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I was enthusiastic enough about extensions that I decided to publish a book about building them: https://www.buildingbrowserextensions.com/ https://www.building

I was enthusiastic enough about extensions that I decided to publish a book about building them: https://www.buildingbrowserextensions.com/ https://www.buildingbrowserextensions.com/ Browser extensions are severely underrated as a platform because they aren't sexy. For all that mobile devices have given us, so much of our work continues to be done using a desktop browser. Enhancements such as augmenting websites with widgets, supplying contextual information, and automating repetitive tasks using the authenticated session - when applied appropriately - can save someone hours every day.

toastal 4y ago
Fx on Android allow add-ons. I've used them for years.
- mfrisbie 4y ago
  I'm a faithful Firefox Mobile user myself, it's the easiest way to use an adblocker on a mobile device. I don't think it's controversial to suggest that extensions are a desktop-first platform: things like popups, omnibox API, contextmenu API, or customizing developer tools either aren't applicable in a mobile format or don't translate very well.
- abdusco 4y ago
  Also Kiwi Browser. It's a Chromium fork with extension + adblock support, it even has a developer console.
  - Hitton 4y ago
    But the UI is rather klunky. Example is using uBlock Origin to block random element on page. You must: 1) click kebab menu icon 2) scroll all the way down 3) click ublock icon 4) on another screen click "enter element picker mode" 5) that takes you to the rightmost opened tab (!), so most likely completely different tab than you were using, so you must switch back to your original tab 6) you can finally pick elements Still, considering that only alternative is Firefox which makes you go to different screen just to switch tab and jump through hoops to be even able to download most extensions, it's still the best Android browser.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  Out of a small list of Mozilla-blessed add-ons, though. I mean, it's worth it for the ability to run uBO, which is on the list, but if you want to run just about anything else... I heard it's possible if you go through some convoluted process involving Firefox nightly/beta.
karmelapple 4y ago
Mobile devices support extensions to some degree now, too! iOS Safari fully supports them, so that’s millions upon millions of potential users. Unfortunately, the UI for initiating them isn’t quite as nice as the desktop, which is a big reason why we haven’t implemented our extension for iOS yet. Once Apple figures out a better install and activation workflow, then we’ll probably do it.
- mfrisbie 4y ago
  Safari's extension support is great, I was keen to include that in the book. Having to develop extensions inside XCode and deploy them in the Apple App store felt a bit odd, but it's really interesting how the extension has a dedicated "app" on the phone, which allows for some interesting possibilities.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  For those who haven't tried, the UX for initiating an extension is something like this: 1. download extension 2. open Safari and tap on puzzle piece icon on the left side of the address bar (when visible) 3. tap the newly downloaded extension 4. when prompted, give permission for it to run 5. give permission for it to run always on the current site 6. give permission for it to run on every site I appreciate the need to secure the user's permission. But this is a super clunky way to do it. This path is especially troublesome for users with disabilities (motor issues, working memory issues, or executive function deficits in particular). And given how much people with disabilities rely on extensions to make browsers/websites accessible, this is not a trivial impact. I run a startup whose tools are used for accessibility reasons and we have streamlined our product and onboarding in many ways based on feedback from our users with disabilities. The process Apple uses is incredibly cumbersome, and I'm sure that many users with disabilities are lost along the way.
  - twostorytower 4y ago
    It’s actually a little worse than that. You download an app that has an extension bundled. Some apps are just shells for their extension. Others have extensions bundled for additional functionality. PayPal bundles Honey in their main app so that anybody who has PayPal already downloaded can just enable Honey in their Safari browser. But it doesn’t do anything unless it’s enabled.
toyg 4y ago
> Browser extensions are severely underrated as a platform because they aren't sexy. Nah, it's because it's a niche, fragmented platform on which it's very hard to make real money. It's also a very fragile platform that makes very clear you're a sharecropper who can be evicted on a whim by any browser vendor. I like extensions, I've built several for personal and public use, but I wouldn't invest a penny on them.
- bambax 4y ago
  Yeah, I tend to agree. I have built a couple of extensions. It's not fun. The review process, both on Chrome and on Firefox, is long and incredibly annoying. (For example, including minified versions of popular libraries like Lodash gets you stern warnings... Why can't the review process check automatically, and once and for all, that the library is safe and that the version included in an extension is correct?) The promise of "build once, run everywhere" runs aground very fast because of slight differences between browsers, and because some bugs on Firefox stay unfixed for years. Sideloading has been made difficult to the point of impossibility. And now Manifest V3 sucked all the remaining fun out of it. It's very clear you're building something on someone else's property; they don't like it, they don't like you, and they'll try to fire you at the flimsiest occasion.
stcroixx 4y ago
I’d say their fatal flaw is you don’t control the platform. I’d not invest my time on them for that reason alone. Like writing Excel macros.

