Add-ons/developer/communication/nov2016 update

Evolution in Add-on Development

WebExtensions are becoming the standard for add-on development in Firefox. It will be the only type of add-on supported in Firefox by the end of 2017.

This page contains timelines, tutorials, and other resources to help you port your add-on to WebExtensions. If you're looking for resources on creating a new add-on, please head over to MDN.

What's New

• WebExtensions Experiments: prototype WebExtension APIs without having to build Firefox
• Help plan and prioritize WebExtensions APIs by joining the new bi-weekly public triage
• Thanks for aterranova-bv for the new Emoji Substitution WebExtension Example!

Timelines & Roadmaps

• Add-on planning: see what the add-ons team is working on
• Impacting changes: see what changes are coming up that impact compatibility
• WebExtensions Roadmap: see which APIs are coming up

Recommended Resources by Add-on Type

1) SDK add-on

Please take a look at the comparison chart showing SDK APIs and their WebExtensions counterparts. If you don't see the APIs you need to port to WebExtensions, please take a look at some more options below.

2) XUL or XPCOM add-on

Please take a look at the comparison chart showing XUL/XPCOM APIs and their WebExtensions counterparts. If you don't see the APIs you need to port to WebExtensions, please take a look at some more options below.

Managing the Impact

• Embedded WebExtensions - In Firefox 51, you can embed a WebExtensions add-on inside an existing SDK or bootstrapped add-on. This is especially useful to developers of SDK or bootstrapped add-ons who want to start migrating to WebExtensions and take advantage of new APIs like Native Messaging, but can’t fully migrate yet. It’s also useful for developers who want to complete data migration towards WebExtensions, and who want to take parts of their add-on that are not compatible with multiprocess Firefox and make them compatible.

• WebExtension Experiments - now it's easier to prototype WebExtension APIs, and you can do it without having to build Firefox.

• Not all add-ons will be able to migrate to WebExtensions without having to drop any features. But we want to work with you to get as many add-ons migrated as possible with the functionality you created intact. We invite you to contribute to its evolution, and we look forward to working with you.

Documentation and Other Resources

• Embedded WebExtensions let you embed a WebExtensions add-on inside an existing SDK or bootstrapped add-on
• Comparison with the Add-on SDK
• Comparison with XUL/XPCOM extensions
• How-to guides covering common add-on developer cases, like intercepting web requests and adding a button to the toolbar
• Browser compatibility table for all WebExtensions APIs
• Example add-ons created with WebExtensions APIs
• Porting guides that map SDK and XUL APIs to available WebExtensions APIs
• Examples

Blog Posts

• Sep 29, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 51
• Sep 28, 2016: How Video DownloadHelper Became Compatible with Multiprocess Firefox
• Sep 13, 2016: WebExtensions and parity with Chrome
• Aug 25, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 50
• Aug 12, 2016: WebExtensions Taking Root
• July 27, 2016: Linting and Automatically Reloading WebExtensions
• July 21, 2016: New WebExtensions Guides and How-tos on MDN
• July 14, 2016: WebExtensions support on AMO
• June 9, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 49
• May 9, 2016: Results of the WebExtensions API Survey
• Apr 29, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 48
• Apr 26, 2016: Migrating Popup ALT Attribute from XUL/XPCOM to WebExtensions
• Apr 14, 2016: Developing Extensions With Web-ext 1.0
• Mar 30, 2016: Tinkering with WebExtensions
• Mar 14, 2016: Advantages of WebExtensions for Developers
• Mar 11, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 47
• Feb 2, 2016: WebExtensions in Firefox 46
• Jan 9, 2016: WebExtensions First Impressions
• Dec 21, 2015: WebExtensions in Firefox 45
• Aug 21, 2015: The Future of Developing Firefox Add-ons

Add-on Developer Communication Calendar

This calendar includes public meetings, scheduled blog posts, office hours, release milestones that affect add-on developers, and more. Links to add it to your own calendar: iCal | HTML

Get in Touch

• IRC:
  • #teamaddons: team chat
  • #addons: support for extensions, themes, plugins and addons.mozilla.org
  • #amo: addons.mozilla.org bugs and development
  • #amo-editors: add-on reviews and policy
  • #extdev: extension development
  • #themedev: theme development
  • #webextensions: web extensions

• Mailing List: dev-addons
• Blog: https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/
• Forum: https://discourse.mozilla-community.org/c/add-ons