runtime.connectNative()
Connects the extension to a native application on the user's computer. This takes the name of a native application as a parameter. It starts the native application and returns a runtime.Port object to the caller. The caller can then use the Port to exchange messages with the native application using Port.postMessage() and port.onMessage. The native application will run until it exits itself, or the caller calls Port.disconnect(), or the page that created the Port is destroyed. Once the Port is disconnected the browser will give the process a few seconds to exit gracefully, and then kill it if it has not exited.
For more information, see Native messaging.
Syntax
let port = browser.runtime.connectNative(
application
)
Return value
A runtime.Port object. The port which the caller can use to exchange messages with the native application.
Browser compatibility
|
Desktop |
Mobile |
|
Chrome |
Edge |
Firefox |
Internet Explorer |
Opera |
Safari |
WebView Android |
Chrome Android |
Firefox for Android |
Opera Android |
Safari on IOS |
Samsung Internet |
connectNative |
29 |
15 |
50 |
? |
16 |
14See the documentation on developer.apple.com about native messaging in Safari.
|
? |
? |
68 |
? |
15See the documentation on developer.apple.com about native messaging in Safari.
|
? |
Examples
This example connects to the native application "ping_pong" and starts listening for messages from it. It also sends the native application a message when the user clicks a browser action icon:
let port = browser.runtime.connectNative("ping_pong");
port.onMessage.addListener((response) => {
console.log(`Received: ${response}`);
});
browser.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(() => {
console.log("Sending: ping");
port.postMessage("ping");
});