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read-me-updates (#441)
* read-me-updates In addition to some general improvements to the text, this change focuses on adding notes about: * checking the readme file for any limitations on domains or pages the extension works in * the fact that no extension runs in a private window by default, with a link to related help article * contacting the discourse forum as a first point of call for issues * Minor changes from readthrough
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79
README.md
79
README.md
@@ -5,14 +5,15 @@
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Maintained by the [MDN team at Mozilla](https://wiki.mozilla.org/MDN).
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WebExtensions are a way to write browser extensions: that is, programs
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installed inside a web browser that modify the behaviour of the browser or
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of web pages loaded by the browser. They are built on a set of
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cross-browser APIs, so WebExtensions written for Google Chrome or Opera will
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in most cases run in Firefox or Edge too.
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installed inside a web browser that modify the behavior of the browser or
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web pages loaded by the browser. WebExtensions are built on a set of
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cross-browser APIs, so WebExtensions written for Google Chrome, Opera, or
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Edge will, in most cases, run in Firefox too.
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The "webextensions-examples" repository is a collection of simple but complete
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and installable WebExtensions. You can use the examples to see how to use the
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WebExtensions APIs, and as a starting point for your own WebExtensions.
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The "webextensions-examples" repository is a collection of simple,
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complete, and installable WebExtensions. The examples show how to use the
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WebExtensions APIs, and you can use them as a starting point for your
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WebExtensions.
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For an index of all the examples, see the ["Example extensions" page on MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Examples).
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@@ -23,45 +24,55 @@ The examples are made available under the
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To use the repository, first clone it.
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Each example is in its own top-level directory. Install an example in your
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favourite web browser ([installation instructions](#installing-an-example) are below),
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and see how it works. Each example has its own short README explaining what
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it does.
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Each example is in a top-level folder and includes a short README explaining
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what it does. To see how an example works, install it in Firefox by following
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the ([installation instructions](#installing-an-example).
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To find your way around a WebExtension's internal structure, have a look at the
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[Anatomy of a WebExtension](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Anatomy_of_a_WebExtension)
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page on MDN.
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To use these examples in Firefox, you should use the most recent release
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of Firefox. Some examples work with earlier releases.
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To use these examples in Firefox, use the most recent release of Firefox.
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However, most examples work with earlier releases.
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A few examples rely on APIs that are currently only available in pre-release
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versions of Firefox. Where this is the case, the example should declare
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the minimum version that it needs in the `strict_min_version` part of the
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[applications key](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/manifest.json/applications)
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in its manifest.json file.
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A few examples rely on APIs that are only available in pre-release versions
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of Firefox. Where this is the case, the example declares the minimum version
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that it needs in the `strict_min_version` attribute of the
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[`browser_specific_settings key`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/manifest.json/browser_specific_settings)
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in the extension's manifest.json file.
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## Installing an example
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There are a couple ways to try out the example extensions in this repository.
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Some examples work only on specific domains or pages. Details of any
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restrictions are provided in each example's README file. None of the
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examples work in private browsing windows by default, see
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[Extensions in Private Browsing](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/extensions-private-browsing#w_enabling-or-disabling-extensions-in-private-windows)
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for details.
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1. Open Firefox and load `about:debugging` in the URL bar. Click the
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To run an example extension:
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1. Open Firefox and load the `about:debugging` page. Click
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[Load Temporary Add-on](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Temporary_Installation_in_Firefox)
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button and select the `manifest.json` file within the
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directory of an example extension you'd like to install.
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and select the `manifest.json` file within the folder of an example extension.
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Here is a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cer9EUKegG4)
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that demonstrates how to do this.
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2. Install the
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[web-ext](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Getting_started_with_web-ext)
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tool, change into the directory of the example extension
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you'd like to install, and type `web-ext run`. This will launch Firefox and
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install the extension automatically. This tool gives you some
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additional development features such as
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tool. At the command line, open the example extension's folder and type
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`web-ext run`. This launches Firefox and installs the extension automatically.
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This tool provides some additional development features, such as
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[automatic reloading](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Getting_started_with_web-ext#Automatic_extension_reloading).
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## Support for other browsers
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These examples are only tested in Firefox. They may work in other browsers, if the [browser supports the APIs used](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Browser_support_for_JavaScript_APIs). Note though that these examples all use the name `browser` for the namespace and use promises to work with asynchronous functions. This means the examples won't work in Chrome unless you use the [polyfill provided by Mozilla](https://github.com/mozilla/webextension-polyfill). See [the overview of WebExtension APIs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API) for more information on this.
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These examples are tested in Firefox. They may work in other browsers, if the
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[browser supports the APIs used](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Browser_support_for_JavaScript_APIs).
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Note that these examples all use the `browser` namespace and promises to
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work with asynchronous functions. This means the examples won't work in
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Chrome unless you use the
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[polyfill provided by Mozilla](https://github.com/mozilla/webextension-polyfill).
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See [the overview of WebExtension APIs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API)
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for more information.
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## Learn more
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@@ -71,12 +82,16 @@ for getting started guides, tutorials, and full API reference docs.
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## Problems?
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If you find a problem, please [file a bug](https://github.com/mdn/webextensions-examples/issues/new).
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If you encounter an issue:
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- post a query on the [add-ons discourse forum](https://discourse.mozilla.org/c/add-ons)
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- email the [dev-addons mailing list](https://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-addons)
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- contact the WebExtensions team in the #webextensions IRC channel on irc.mozilla.org
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If you need help, email the [dev-addons mailing list](https://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-addons) or contact the WebExtensions team in the #webextensions IRC channel on irc.mozilla.org.
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If you cannot resolve the issue, [file a bug](https://github.com/mdn/webextensions-examples/issues/new).
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## Contributing
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We welcome contributions, whether they are whole new examples, new features,
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bug fixes, or translations of localizable strings into new languages. Please
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see the [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/mdn/webextensions-examples/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) file for more details.
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We welcome contributions, whether they are new examples, new features, bug
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fixes, or translations of localizable strings. Please see the
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[CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/mdn/webextensions-examples/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
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file for more details.
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