Building Browser Extensions Tooling

• Mozilla’s Browser Extension Development Tools
  • Provides a high-level overview of the various tools available for webextensions development by the Mozilla community.
  • create-web-ext – Scaffolds a browser extension.
  • web-ext – Stars: 2.1k – Updated: 9/2022 – Last Checked: 9/2022
    • CLI tool for building, running, and testing WebExtensions, currently Firefox focused. Auto reloads browser extension upon file change, launches extension in specific versions of firefox, lints, package extension, sign extension.
    • Luca Greco. Developing Cross-Browser Extensions with web-ext 3.2.0. mozilla, 12/2019.
    • Getting Started with web-ext. mozilla, 11/2019.
  • web-ext-webpack-plugin – integrations web-ext run and lint into webpack config.
  • webextension-polyfill – provides polyfills for some webextension APIs that aren’t directly supported by Chrome.
  • webextensions-examples – Number of different example extensions.
  • about:debugging – Manually install Firefox extensions for debugging.
  • Addon Debugging Window (Browser Toolbox) – Access to dev tools for your debugging.
  • Translation Tools – for internationalizing/localizing your extension.
• Webpack Extension Reloader – Stars: 339 – Updated: 11/2019 – Reviewed: 1/2021.
  • Webpack plugin that reloads extensions automatically as files change.
• Exthouse* – Stars: 374 – Updated: 7/2020 – Reviewed: 1/2021.
  • Allows one to test the impact of a browser extension on web performance.

Chrome Oriented

• Chrome Extension Hot Reloader – Stars: 425 – Updated: 11/2019 – Reviewed: 6/2020.
• Mozilla’s WebExtension PolyFill – Stars: 1k – Updated: 3/2020 – Reviewed: 6/2020.
  • Promise-based APIs for Chrome browser extensions.
• CRX (oncletom) – Stars: 420 – Updated: 7/2019 – Checked: 9/2020.
  • Node.js CLI for packing Google Chrome extensions.
• Yeoman Generator Chrome Extension – Stars: 2.3k – Updated: 10/2019 – Reviewed: 6/2020.
• Chrome Extension CLI – Stars: 499 – Updated: 8/2020 – Checked: 9/2020.
• CRX Viewer – Stars: 800 – Updated: 1/2021 – Checked: 12/2021.
  • Allows one to view the source code of any extension in the Chrome Web Store without installing the extension.

Compatibility

• Extension Compatibility Test for Firefox
  • Tests whether a Chrome extension can be used in Firefox.

Security

• Browser Extension Analysis Framework – Stars: 258 – Updated: 5/2020 – Checked: 9/2020
  • Analyzes extensions for security vulnerabilities.
• CRXcavator – Provides a risk score for all Chrome Web Store extensions updated every three hours.