What's New in Extensions?

Contents

1. h2Name
   1. h3Name
2. API reference

This page lists the API and manifest changes made in recent releases.

• Google Chrome 16
• Google Chrome 15
• Google Chrome 14
• Google Chrome 13
• Google Chrome 12
• Google Chrome 11
• Google Chrome 10
• Google Chrome 9
• Google Chrome 8
• Google Chrome 7
• Google Chrome 6

In addition to the changes listed below, check out the experimental APIs.

Google Chrome 16

New APIs

• The web navigation API lets extensions receive notifications about the status of navigation requests. You can use this API to track navigation events.
• The optional permissions API lets you control when users are presented with permission requests.
• The content settings API lets extensions customize Chrome’s behavior on a per-site basis instead of globally. You can use this API to control whether websites can use features such as cookies, JavaScript, and plug-ins.

Manifest changes

• The new requirements field allows you to declare extension requirements up front. For example, you can use this field to specify that your app requires 3D graphics support in order to use features such as CSS 3D Tranforms or WebGL.

Additions to existing APIs

• The new chrome.tabs.query() method gets all tabs that have the specified properties or all tabs if no properties are specified.
• The new chrome.tabs.reload() method reloads a tab and includes the option to preserve the local cache of the reloaded tab.
• The management API's ExtensionInfo object now has an updateURL property.
• You can now limit the supported locales for an external extension by adding the supported_locales attribute to the external_extensions.json.

Changes to existing APIs

• The methods getAllInWindow() and getSelected() have been deprecated. To get details about all tabs in the specified window, use chrome.tabs.query() with the argument {'windowId': windowID}. To get the tab that is selected in the specified window, use chrome.tabs.query() with the argument {'active': true}.
• You are no longer required to specify the tabID for the chrome.tabs.update() method. When not provided, the tabID defaults to the selected tab of the current window.
• External extension files on Mac OS can now be owned by users within a wheel group (or an admin group).
• The "experimental" permission is no longer required for the window "panel" type. By default, the "panel" type creates a popup unless the --enable-panels flag is set.

Google Chrome 15

Chrome 15 had a few minor API additions. Also see the Chrome Web Store’s new inline installation feature, which lets your website help users install extensions (and apps) without sending them away to the store.

Manifest changes

• The new offline_enabled field lets you specify that your app works well even without an internet connection.

Additions to existing APIs

• You can retrieve permission warnings using the new management API methods getPermissionWarningsById() and getPermissionWarningsByManifest().
• The management API’s ExtensionInfo object has a new field, offlineEnabled.
• You can now internationalize content script CSS files by using __MSG_messagename__ placeholders.

Changes to existing APIs

• The callback for the tabs.update method is passed null instead of the tab details if the extension does not have the "tabs" permission.

Google Chrome 14

New APIs

• The tts API lets extensions generate speech from text.
• The ttsEngine API lets extensions implement text-to-speech (TTS) engines.
• Extensions that are distributed through the Chrome Web Store can now include Native Client modules. No special manifest entry is necessary, as you can see from the NetHack example. For more information, see the announcement and the Native Client documentation.

Manifest changes

• The new content_security_policy field can help prevent cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in your extension.
• The new nacl_modules field lets you register Native Client modules as content handlers for MIME types.

Additions to existing APIs

• Context menu items can now appear even in documents that have file:// or chrome:// URLs. Previously, they were restricted to documents with http:// or https:// URLs.
• An optional drawAttention field in chrome.windows.update()'s updateInfo object lets you specify that the window should entice the user to change focus to it.
• The new bookmarks.getSubTree() function lets you retrieve just part of the Bookmarks hierarchy.

Changes to existing APIs

• The "tabs" permission is no longer required for tabs.remove and tabs.onRemoved.

Google Chrome 13

New APIs

• The proxy API lets extensions manage Chrome's proxy settings.
• The chrome.types.ChromeSetting prototype provides an interface to browser settings; it's used by the proxy API.
• Chrome OS only: The fileBrowserHandler API lets you extend the Chrome OS file browser.

Manifest changes

• A new exclude_matches item in the "content_scripts" field lets you target your content script more precisely. For details, see Match patterns and globs.
• New "clipboardRead" and "clipboardWrite" permissions specify capabilities for document.execCommand().

Additions to existing APIs

• Content scripts can now make cross-origin XMLHttpRequests to the same sites that their parent extension can, eliminating the need to relay these requests through a background page.
• You can now use @run-at in an imported Greasemonkey script to control when the script is injected. It works the same way as run_at in content scripts.

Google Chrome 12

Additions to existing APIs

• Two new chrome.extension methods—isAllowedFileSchemeAccess() and isAllowedIncognitoAccess()—let you determine whether your extension has increased access, which the user specifies using the extensions management page (chrome://extensions).
• The chrome.windows.create() method can now take a focused value. Previously, all new windows had the keyboard focus; now you can create windows without interrupting the user's typing.
• If the manifest specifies "experimental" permission, your extension can specify "panel" as the value of the type field in the chrome.windows.create() method or the Window type.
• The onChanged event of chrome.cookies now has a cause parameter.
• The chrome.contextMenus create() and update() methods now let you specify a context value of "frame".

Google Chrome 11

Changes to existing APIs

• For security reasons, you can no longer call chrome.tab.captureVisibleTab() on just any tab. Instead, you now must have host permission for the URL displayed by that tab. To get the previous behavior, specify <all_urls> for the host permission.

Additions to existing APIs

• The management API's ExtensionInfo object now has a homepageUrl property.
• The management API now lets you get the icons of disabled apps and extensions. Also, you can now modify the regular icon's URL to get its disabled equivalent. See IconInfo for details.
• The cookies API set() and remove() methods can now take callbacks.

Google Chrome 10

Manifest changes

• The new background permission extends the life of Chrome, allowing your extension or app to run even when Chrome has no windows open.

Additions to existing APIs

• The chrome.windows.create() method now has a tabId field. You can use it to move a tab or panel into a new window.

  Note: This change was incorrectly attributed to Chrome 9 in previous release notes.

Google Chrome 9

New APIs

• The omnibox API allows you to register a keyword with Chrome's address bar.

Manifest changes

• The homepage_url field lets you specify the extension or app's homepage.

Additions to existing APIs

• The Tab object now has a pinned property that's reflected in various chrome.tabs methods. For example, you can create a pinned tab.
• The chrome.windows.create() method can now take a list of URLs, letting you create multiple tabs in the new window.
• The new chrome.management.get() method lets you get information about the specified extension or app.

Google Chrome 8

We took a break for Chrome 8. No API or manifest changes worth noting.

Google Chrome 7

New APIs

• All users can now install apps; packaged apps can use extension APIs.
• The management API lets you work with installed apps and extensions.

Manifest changes

• Introduced split incognito mode as the default for installable web apps (also available to extensions).
• The tabs API create() and update() methods no longer require the "tabs" permission, removing one common cause of scary dialogs.

Google Chrome 6

New APIs

• The context menus API allows you to add context menus to pages or specific objects on a page.
• The cookies API allows you to manage the browser's cookie system.
• The idle API allows you to detect when the machine's idle state changes.

Additions to existing APIs

• The chrome.extension.getViews() method can now return popup views.
• A new WINDOW_ID_NONE constant identifies when focus shifts away from the browser.
• The new chrome.tabs.getCurrent() method returns the tab associated with the currently executing script.

Manifest changes

• The geolocation permission gives an extension access to the user's physical location.
• Match patterns can now select all schemes or all URLs.
• Access to file:/// URLs no longer triggers the "access to your machine" security warning, but now requires user opt-in from the extensions management page.