Native messaging looks amazing for projects that want to use protocols that are not supported from firefox https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Native_messaging
@evangelos omg i am using this
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@jonny @evangelos That's awesome. I wonder how people will advertise the connection and actually distribute the native side. Managing both a web extension and a native app feels a bit niche if both have guis. No or low guis seem easier to justify but feels like there's fewer user facing things that could be successful with that setup. Stuff for nerds tho is an easier sell.
@mauve @evangelos you're right distribution and maintenance does seem like the tricky part
@mauve @jonny @evangelos 1password and bitwarden use native messaging for biometric auth. i think if you present it right, your non-technical users (1password should have a fair number of them) will just like, install all your apps.
also if you're making a native app with optional functionality unlocked by installing an extension, that's an easy sell. when you run firefox in kde plasma for the first time, you get a tray icon suggesting that you install the plasma integration extension. if you use frame, an ethereum wallet, it'll tell you that you need to install the companion extension to connect to web apps.
then there's the antivirus way, which is automatically dropping the extension into your browser profile folder. not sure if they still do it though.
also if you're making a native app with optional functionality unlocked by installing an extension, that's an easy sell. when you run firefox in kde plasma for the first time, you get a tray icon suggesting that you install the plasma integration extension. if you use frame, an ethereum wallet, it'll tell you that you need to install the companion extension to connect to web apps.
then there's the antivirus way, which is automatically dropping the extension into your browser profile folder. not sure if they still do it though.
@mauve @evangelos i was thinking little browser buddies, being able to augment webpages with digital garden, bringing social web with you around the rest of the web, injecting and extracting data from normal browser in ways that are a lil awkward with web extensions via eg. local sockets, but haven't read the whole spec yet