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paramName
( optional enumerated Type array of paramType )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
Parameters
  1. Properties
    1. propertyName
  2. Methods
    1. methodName
  3. Events
    1. eventName
  4. Types
    1. id

Google Chrome Extensions (Labs)

WebNavigation API

WebNavigation API

Use the chrome.webNavigation module to receive notifications about the status of navigations requests in-flight.

Manifest

All chrome.webNavigation methods and events require you to declare the "webNavigation" permission in the extension manifest. For example: 

{
  "name": "My extension",
  ...
  "permissions": [
    "webNavigation"
  ],
  ...
}

Examples

You can find simple examples of using the tabs module in the examples/api/webNavigation directory. For other examples and for help in viewing the source code, see Samples.

Event order

For a navigation that is successfully completed, events are fired in the following order: 

onBeforeNavigate -> onCommitted -> onDOMContentLoaded -> onCompleted

Any error that occurs during the process results in an onErrorOccurred event. For a specific navigation, there are no further events fired after onErrorOccurred.

If a navigating frame contains subframes, its onCommitted is fired before any of its children's onBeforeNavigate; while onCompleted is fired after all of its children's onCompleted.

If the reference fragment of a frame is changed, a onReferenceFragmentUpdated event is fired. This event can fire any time after onDOMContentLoaded, even after onCompleted.

Relation to webRequest events

There is no defined ordering between events of the webRequest API and the events of the webNavigation API. It is possible that webRequest events are still received for frames that already started a new navigation, or that a navigation only proceeds after the network resources are already fully loaded.

In general, the webNavigation events are closely related to the navigation state that is displayed in the UI, while the webRequest events correspond to the state of the network stack which is generally opaque to the user.

A note about timestamps

It's important to note that some technical oddities in the OS's handling of distinct Chrome processes can cause the clock to be skewed between the browser itself and extension processes. That means that WebNavigation's events' timeStamp property is only guaranteed to be internally consistent. Comparing one event to another event will give you the correct offset between them, but comparing them to the current time inside the extension (via (new Date()).getTime(), for instance) might give unexpected results.

API reference: chrome.webNavigation

Methods

getAllFrames

void chrome.webNavigation.getAllFrames(, object details, function callback)

Retrieves information about all frames of a given tab.

Parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Information about the tab to retrieve all frames from.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
callback
( Type array of function )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Returns

Callback function

The callback parameter should specify a function that looks like this:

If you specify the callback parameter, it should specify a function that looks like this: 

function(array of object details) {...};
details
( optional Type array of Type array of object paramType )
A list of frames in the given tab, null if the specified tab ID is invalid.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
errorOccurred
( Type array of boolean )
True if the last navigation in this frame was interrupted by an error, i.e. the onErrorOccurred event fired.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the frame. 0 indicates that this is the main frame; a positive value indicates the ID of a subframe.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
The URL currently associated with this frame, if the frame identified by the frameId existed at one point in the given tab. The fact that an URL is associated with a given frameId does not imply that the corresponding frame still exists.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

This function was added in version . If you require this function, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

getFrame

void chrome.webNavigation.getFrame(, object details, function callback)

Retrieves information about the given frame. A frame refers to an <iframe> or a <frame> of a web page and is identified by a tab ID and a frame ID.

Parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Information about the frame to retrieve information about.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the frame is.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the frame in the given tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
callback
( Type array of function )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Returns

Callback function

The callback parameter should specify a function that looks like this:

If you specify the callback parameter, it should specify a function that looks like this: 

function(object details) {...};
details
( optional Type array of object )
Information about the requested frame, null if the specified frame ID and/or tab ID are invalid.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
errorOccurred
( Type array of boolean )
True if the last navigation in this frame was interrupted by an error, i.e. the onErrorOccurred event fired.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
The URL currently associated with this frame, if the frame identified by the frameId existed at one point in the given tab. The fact that an URL is associated with a given frameId does not imply that the corresponding frame still exists.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

This function was added in version . If you require this function, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Events

onBeforeNavigate

chrome.webNavigation.onBeforeNavigate.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when a navigation is about to occur.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation is about to occur.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the browser was about to start the navigation, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onCommitted

chrome.webNavigation.onCommitted.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when a navigation is committed. The document (and the resources it refers to, such as images and subframes) might still be downloading, but at least part of the document has been received from the server and the browser has decided to switch to the new document.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation occurs.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
transitionType
( enumerated Type array of string ["link", "typed", "auto_bookmark", "auto_subframe", "manual_subframe", "generated", "start_page", "form_submit", "reload", "keyword", "keyword_generated"] )
Cause of the navigation. The same transition types as defined in the history API are used.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
transitionQualifiers
( Type array of paramType )
A list of transition qualifiers.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the navigation was committed, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onCompleted

chrome.webNavigation.onCompleted.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when a document, including the resources it refers to, is completely loaded and initialized.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation occurs.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the document finished loading, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onCreatedNavigationTarget

chrome.webNavigation.onCreatedNavigationTarget.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when a new window, or a new tab in an existing window, is created to host a navigation.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
sourceTabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation is triggered.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
sourceFrameId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the frame with sourceTabId in which the navigation is triggered. 0 indicates the main frame.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
The URL to be opened in the new window.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the url is opened
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the browser was about to create a new view, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onDOMContentLoaded

chrome.webNavigation.onDOMContentLoaded.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when the page's DOM is fully constructed, but the referenced resources may not finish loading.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation occurs.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the page's DOM was fully constructed, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onErrorOccurred

chrome.webNavigation.onErrorOccurred.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when an error occurs and the navigation is aborted. This can happen if either a network error occurred, or the user aborted the navigation.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation occurs.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
error
( Type array of string )
The error description.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the error occurred, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns

onReferenceFragmentUpdated

chrome.webNavigation.onReferenceFragmentUpdated.addListener(function(object details) {...});

Fired when the reference fragment of a frame was updated. All future events for that frame will use the updated URL.

Listener parameters

details
( Type array of object )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
tabId
( Type array of integer )
The ID of the tab in which the navigation occurs.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
url
( Type array of string )
Undocumented.
Description of this parameter from the json schema.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
frameId
( Type array of integer )
0 indicates the navigation happens in the tab content window; a positive value indicates navigation in a subframe. Frame IDs are unique within a tab.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
transitionType
( enumerated Type array of string ["link", "typed", "auto_bookmark", "auto_subframe", "manual_subframe", "generated", "start_page", "form_submit", "reload", "keyword", "keyword_generated"] )
Cause of the navigation. The same transition types as defined in the history API are used.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
transitionQualifiers
( Type array of paramType )
A list of transition qualifiers.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.
timeStamp
( Type array of number )
The time when the navigation was committed, in milliseconds since the epoch.
This parameter was added in version . You must omit this parameter in earlier versions, and you may omit it in any version. If you require this parameter, the manifest key minimum_chrome_version can ensure that your extension won't be run in an earlier browser version.

Extra parameters to addListener

Listener returns