Summary: Since Firefox 57, users have been able to install additional search engines in the shape of a WebExtension[1] from addons.mozilla.org (AMO), whereas this used to only be possible using the OpenSearch XML format[2]. Since Firefox 68, all the search engines we distribute are WebExtensions[3].
Websites are currently able to advertise their search engine to the browser[4], but this is not yet possible for WebExtension search engines. We’re proposing a new mime-type to be supported for <link rel=“search”> tags, other than “application/opensearchdescription+xml”: “x-xpinstall” for WebExtension search engines. Example: <link rel=“search” type=“x-xpinstall” href=“https://addons.mozilla.org/<locale>/firefox/addon/<addon-name>”/>. NB: we are aware that the (pseudo-)mime-type “x-xpinstall” is not particularly friendly to cross-browser adoption, so we’re very much open to suggestions! Possible alternatives might be “x-webext” or “x-webextension”. Please reply in this thread with your ideas. NB2: We are collaborating with the addons team at Mozilla to consider autodiscovery of addons in general, using this mechanism, but haven’t reached a point where we can announce something concrete. Bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1562657 Standard: The WebExtension API documentation can be found at [4]. There is no standard known to us for this feature and we are not collaborating with other browsers at this point (see ‘Other browsers’ below). Platform coverage: This feature will be available on Firefox Desktop, on all supported platforms. Preference: We intend to ship this feature pref'd on by default, but it may be disabled by setting the “browser.search.webext.discovery.enabled" pref to ‘false’. DevTools bug: N/A. Other browsers: We haven’t been in active discussion with other browser vendors regarding this feature, since our primary motivation for moving to WebExtensions wholesale is motivated by our fight against malware and search hijackers. We are open to any type of collaboration with other browsers regarding this feature and WebExtension search engines in the broadest sense. web-platform-tests: (web-)Search has never been considered an official part of the web-platform and the OpenSearch specification hasn’t seen any major updates for over a decade. Test coverage is provided by XPCShell and Mochitest-browser tests written specifically for the ‘search’ toolkit component. Secure contexts: Yes. Is this feature enabled by default in sandboxed iframes? Yes, this feature does not have any impact on sandboxed iframes. As of Firefox 75, the intent is to turn WebExtension search engine discovery on by default on all platforms. It has been developed behind the browser.search.webext.discovery.enabled preference. See above for the shipping status in other browsers. Product: Mike Connor. Bug to implement and turn on by default: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1562657. [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/manifest.json/chrome_settings_overrides [2] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/OpenSearch [3] See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1486820 where we converted all our own, built-in engines to WebExtensions. [4] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/OpenSearch#Autodiscovery_of_search_plugins _______________________________________________ dev-platform mailing list dev-platform@lists.mozilla.org https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-platform
