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Lolu chungechunge lwabekwa kunqolobane. Uyacelwa ubuze umbuzo omusha uma udinga usizo.

cannot debug addon

  • 5 uphendule
  • 1 inale nkinga
  • 18 views
  • Igcine ukuphendulwa ngu admin101

admin101
admin101
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Hi,

Thanks to Mozilla for continuing to develop such a clean browser, with movies made of GIF instead of much larger files.

So we have developed an extension or add-on for many years using the same method. But recently ( maybe I forgot ), with a new developer profile, I am unable to edit any files because the .xpi extension in the extensions folder, is compressed and cannot be navigated in a file Explorer.

In the past, I just install the extension and change the file extension from .xpi to .zip, and then extract into a folder with the same name. Then delete the .xpi/.zip folder, and the new folder acts as a pointer for the same instance of installation. And I can just modify the files in that folder usually and I don't need to restart the browser to see the changes. But lately I cannot do this.

What is the best way to debug the add-on with the least number of steps?

Thanks,

Josh

Hi, Thanks to Mozilla for continuing to develop such a clean browser, with movies made of GIF instead of much larger files. So we have developed an extension or add-on for many years using the same method. But recently ( maybe I forgot ), with a new developer profile, I am unable to edit any files because the .xpi extension in the extensions folder, is compressed and cannot be navigated in a file Explorer. In the past, I just install the extension and change the file extension from .xpi to .zip, and then extract into a folder with the same name. Then delete the .xpi/.zip folder, and the new folder acts as a pointer for the same instance of installation. And I can just modify the files in that folder usually and I don't need to restart the browser to see the changes. But lately I cannot do this. What is the best way to debug the add-on with the least number of steps? Thanks, Josh

Isisombululo esikhethiwe

admin101 said

For example, these days I have to edit the JavaScript file, CTR+S, then open new Mozilla developer edition, open the debugging tab, then click the open temporary add-on, then select the file, check the operation of the add-on.

Once you temporarily load the extension via about:debugging, after modifying any of its source files, you just have to click the Reload button to reload the extension. (See attached screenshot.)

Funda le mpendulo ngokuhambisana nalesi sihloko 👍 0

All Replies (5)

Eve
Eve
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You should be able to point to a given file inside a folder (unzipped/compressed) with the appropriate contents (manifest.json, js, icon/48.png) to load an addon temporarily, then you can just reload it each time you make changes to those files? per https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Your_first_WebExtension (obviously this isn't your first but details this method)

In about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox

I think that'd be simplest, but someone might have a better method.

admin101
admin101 Umnikazi wombuzo
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Hi evhenry,

Thanks for the support.

Yes I know about loading the add-on from there, but it just seems quite cumbersome to keep reloading.

Josh

Okulungisiwe ngu admin101

admin101
admin101 Umnikazi wombuzo
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For example, these days I have to edit the JavaScript file, CTR+S, then open new Mozilla developer edition, open the debugging tab, then click the open temporary add-on, then select the file, check the operation of the add-on.

Previously, after editing the JavaScript file, CTR+S, ALT+TAB to Mozilla developer edition, then check the operation of the add-on.

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Isisombululo Esikhethiwe

admin101 said

For example, these days I have to edit the JavaScript file, CTR+S, then open new Mozilla developer edition, open the debugging tab, then click the open temporary add-on, then select the file, check the operation of the add-on.

Once you temporarily load the extension via about:debugging, after modifying any of its source files, you just have to click the Reload button to reload the extension. (See attached screenshot.)

admin101
admin101 Umnikazi wombuzo
more options

admin101 said

For example, these days I have to edit the JavaScript file, CTR+S, then open new Mozilla developer edition, open the debugging tab, then click the open temporary add-on, then select the file, check the operation of the add-on. Previously, after editing the JavaScript file, CTR+S, ALT+TAB to Mozilla developer edition, then check the operation of the add-on.

Thanks! That's very helpful.