Packaging Addons

Hey there, I have developed an add-on which replaces my start page. When loaded using the “load temporary add-on” functionality from the about:debugging page it works properly, and when I go to a new tab I get the correct new tab I designed. Hooray!

However, I cannot figure out how I am meant to package this file in order to load it manually into my Firefox permanently. I do not plan on hosting it as it is really only useful to me, and I see that I can load an add-on from a file, but I cannot figure out how to load it. I tried zipping it but that did not work.

If anyone has any insight I would really appreciate it!

Hi @zach_attack, thanks for reaching out! This page should walk you through how to package your file: https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/publish/package-your-extension/

If you want to permanently install your extension, you’ll still need to upload it to addons.mozilla.org for signing. Select the self-distribution option at the beginning of the submission process; once you finish, you’ll get a signed .xpi file to permanently install into Firefox.

You can also use web-ext tool for this. It’s just one simple command that will package and sign it. See this section for more info:
https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/develop/getting-started-with-web-ext/#packaging-your-extension

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