When navigating to "native massaging" documentation, first thing you see is a warning:
Important: Chrome will be removing support for Chrome Apps on all
platforms. Chrome browser and the Chrome Web Store will continue to
support extensions. Read the announcement and learn more about
migrating your app.
Since all this documentation located under Chrome Apps docs, is it means that "native messaging" feature going away as well? If it is, what is the alternative for communicating with chrome extension from the outside?
Related
I found the api in chrome extension docs which reads the api is deprecated chrome app platform. Does this mean the api is accessible for chrome extension now? However, it seems something goes wrong when I take it as an extension api.
There is a currently experimental API. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/USB
We have chrome and FF extensions which works with a native messaging app. Recently we developed edge extension and a UWP app which works in the same way. Now the user has to install two separate native messaging apps if they want use any chrome/FF/Edge browsers.
My question is, is it possible for Chrome/FF extension talk to windows UWP app?
Unfortunately no. On Windows, both Chrome and Firefox use the registry to locate the native applications manifest, and Windows Store apps are forbidden from writing to the registry. (ref: Prepare to package an app (Desktop Bridge)
If something changes (Store apps gain the ability to alter the registry, or Chrome and Firefox introduce an alternative way to locate the manifest), then it might be possible. Though likely not via the UWP app directly. UWP apps appear to support standard input and output, but the way they are run prevents access to it. It might however be possible to create an intermediary Win32 app that can communicate with the UWP app via the AppService and the browser extension via stdio.
Afterthought: Enpass Password Manager (win32) was ported to the Windows Store reportedly because of API issues, and has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. Might be worth asking them how they pulled it off. I did some more digging, and figured it out. localhost loopback, a custom url scheme, web sockets, and browser verifications is how they are doing it. Not an ideal solution, but it seems to work.
Firefox WebExtensions require the applications key in extension's manifests.
Chrome's extensions do not appear to support the applications key and Chrome throws an error when the key is present, unlike Firefox which simply ignores unsupported keys.
Is there a way around this error that does not require the use of two different manifests for each browser?
Chrome gives this error when the applications key appears in the manifest:
Unrecognized manifest key 'applications'.
Maybe not directly answer the question, but according to a blog from Microsoft Microsoft Edge extensions now available to preview,
In keeping with our commitment to an interoperable web, we’re participating in the W3C Browser Extension Community Group’s efforts to define standardized extension APIs based on familiar web technologies.
So maybe we can look forward to the future.
I have a Chrome extension that uses the chrome.management API to get a list of installed Chrome extensions and apps. The problem starts because I also want to use the chrome.syncFileSystem API which only seems to be available to Chrome apps.
If I switch the extension to an app, I can no longer use the chrome.management API. I haven't been able to find an API to access the installed extensions from an app. Any tips?
I don't think you can, not without having both an extension and an app.
Google has a private API to do that, but for public API, they want apps to be as independent as possible from the browser.
I'm writing an extension.
A part of this extension contains an html page.
I'd call that page, also as a Google Apps,
inserting an icon between applications of chrome.
It's possible create a manifest file to integrate the chrome app with chrome extension?
No. You'd create both an app an an extension, then encourage the user to install both if you detected that one wasn't installed.
There is an outstanding feature request to allow bundled installations of multiple apps/extensions.