A Port
object represents one end of a connection between two specific contexts, which can be used to exchange messages.
One side initiates the connection, using a connect()
API. This returns a Port
object. The other side listens for connection attempts using an onConnect
listener. This is passed a corresponding Port
object.
Once both sides have Port
objects, they can exchange messages using Port.postMessage()
and Port.onMessage
. When they are finished, either end can disconnect using Port.disconnect()
, which will generate a Port.onDisconnect
event at the other end, enabling the other end to do any cleanup required.
A Port
can also become disconnected in response to various events. See Lifecycle.
You can use this pattern to communicate between:
You need to use different connection APIs for different sorts of connections, as detailed in the table below.
TypeValues of this type are objects. They contain the following properties:
name
string
. The port's name, defined in the runtime.connect()
or tabs.connect()
call that created it. If this port is connected to a native application, its name is the name of the native application.
disconnect
function
. Disconnects a port. Either end can call this when they have finished with the port. It will cause onDisconnect
to be fired at the other end. This is useful if the other end is maintaining some state relating to this port, which can be cleaned up on disconnect. If this port is connected to a native application, this function will close the native application.
error
object
. If the port was disconnected due to an error, this will be set to an object with a string property message
, giving you more information about the error. See onDisconnect
.
onDisconnect
object
. This contains the addListener()
and removeListener()
functions common to all events for extensions built using WebExtension APIs. Listener functions will be called when the other end has called Port.disconnect()
. This event will only be fired once for each port. The listener function will be passed the Port
object. If the port was disconnected due to an error, then the Port
argument will contain an error
property giving more information about the error:
port.onDisconnect.addListener((p) => {
if (p.error) {
console.log(`Disconnected due to an error: ${p.error.message}`);
}
});
Note that in Google Chrome port.error
is not supported: instead, use runtime.lastError
to get the error message.
onMessage
object
. This contains the addListener()
and removeListener()
functions common to all events for extensions built using WebExtension APIs. Listener functions will be called when the other end has sent this port a message. The listener will be passed the value that the other end sent.
postMessage
function
. Send a message to the other end. This takes one argument, which is a serializable value (see Data cloning algorithm) representing the message to send. It will be delivered to any script listening to the port's onMessage
event, or to the native application if this port is connected to a native application.
sender
Optional
runtime.MessageSender
. Contains information about the sender of the message. Only present on ports passed to the runtime.onConnect
, runtime.onConnectExternal
, or runtime.onUserScriptConnect
listeners.
The lifecycle of a Port
is described in the Chrome docs.
There is, however, one important difference between Firefox and Chrome, stemming from the fact that the runtime.connect
and tabs.connect
APIs are broadcast channels. This means that there may be potentially more than one recipient, and this results in ambiguity when one of the contexts with a runtime.onConnect
call is closed. In Chrome, a port stays active as long as there is any other recipient. In Firefox, the port closes when any of the contexts unloads. In other words, the disconnection condition,
runtime.onConnect
) have unloaded.which holds in Chrome, is replaced by
runtime.onConnect
) has unloaded.in Firefox (see bug 1465514).
Examples Connecting from content scriptsThis content script:
Port
in a variable called myPort
.myPort
and logs them.myPort
, when the user clicks the document.// content-script.js
let myPort = browser.runtime.connect({ name: "port-from-cs" });
myPort.postMessage({ greeting: "hello from content script" });
myPort.onMessage.addListener((m) => {
console.log("In content script, received message from background script: ");
console.log(m.greeting);
});
document.body.addEventListener("click", () => {
myPort.postMessage({ greeting: "they clicked the page!" });
});
The corresponding background script:
listens for connection attempts from the content script.
when it receives a connection attempt:
portFromCS
.sends messages to the content script, using portFromCS
, when the user clicks the extension's browser action.
// background-script.js
let portFromCS;
function connected(p) {
portFromCS = p;
portFromCS.postMessage({ greeting: "hi there content script!" });
portFromCS.onMessage.addListener((m) => {
console.log("In background script, received message from content script");
console.log(m.greeting);
});
}
browser.runtime.onConnect.addListener(connected);
browser.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(() => {
portFromCS.postMessage({ greeting: "they clicked the button!" });
});
Multiple content scripts
If you have multiple content scripts communicating at the same time, you might want to store each connection in an array.
// background-script.js
let ports = [];
function connected(p) {
ports[p.sender.tab.id] = p;
// â¦
}
browser.runtime.onConnect.addListener(connected);
browser.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(() => {
ports.forEach((p) => {
p.postMessage({ greeting: "they clicked the button!" });
});
});
Connecting to native applications
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:
/*
On startup, connect to the "ping_pong" app.
*/
let port = browser.runtime.connectNative("ping_pong");
/*
Listen for messages from the app.
*/
port.onMessage.addListener((response) => {
console.log(`Received: ${response}`);
});
/*
On a click on the browser action, send the app a message.
*/
browser.browserAction.onClicked.addListener(() => {
console.log("Sending: ping");
port.postMessage("ping");
});
Browser compatibility
Note: This API is based on Chromium's chrome.runtime
API. This documentation is derived from runtime.json
in the Chromium code.
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