I just can't figure out where Spotify stores the apps on linux. There is nothing (as far as I can see) in ~/.spotify or ~/spotify.
The docs only seems to care about Macos and windows.
Any ideas?
Spotify stores apps from the App Finder in its own encrypted internal cache.
If you want to develop your own apps, once you're flagged as a developer you should be able to create ~/Spotify and put your own apps in it. They won't appear in the sidebar - you need to manually access them by typing spotify:app:<appname> into the search field.
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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.
I would need the list of currently opened desktop apps (+ files opened in it) from a Chrome Extension, or at least the active application name (With current focus on the desktop).
Use case : Imagine a chrome extension that would get the list of tabs with URLS (I solved it with Chrome.tabs) and in addition would give the name of the current active app when Chrome loose the focus (idle) : exemple => powerpoint.app / documentname.ppt.
I'm looking for any option, ideally without having to implement a Desktop App that would exchange messages with the Extension. But if this is the only way, any example/experience to do so with Electron (http://electron.atom.io/) or Node-WebKit?
This may be possible in an electron app, but I don't think so as Electron is more multiplatform-oriented and this is a platform-oriented feature. You only will have access to methods that the developers chose to expose to you, and I doubt that they exposed a way to have this kind of information. (I have very little knowledge in the tech since I used it only once, so I might be wrong).
The only solution I see is the one you talked about in your question, a real desktop app messaging with the chrome extension.
It appears that chrome apps are unable to render as tabs in the browser... I happen to like the chrome tabbing interface and it would be a shame to have to try and re-implement it in html/css/js. Is there really no way to do tab management at the chrome application level? Must all new windows be shell/panel level windows?
I can imagine scenarios for applications where they would want to contribute extension related features to the browser... why are you making it more confusing for users (who now have to install an app and an extension) in order to get the full feature set?
Is there really no room for middle-ground here?
Chrome apps are separate from the browser. This is a very deliberate approach, which is unlikely to change.
For apps to be seen as apps, as opposed to websites, which are always available regardless of connectivity, they need to be seen as separate to a browser. We have found having apps launched and run outside the browser very important for users to conceptualize them as apps.
There are also security reasons to keep apps out of the browser. They have access to APIs that websites and extensions do not have access to, but to make this possible they are also individually sandboxed and have no access to the browser.
Extensions and apps can communicate via messages. It is less than ideal that a user may need to install both an app and an extension; we have been looking at some form of bundling to make this simpler.
I'm really confused. I want to make a Chrome Extension that can update a user's Google Calendar, what kind of program should I register under Google API?
Is it Web App? But I don't plan to have a server to host anything because Chrome Extensions are in the browser itself.
I really don't think it's a service account, but if it is, somebody enlighten me!
So that leaves installed applications?
Well, Google Extensions and Google API are very different in nature, and they don't have a special way to comunicate themselves.
Chrome Extensions are javascript code running in the browser allowed by a Chrome user, with more rights than a normal page; while Google API is accessed by server code, just as Google Apps Scripts (javascript code running in a Google server with some Google user's right).
I have created an App for google chrome which just opens a web page. I am new in the topic
of Apps. I was thinking if it is possible to execute some linux command by using an App
in google chrome. For instance, an App which can open a terminal or open a program
installed in my machine like Gimp, Kate, Libre Office ...
From the instructions in the web page of google I saw that the only actions for an App
are limited to open a web address but I dont know if it is possible to extend the capabilities
of the Apps,
Regards.
Aren't apps sandboxed into the Google Chrome Process to ensure they can't affect other processes and for other security reasons. If so, you won't be able to execute programs/commands or view the User's Files unless you use some workaround such as Google's Native Client.
Google has locked down capabilities to stop malicious Web Apps from executing code and bringing malware and exploits.
You can write a NPAPI Plugin or a custom URI scheme associated to Unix terminal.