Developing

Start developing a Browser Extension with just one command.

$ quasar dev -m bex

# ..or the longer form:
$ quasar dev --mode bex

You may or may not have already had a src-bex folder, but you will definitely have one now. You will also have a set of files under src-bex/www. These files are the output from the webpack development server. Normally, these files are kept in memory, which is why you wouldn’t see them when creating an SPA, but for Browser Extension development, physical files are required in order for the process to work.

Now that we’ve created a development environment, we need to load generated browser extension into your browser.

Chrome

In line with the screenshot above, the following steps must be taken:

1. In Chrome, navigate to chrome://extensions
2. Toggle “Developer Mode”.
3. Click “Load unpacked”. This will present you with the folder selection dialog. Navigate to and select your src-bex folder.
4. You should now see your BEX mounted in Chrome.

More information about debugging Chrome Browser Extensions can be found in the official documentation.

Other Chromium Browsers

Although we haven’t tested all the various Chromium based browsers, BEX mode should be compatible with them. Please refer to the appropriate browser documentation on how to add a browser extension to that particular browser.

Firefox

In line with the screenshot above, the following steps must be taken:

1. In Firefox, navigate to about:debugging
2. Click on “This Firefox”
3. Click “Load Temporary Add-on…”. This will present you with the file selection dialog. Navigate to and select your src-bex/manifest.json file. Note: Firefox requires the manifest file, not the src-bex folder like Chromium browsers.
4. You should now see your BEX mounted in Firefox.

More information about debugging Firefox temporary addons can be found in the Firefox Extension Workshop.

Hot Module Reloading (HMR)

HMR works with Browser Extension development but does work slightly differently depending on which browser you’re developing on. In both cases, the Quasar application being built will reload when changes are made. The quasar application in this instance would refer to changes made to everything under the src folder.

Debugging

Browser extensions runs in three different environments (more on upcoming pages) and it requires various environments for debugging.

With Chrome

You can find following places to investigate the errors and outputs from the console in DevTools:

1. Popup - right click on the page or on the extension icon a choose Inspect pop-up for DevTools.
2. Background scripts (e.g.: background-hooks.js) open DevTools from Manage extensions - background page.
3. Content scripts - page where your script is injected.
4. Extension Errors - list of errors related to the extension (e.g. manifest configuration) are available in Manage extension - Errors.

If your code changes are not propagated to the browser you can try to: - Update or Reload extension - from the Extensions list (screenshots) - Restart browser - Restart dev process

For more information, please visit Debugging extensions.

Building for Production

$ quasar build -m bex

# ..or the longer form:
$ quasar build --mode bex

When building for production, multiple directories are generated:

The new folder has the following structure:

A Note on Minification

Part of the review process for Browser Extensions in both Chrome and Firefox must allow the relative teams to examine the code being deployed as a live extension. With this in mind, minified code is not allowed. So, to allow for the review process, Quasar will not obfuscate and minify the built code for Browser Extensions.

Given any extension will be ran directly on the user’s computer, upload speed isn’t a factor to worry about here, so minifying the code isn’t necessary.

Publishing to the Stores

Since Quasar removes the burden of building and packaging your Browser Extension, once you are finished developing your extension, it is ready to be published. The publishing process differs between browsers, but the official documentation will guide you through the process.

Chrome - Publishing a Chrome Browser Extension

Firefox - Publishing a Firefox Add On (Browser Extension)