userScripts
Use this API to register user scripts, third-party scripts designed to manipulate webpages or provide new features. Registering a user script instructs the browser to attach the script to pages that match the URL patterns specified during registration.
Note:
This is documentation for the new API version, available in Firefox for Manifest V3. See userScripts (legacy)
for information on the API available for use in Firefox with Manifest V2.
This API offers capabilities similar to scripting
but with features suited to handling third-party scripts.
Permissions
To use this API, you need the userScripts
permission and host_permissions
for sites where you want to run scripts. However, the approach to enabling the use of this API varies between browsers:
- In Firefox,
userScripts
is an optional-only permission declared in theoptional_permissions
manifest key. Your extension must check that the permission has been granted by checking the availability of theuserScripts
API namespace or usingpermissions.contains()
and, if not, request it usingpermissions.request()
. - in Chrome,
userScripts
is an install time requested permission declared in thepermissions
manifest key. However, to enable use of the API, users must turn on the developer environment in Chrome.
Execution worlds
When a user script is registered or updated (using userScripts.register()
or userScripts.update()
), your extension can set it to run in an isolated USER_SCRIPT
world or the MAIN
world.
A USER_SCRIPT
world provides an isolated execution environment that isn't accessible to a host page or other extensions. This isolation is similar to a content script environment, except USER_SCRIPT
worlds cannot access extension APIs.
User scripts can share a USER_SCRIPT
world or isolate themselves in a USER_SCRIPT
world by setting the worldId
property of RegisteredUserScript
. The API enables an extension to configure a content security policy (CSP) for a USER_SCRIPT
world using userScripts.configureWorld()
.
In the MAIN
world, host pages and other extensions can see and access running user scripts. The worldId
property is not supported for MAIN
worlds.
These execution world values are defined in ExecutionWorld
.
Messaging
Like content scripts and other extension scripts, user scripts communicate with other parts of an extension with messages using runtime.sendMessage()
and runtime.connect()
. However, extensions receive messages using the dedicated runtime.onUserScriptMessage
and runtime.onUserScriptConnect
. Dedicated handlers are used as they make it easier to identify messages from user scripts, which are a less-trusted context.
To enable messaging APIs, call userScripts.configureWorld()
with the messaging
argument set to true
before registering a user script.
browser.userScripts.configureWorld({
messaging: true,
});
Extension updates
When an extension updates, user scripts are cleared. To restore scripts, add code to the extension's runtime.onInstalled
event handler that responds to the "update"
reason.
Types
userScripts.ExecutionWorld
-
The execution environment for a script injected with
userScripts.register()
oruserScripts.update()
. userScripts.RegisteredUserScript
-
An
object
returned bygetScripts()
representing registered user scripts and used as input toregister()
andupdate()
. userScripts.ScriptSource
-
The code or a file source for a user script.
userScripts.UserScriptFilter
-
A list of user scripts to be processed by
userScripts.getScripts()
oruserScripts.unregister()
. userScripts.WorldProperties
-
The configuration of a
USER_SCRIPT
execution environment.
Methods
userScripts.configureWorld()
-
Configures a
USER_SCRIPT
execution environment for the extension. userScripts.getScripts()
-
Returns user scripts registered by the extension.
userScripts.getWorldConfigurations()
-
Returns all the extension's registered world configurations.
userScripts.register()
-
Registers user scripts for the extension.
userScripts.resetWorldConfiguration()
-
Resets the configuration for a
USER_SCRIPT
world registered by the extension. userScripts.unregister()
-
Unregisters user scripts registered by the extension.
userScripts.update()
-
Updates user scripts registered by the extension.
Example extensions
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser