Web extensions are the future!

[rugk]

The current plan is that Firefox 57 will only support web extensions. Your add-on is not a web extension yet as far as I can see, so you should consider remaking your add-on. The Firefox 57 release is planned for 28th November 2017.
Already for Firefox 53 (planned release: 18th April 2017) it is planned to no longer accept other new add-on submissions than web extensions on AMO (addons.mozilla.org). Old extensions can however still be updated.
The good message is that one should be able to use your web extensions add-on in all mayor browsers. That's the idea behind web extensions.
Note that you can use so-called hybrid extensions for switching to WebExtensions.

Note that all dates are estimates and may be changed.

German source: https://www.soeren-hentzschel.at/firefox/firefox-57-mit-exklusiver-webextension-unterstuetzung/
Original source: https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2016/11/23/add-ons-in-2017/

[swick]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=309807#c133

Known issue, however there doesn't seem to be any interest in providing an API.

[rugk]

Nice, I've commented there, voted for the bug and also opened a new bug for another GNOME feature: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1366986

[sdroege]

Is there any update here? Firefox 57 was released yesterday.

[adanielvv]

@swick See also how https://github.com/ttyridal/masterpassword-firefox/wiki/Key-vault-troubleshooting fixed this.

[swick]

Current status: not looking good.

There are two parts to the addon:

1. Communication with the keyring, which is currently done by calling into libgnome-keyring.so using the ctypes module. Native Messaging is supposed to be the the replacement. The problem here is that it requires the user to install an executable and add a configuration file which is ridiculous. It gets even more ridiculous if you run firefox with flatpak.

2. letting firefox use, add and modify the passwords. this is done by implementing the nsILoginManagerStorage interface. There is no replacement for this and there doesn't seem to be much interest from the firefox team. Other password managers reimplement all of the UI to fill in forms, insert, update and delete passwords. That's not something I'd like to do because it's a lot to do, it's security relevant and I honestly don't feel like I know enough to make it reasonably secure.

I'm tracking this bug but even then I'm not sure what to do about the "Native Messaging" thingy.

[orbisvicis]

Wow, so basically mozilla doesn't want to implement the storage backends themselves, nor do they trust anyone else to implement them securely...

[saleksin]

For me the first problem is not a big deal, at least for me (I mean to install another executable). Second problem is bigger, but if you could do it when Mozilla give proper API, I will buy you not one but at least few beers:)

[bkimmett]

This is also an issue for a mac Firefox extension, Keychain Services Extension, which integrates with the Mac Keychain and which I've contributed to. I think they will add a logins API eventually? But it's not as high priority as some other APIs (such as their current focus - a toolbar API)... bothering Mozilla about adding an API probably couldn't hurt, though.

The bug previously referenced, regarding nsiLoginManagerStorage (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1344788) is currently waiting on a bug for the regular nsiLoginManager API (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1324919), which is currently waiting on a security review (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1357856). The last of these bugs should probably be the focus of any efforts, for now.

[sigoa]

its a shame how Mozilla treats their add-on suppliers. they do not know what they are doing. they break their own product. shame.

[white-gecko]

Is there any new plugin, which does this great job of integrating the new firefox with gnome keyring? Or will this extension be migrated to become a web extension?