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Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

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Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#11

Post by _qulr »

no_wizard wrote: post #2

I wonder if the bigger hurdle here is that you have to spend money to get into the developer program (unless this is waived for these kinds of apps, I couldn’t tell when trying to dig up an answer) I don’t know that effectively slapping an app shell around an extension is a big hurdle, but no other web extension store charges for entry, so that very well could be the real barrier here.

> unless this is waived for these kinds of apps, I couldn’t tell when trying to dig up an answer

Mostly, no.

"You can request to have the annual Apple Developer Program membership fee waived if you’re a nonprofit organization, accredited educational institution, or government entity that will distribute only free apps on the App Store and is based in an eligible country."

"Fee waivers are not available for: Individuals and sole proprietors/single person businesses"

https://developer.apple.com/support/membership-fee-waiver/

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#12

Post by 1cvmask »

Nextgrid wrote: post #8

In addition to the money argument raised in another comment, the Apple development experience is a major annoyance when all you need is a couple lines of JS. I have an extension idea; it's literally a single line of JS. However, to get it into Safari, I need to create a (useless, and empty) Mac app with a specific configuration in Xcode that'll allow it to appear in the "extensions" list in Safari. Then I need to dea…

Do you know why the app did not appear in Safari’s preferences? And how did you fix it?

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#13

Post by superkuh »

heavymark wrote: post #6
superkuh wrote: post #4

People who use Safari aren't the same kind of people that use browser extensions.

100% Untrue. I use many extensions in Safari just like I use to in Chrome, my needs for customization are the same regardless the browser I use, but like many choose Safari for his performance, privacy ui, among other benefits. Find it very frustrating that many of the big products don't have Safari extensions. Often when I email there tech support they give a reason why, and then I try to explain there are referring…

I get why it may seem that way when we're on HN and there's selection bias going on. But if you look at all major browser the Safari users are going to be the lowest % extension use. That's what Apple is. An ecosystem where users don't configure anything. You can go out of your way and do it but that type of user is not who they design for.

Just look at, https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-neutered-ad-blockers-in-... - The safari userbase either didn't notice or didn't care when it's extension functionality was gimped. And this is not a unique event.

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#14

Post by vimy »

Nextgrid wrote: post #8

In addition to the money argument raised in another comment, the Apple development experience is a major annoyance when all you need is a couple lines of JS. I have an extension idea; it's literally a single line of JS. However, to get it into Safari, I need to create a (useless, and empty) Mac app with a specific configuration in Xcode that'll allow it to appear in the "extensions" list in Safari. Then I need to dea…

Extensions don’t appear unless you go to the develop menu and turn on ‘Allow unsigned extensions’.

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#15

Post by Austin_Conlon »

vimy wrote: post #14
Nextgrid wrote: post #8

In addition to the money argument raised in another comment, the Apple development experience is a major annoyance when all you need is a couple lines of JS. I have an extension idea; it's literally a single line of JS. However, to get it into Safari, I need to create a (useless, and empty) Mac app with a specific configuration in Xcode that'll allow it to appear in the "extensions" list in Safari. Then I need to dea…

Extensions don’t appear unless you go to the develop menu and turn on ‘Allow unsigned extensions’.

Yup, it's mentioned here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/saf....

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#16

Post by theblindbat »

Nextgrid wrote: post #8

In addition to the money argument raised in another comment, the Apple development experience is a major annoyance when all you need is a couple lines of JS. I have an extension idea; it's literally a single line of JS. However, to get it into Safari, I need to create a (useless, and empty) Mac app with a specific configuration in Xcode that'll allow it to appear in the "extensions" list in Safari. Then I need to dea…

I agree with your point on a whole, I do want to add that tamper monkey does indeed work on Safari so you could just add that line of JS there

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#17

Post by theblindbat »

no_wizard wrote: post #2

I wonder if the bigger hurdle here is that you have to spend money to get into the developer program (unless this is waived for these kinds of apps, I couldn’t tell when trying to dig up an answer) I don’t know that effectively slapping an app shell around an extension is a big hurdle, but no other web extension store charges for entry, so that very well could be the real barrier here.

I suspect that extensions on the App Store that are popular make more money compared to being, well, free on Chrome web store. Or, developers are pricing their extensions to recoup costs on dev program costs.

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#18

Post by Nextgrid »

Austin_Conlon wrote: post #15
vimy wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Extensions don’t appear unless you go to the develop menu and turn on ‘Allow unsigned extensions’.

Yup, it's mentioned here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/saf... .

I'm fairly confident I did that. Either way, the process is very unclear - what actually notifies Safari that an extension is available and whether it's updated?

With most browsers it's clear, you open a specific file with the browser, the browser loads it and that's it. To update, you open the updated version of the file.

With these apps it doesn't even seem like the app itself is doing any work - there's no code in there to for example connect to an internal socket or do some IPC to notify the browser and supply it with extension files - instead it seems to be handled out-of-band by "magic".

Re: Safari 14 added WebExtensions support, so where are the extensions?

#19

Post by sarakayakomzin »

vimy wrote: post #14
Nextgrid wrote: post #8

In addition to the money argument raised in another comment, the Apple development experience is a major annoyance when all you need is a couple lines of JS. I have an extension idea; it's literally a single line of JS. However, to get it into Safari, I need to create a (useless, and empty) Mac app with a specific configuration in Xcode that'll allow it to appear in the "extensions" list in Safari. Then I need to dea…

Extensions don’t appear unless you go to the develop menu and turn on ‘Allow unsigned extensions’.

unsigned by who? They mention the signing process in this comment but it sounds like unless its signed by a 1st party (Apple) it doesn't show without diving into options.
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