First developer release of Web Apps Project

ragavan

We are excited to announce the availability of the first milestone release of Mozilla’s Web Application project. Web Apps are applications that run on any device, and can be distributed through any store or directly by the developer. This release contains stable APIs, developer utilities and documentation to help you get a jumpstart on building Web Apps and stores.

Developers can use this release to publish their application to users, or to create a Web App store or directory. Users can review a gallery of user experience ideas and beta-quality versions of Firefox and Chrome add-ons that integrate the Web App experience more tightly with the browser.

To get started, watch this short video which describes the main features of the release, then head over to our landing page to learn more.

Ready. Set. Build!

Head on over to the Mozilla Developer Network to understand how to:

  1. Build a Web App
  2. Describe your Web App using the stable manifest description
  3. Use our stable JavaScript APIs to let your Web App interact with the browser

Check out this gallery of some of the cool Web Apps that developers have already started building using our APIs.

If you are interested in building a Web App Store, we have documentation to help you get started.

Further we have some nifty utilities that will help you test how your new Web App works in modern browsers:

  1. Download the Mozilla Web App extension for Firefox and/or Chrome. This extension implements the application launch and application management APIs.
  2. Use the Manifest Validator to ensure your Web App manifests are working.
  3. Check out this proof-of-concept Web App dashboard written in HTML5. You may even be inspired to write your own dashboard!

To give you a taste of how we envision Web Apps will enable rich, immersive user experiences, head over to the user interface concepts gallery

What’s next?

In the coming weeks, we plan to pursue several new ideas, including:

  • A deeply integrated “in browser” experience that spans the entire find, install, launch, use and manage flow.
  • Syncing your Web Apps to your mobile devices.
  • Supporting native browser controls and OS integration.
  • Support for widgets and notifications to make your Web Apps more lively.
  • and many more.

Give us feedback!

As always, we would love to hear from you as you build and deploy Web Apps. In particular, we’d love to hear if:

  1. You have feedback on improvements you’d like to see in our APIs and documentation.
  2. You have built an awesome Web App and want to show it off.
  3. You have an amazing dashboard you’ve built.
  4. You have an idea for a cool Web App.

We believe Web Apps enable us to package all the generativity of the Web as rich, immersive experiences that delight users. We look forward to building this world with you.
—
The Mozilla Web Apps team