[Windows specific] Updating registry key from a WebExtension when this one is downloaded from Internet

Add-ons Development
#1

Hi,

Maybe this is a silly question, but I submit it though just to be clear.

Is it possible to update the Windows registry from a WebExtension (i mean from a background script) ?

I would like my background.js to create the HKCU\software\Mozilla\NativeMessagingHosts<app_native_name> key
and set the default value to JSON app path

Then launch the native app …

The problem may occur when the webextension is downloaded from a web site …

If there is no needed key in registry, I am pretty sure the webextension won’t work at all.

Thanks for your pointers.

Regards.

#2

Maybe this is a silly answer (I haven’t studied for native messaging), why does not modify it from the native app?

#3

Hi,

Thanks to reply.

the pity is that the key mentioned in my post is actually used to launch
our native app.

It is a prerequisite for launching native apps.

To conclude, I think the only way is to build an installer that will do the job :

  • installing the native app
  • setting the registry key linked to that app

Regards

#4

Yes, I think the prerequisite for native messaging is that the user manually executes the installer.