native-messaging
v1.0.0
Published
Native Messaging Host Protocol for Browser Extensions
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native-messaging
Native Messaging Host Protocol for Browser Extensions (Chrome, Firefox)
API
#!/home/s/.nvm/versions/node/v8.11.2/bin/node
// Might be good to use an explicit path to node on the shebang line
// in case it isn't in PATH when launched by Chrome/Firefox
var sendMessage = require('native-messaging')(handleMessage)
function handleMessage (req) {
if (req.message === 'ping') {
sendMessage({message: 'pong', body: 'hello from nodejs app'})
}
}
Tips
chrome.runtime.connectNative
returns aPort
that can be used to establish persistent connection between the browser and the native app- the Port's
disconnect
method can be used to disconnect from the native app - the native app can use the OS's machinery to kill its own process at any time
chrome.runtime.sendNativeMessage
can be used to send single message to the native app, useful with non persistent background pages- single native app can communicate with multiple browser extensions
- single browser extension can communicate with multiple native apps
Things to look for
- Add
nativeMessaging
permission to themanifest.json
file of your extension - Load the extension to get its ID generated
- Put the
native.messaging.example.json
in~/.config/google-chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/
or~/.mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/
- The name of the file should be identical to the
name
field specified in that file - Only dots
.
are allowed as delimiters in the file name - The
path
key should be absolute path to your nodejs scriptexample.js
- Chrome - the
allowed_origins
key should contain the extension's ID loaded in step 2 - Firefox - the
allowed_extensions
key should contain the extension's ID specified in itsmanifest.json
file
- Make sure that
example.js
is executablechmod 755
- Make sure nodejs is reachable from the shebang line in
example.js
- Use the
name
specified innative.messaging.example.json
to connect to the native app from the extension's background pagebackground.js
Note that the install location for the
native.messaging.example.json
differs for each OS and browser. In case you plan to support multiple platforms, it's best to use install script. Here is an example of such script.
References
Topic | Chrome | Firefox :-- | :--- | :--- Native Messaging Host Protocol | link | link chrome.runtime.connectNative | link | link Port | link | link chrome.runtime.sendNativeMessage | link | link host.json location | link | link official example | link | link