How to develop a simple chrome extension that navigate to a website - google-chrome-extension

Question

I need to create a simple chrome extension which when clicked have to navigate to that website.I have been searching long.But I couldn't find out.Please help me.
Here is my manifest.json file
{
"name": "My First Extension",
"version": "1.0",
"description": "The first extension that I made.",
"manifest_version":2,
"browser_action": {
"default_icon": "icon_128.png"
},
"background_page": "background.html",
"permissions": [
"tabs"
]
}
this is my background.html
<script>
chrome.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(function(tab) {
chrome.tabs.create({'url': "http://calpinemate.com"});
</script>
I am just trying to navigate into my site.But it is not working.Anyone please help me.I only have these two files in my directory and an image icon_128.png.Please help me

Answer 1

background_page is no longer supported in manifest_version 2. Instead use the new format. You can also remove the tabs permissions value since chrome.tabs.create doesn't require it.
{
"name": "My First Extension",
"version": "1.0",
"description": "The first extension that I made.",
"manifest_version": 2,
"browser_action": {
"default_icon": "icon_128.png"
},
"background": {
"scripts": ["background.js"]
}
}
Move background.html to background.js, and remove the <script></script> tags.
chrome.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(function(tab) {
chrome.tabs.create({'url': "http://calpinemate.com"});
});

Answer 2

Maybe it is because you are missing theclosibg }) in your background page.
Besides, you don't need any permissions for what you want and it is recommended to use anon-persistent background page (a.k.a. event page).
E.g.:
background.js:
chrome.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(function(tab) {
chrome.tabs.create({ "url": "http://calpinemate.com" });
});
manifest.json:
{
"manifest_version": 2,
"name": "Test Extension",
"description": "...",
"version": "0.0",
"background": {
"persistent": false,
"scripts": ["background.js"]
},
"browser_action": {
"default_title": "Test Extension"
"default_icon": "icon_128.png"
}
}
BTW, since you seem to be interested in changing the extension icon, you can take a look into chrome.browserAction.setIcon().
Below is an example that toggles the extension icon when the user clicks on the browser-action (you can adapt it according to your specific needs).
background.js:
var icons = ["red.png", "green.png"];
chrome.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(function(tab) {
var iconIdx = localStorage.getItem("iconIdx");
var newIdx = iconIdx ? (parseInt(iconIdx) + 1) % 2 : 1;
chrome.browserAction.setIcon({ path: icons[newIdx] });
localStorage.setItem("iconIdx", newIdx);
});