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firefox-extensions.md

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How to Create a Firefox Extension?

Note: You don't need to do anything manually. You can install the create-web-ext npm package and generate a template file easily.

  • Create a folder with extension name.
  • Create a file manifest.json.
  • Crate a js file with the name you linked in content_script or background_script.

File should contain these:

"manifest_version": 2,
"name": "DDG Position",
"version": "1.0",

"description": "Places a marker with the position of a Google result link in DDG results.",

"content_script": [
    {
        "matches": ["*://*.google.com/search?*"],
        "js": ["ddgposition.js"]
    }
]

"permissions": [
    "*://duckduckgo.com/html/*"
]

Types of scripts offered by Firefox

  • Content Script: This runs directly on a page and has access to the Document Object Model or DOM. Has access to make an http request.

    • Has different ways to load them. One is matches, which automatically loads them for you. You can also run it from Background script.

  • Background Script: They don't have access to the current page itself that's loaded in the browser but they do have access to a complete list of the WebExtension API so they can play around with tabs and access other browser features that Content Script don't have access to. There is a messaging system to message between them.

For enabling android compatibility, must include these in manifest.json:

"browser_specific_settings": {
  "gecko": {
    "strict_min_version": "102.0"
  },
  "gecko_android": {
    "strict_min_version": "113.0"
  }
}

Run web-ext lint to make sure there are no compatibility issues.

Command to install addon in firefox android and test it. USB debugging must be turned on in Firefox android for this to work.

web-ext run -t firefox-android --adb-device R58T109NVJJ --firefox-apk org.mozilla.firefox

Firefox Extension Development Bugs

Android unfortunately has limitations on exporting or downloading files from an extension. To bypass it, you can create a temporary <a> element, setting its href to a data URL, and programmatically clicking it. However, the comments suggest this method doesn't work well in Firefox panels.

Another limitation is user cannot change the downloaded file's name in Android.