Making Custom Link Toolbar Buttons

Add-ons Development
#1

I don’t know how to program, and I am using the latest version of Firefox (v. 73).

I would like to make custom link toolbar buttons, or toolbar buttons that open websites in a new tab, and I used the ff. in the past:

https://codefisher.org/toolbar_button/link-button-maker/

but it doesn’t load because the xpi isn’t signed. I also tried it with xpinstall.signatures.required set to false.

I searched online and found the ff. to make a simple button that opens a link in a new tab:

I’m not sure but I think the process involves the ff.

  1. create a new folder to house the addon;

  2. in that folder, create manifest.json and copy the code given in the link above;

  3. in the same folder, create a new folder called “icons” and then copy the icons to it using the file names given in manifest.json;

  4. create background.js and copy the code given in the link above, and type the link of the website that needs to be opened;

After that, I’m not sure what to do next. Do I zip the manifest.json file, rename the zip file, and change the extension to xpi?

I tried this and when I loaded the xpi in the browser, it said that it was corrupt. The same thing happened when I tried to zip the whole folder and change the extension to xpi. In both cases, xpinstall.signatures.required was set to false.

Do I have to submit it to Mozilla so that it can be signed and I can use it permanently?

Is there a way for me to use it permanently and without having it signed?

#2

Does the extension work when you load it temporarily through the about:debugging page?

See: https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/develop/temporary-installation-in-firefox/

When you are ready to finalize the extension, you will need to get it signed through the Add-ons site but you can choose not to distribute it on the site.

See: https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/publish/signing-and-distribution-overview/

#3

Thanks for the help. I made one using

https://codefisher.org/toolbar_button/link-button-maker/

and loaded the xpi as a temporary addon, and it worked.

I will try having it signed for self-distribution.