toastal 4y ago

Fx on Android allow add-ons. I've used them for years.

mfrisbie 4y ago
I'm a faithful Firefox Mobile user myself, it's the easiest way to use an adblocker on a mobile device. I don't think it's controversial to suggest that extensions are a desktop-first platform: things like popups, omnibox API, contextmenu API, or customizing developer tools either aren't applicable in a mobile format or don't translate very well.
abdusco 4y ago
Also Kiwi Browser. It's a Chromium fork with extension + adblock support, it even has a developer console.
- Hitton 4y ago
  But the UI is rather klunky. Example is using uBlock Origin to block random element on page. You must: 1) click kebab menu icon 2) scroll all the way down 3) click ublock icon 4) on another screen click "enter element picker mode" 5) that takes you to the rightmost opened tab (!), so most likely completely different tab than you were using, so you must switch back to your original tab 6) you can finally pick elements Still, considering that only alternative is Firefox which makes you go to different screen just to switch tab and jump through hoops to be even able to download most extensions, it's still the best Android browser.
TeMPOraL 4y ago
Out of a small list of Mozilla-blessed add-ons, though. I mean, it's worth it for the ability to run uBO, which is on the list, but if you want to run just about anything else... I heard it's possible if you go through some convoluted process involving Firefox nightly/beta.

karmelapple 4y ago

Mobile devices support extensions to some degree now, too! iOS Safari fully supports them, so that’s millions upon millions of potential users. Unfortunately, the UI for initiating them isn’t quite as nice as the desktop, which is a big reason why we haven’t implemented our extension for iOS yet. Once Apple figures out a better install and activation workflow, then we’ll probably do it.

mfrisbie 4y ago
Safari's extension support is great, I was keen to include that in the book. Having to develop extensions inside XCode and deploy them in the Apple App store felt a bit odd, but it's really interesting how the extension has a dedicated "app" on the phone, which allows for some interesting possibilities.
gnicholas 4y ago
For those who haven't tried, the UX for initiating an extension is something like this: 1. download extension 2. open Safari and tap on puzzle piece icon on the left side of the address bar (when visible) 3. tap the newly downloaded extension 4. when prompted, give permission for it to run 5. give permission for it to run always on the current site 6. give permission for it to run on every site I appreciate the need to secure the user's permission. But this is a super clunky way to do it. This path is especially troublesome for users with disabilities (motor issues, working memory issues, or executive function deficits in particular). And given how much people with disabilities rely on extensions to make browsers/websites accessible, this is not a trivial impact. I run a startup whose tools are used for accessibility reasons and we have streamlined our product and onboarding in many ways based on feedback from our users with disabilities. The process Apple uses is incredibly cumbersome, and I'm sure that many users with disabilities are lost along the way.
- twostorytower 4y ago
  It’s actually a little worse than that. You download an app that has an extension bundled. Some apps are just shells for their extension. Others have extensions bundled for additional functionality. PayPal bundles Honey in their main app so that anybody who has PayPal already downloaded can just enable Honey in their Safari browser. But it doesn’t do anything unless it’s enabled.

toyg 4y ago

> Browser extensions are severely underrated as a platform because they aren't sexy. Nah, it's because it's a niche, fragmented platform on which it's very hard to make real money. It's also a very fragile platform that makes very clear you're a sharecropper who can be evicted on a whim by any browser vendor. I like extensions, I've built several for personal and public use, but I wouldn't invest a penny on them.

bambax 4y ago
Yeah, I tend to agree. I have built a couple of extensions. It's not fun. The review process, both on Chrome and on Firefox, is long and incredibly annoying. (For example, including minified versions of popular libraries like Lodash gets you stern warnings... Why can't the review process check automatically, and once and for all, that the library is safe and that the version included in an extension is correct?) The promise of "build once, run everywhere" runs aground very fast because of slight differences between browsers, and because some bugs on Firefox stay unfixed for years. Sideloading has been made difficult to the point of impossibility. And now Manifest V3 sucked all the remaining fun out of it. It's very clear you're building something on someone else's property; they don't like it, they don't like you, and they'll try to fire you at the flimsiest occasion.

stcroixx 4y ago

I’d say their fatal flaw is you don’t control the platform. I’d not invest my time on them for that reason alone. Like writing Excel macros.