension gets updated on a user’s PC from being a legacy addon to being a WebExtension, is there a way to access the settings and toolbar button position from the the legacy addon?

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      I’m not sure what you mean. When the add-on is updated, the legacy code is deactivated and then the WebExtension is installed, so there’s nothing that can be done from the legacy add-on. Are you saying there’s a problem with the button position after an upgrade?

      1. franz wrote on :

        Not aware of any problem with the button position.

        Regarding user settings, I just found that there’s something underway that would allow handing over those to a Webextension: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1252215

  5. (y) wrote on :

    (y)

  6. bruce wrote on :

    Are there any plans to support the “externally_connectable” manifest entry described at https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/messaging#external-webpage? (been looking at 49).

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on :

      runtime.connect is being implemented, and I think that manifest flag is part of it. The only mention of the flag I see is on this bug.

  7. Thanhkhiet wrote on :

    Great, thanks. Keep up the good work