Native manifests
================

Native manifests are specially formatted JSON files that are provisioned on the user's computer by some means outside the extension installation process. For example, a native manifest might be provisioned by a device administrator or by a native application installer.

There are three different types of native manifest:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Native messaging manifests | 
 Enable a feature called
 native messaging, in which an extension can communicate with a native app installed on
 the device.
  |
| Managed storage manifests | 
 Define read-only data that an extension can access using the
 `storage.managed` API.
  |
| PKCS #11 manifests | 
 Enable an extension to use the `pkcs11` API
 to enumerate PKCS #11 security modules and install them in Firefox.
  |

For all native manifests, you need to arrange things so the browser can find the manifest. The section on manifest location describes these rules.

Native messaging manifests
--------------------------

The native messaging manifest contains a single JSON object with the following properties:

| Name | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | String | Name of the native application.

 This must match the name passed into
 `runtime.connectNative()` or
 `runtime.sendNativeMessage()` by
 the extension.


 On MacOS and Linux, it must also match the native messaging manifest's
 filename (excluding the `.json` extension).


 On Windows, it must match the name of the registry key you create,
 that contains the location of the native messaging manifest.


 The name must match the following regular expression:
 `"^\w+(\.\w+)*$"`. This means that it may only contain
 (lowercase or uppercase) alphanumeric characters, underscores, and
 dots. It may not start or end with a dot, and a dot cannot be followed
 by another dot.
  |
| `description` | String | Description of the native application. |
| `path` | String | Path to the native application.

 On Windows, this may be relative to the manifest itself. On MacOS and
 Linux it must be absolute.
  |
| `type` | String | Describes the method used to connect the extension with the app.

 Currently, only one value can be given here, `"stdio"`,
 which indicates that messages are received by the app using standard
 input (`stdin`) and sent using standard output
 (`stdout`).
  |
| `allowed_extensions` | Array of String | 
 An array of
 Add-on ID
 values. Each value represents an extension which is allowed to
 communicate with this native application.


 Note that this means you will probably want to include the
 `browser\_specific\_settings`
 key in your extension's `manifest.json` file, so you can
 set an explicit ID during development.
  |

For example, here's a manifest for the `ping_pong` native application:


```json
{
  "name": "ping\_pong",
  "description": "Example host for native messaging",
  "path": "/path/to/native-messaging/app/ping\_pong.py",
  "type": "stdio",
  "allowed\_extensions": ["ping\_pong@example.org"]
}
```


This allows the extension whose ID is `ping_pong@example.org` to connect, by passing the name `ping_pong` into the relevant `runtime` API function. The application itself is at `/path/to/native-messaging/app/ping_pong.py`.

Managed storage manifests
-------------------------

The managed storage manifest contains a single JSON object with the following properties:

| Name | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | String | 
 The ID of the extension that can access this storage, given as the ID
 you've specified in the extension's
 `browser\_specific\_settings`
 key.
  |
| `description` | String | Human-readable description, ignored by Firefox. |
| `type` | String | This must be `"storage"`. |
| `data` | Object | 
 A JSON object that may contain any valid JSON values, including
 strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, or objects. This will become the
 data in the `browser.storage.managed` storage area.
  |

For example:


```json
{
  "name": "favourite-color-examples@mozilla.org",
  "description": "ignored",
  "type": "storage",
  "data": {
    "color": "management thinks it should be blue!"
  }
}
```


Given this JSON manifest, the `favourite-color-examples@mozilla.org` extension could access the data using code like this:


```js
let storageItem = browser.storage.managed.get("color");
storageItem.then((res) => {
  console.log(`Managed color is: ${res.color}`);
});
```

PKCS #11 manifests
------------------

The PKCS #11 manifest is a file containing a JSON object with the following properties:

| Name | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | String | Name of the PKCS #11 module.
This must match the name used in the `pkcs11` API.

 On MacOS and Linux, it must also match the manifest's filename
 (excluding the extension).


 On Windows, it must match the name of the registry key you create,
 which contains the location of the manifest.


 The name must match the following regular expression:
 `"^\w+(\.\w+)*$"`. This means that it may only contain
 lowercase alphanumeric characters, underscores and dots. It may not
 start or end with a dot, and a dot cannot be followed by another dot.
  |
| `description` | String | Description of the module.

 This is used to set the friendly name for the module in the browser's
 UI (for example, the "Security Devices" dialog in Firefox).
  |
| `path` | String | Path to the module.

 On Windows, this may be relative to the manifest itself. On MacOS and
 Linux it must be absolute.
  |
| `type` | String | This must be `"pkcs11"`. |
| `allowed_extensions` | Array of String | 
 An array of
 Add-on ID
 values. Each value represents an extension which is allowed to
 interact with the module.


**Note:** This means you will probably want to include
 the
 `browser\_specific\_settings`
 key in your extension's `manifest.json` file, so you can
 set an explicit ID during development.

 |

For example:


```json
{
  "name": "my\_module",
  "description": "My test module",
  "type": "pkcs11",
  "path": "/path/to/libpkcs11testmodule.dylib",
  "allowed\_extensions": ["my-extension@mozilla.org"]
}
```


Given this JSON manifest, saved as `my_module.json`, the `my-extension@mozilla.org` extension could install the security module at `/path/to/libpkcs11testmodule.dylib` using code like this:


```js
browser.pkcs11.installModule("my\_module");
```

Manifest location
-----------------

On Linux and macOS, you need to store the manifest in a particular place. On Windows, you need to create a registry key that points to the manifest's location.

The detailed rules are the same for all the manifest types, except that the penultimate component of the path identifies the type of manifest. The examples below show the form for each of the three different types. In all the examples, `<name>` is the value of the `name` property in the manifest.

### Windows

For global visibility, create a registry key with the following name:
```

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\NativeMessagingHosts\<name>
```


```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\ManagedStorage\<name>
```


```
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\PKCS11Modules\<name>
```


The key should have a single default value, which is the path to the manifest.

**Warning:** As of Firefox 64, the 32-bit registry view Wow6432Node will be checked first for these keys, followed by the "native" registry view. Use whichever is appropriate for your application.

**For Firefox 63 and older:** This key should *not* be created under Wow6432Node, even if the app is 32-bit. Previous versions of the browser will always look for the key under the "native" view of the registry, not the 32-bit emulation. To ensure that the key is created in the "native" view, you can pass the `KEY_WOW64_64KEY` or `KEY_WOW64_32KEY` flags into `RegCreateKeyEx`. See Accessing an Alternate Registry View.

For per-user visibility, create a registry key with the following name:
```

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\NativeMessagingHosts\<name>
```


```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\ManagedStorage\<name>
```


```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\PKCS11Modules\<name>
```


The key should have a single default value, which is the path to the manifest.

### macOS

For global visibility, store the manifest in:
```

/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts/<name>.json
```


```
/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/ManagedStorage/<name>.json
```


```
/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/PKCS11Modules/<name>.json
```


For per-user visibility, store the manifest in:
```

~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts/<name>.json
```


```
~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/ManagedStorage/<name>.json
```


```
~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/PKCS11Modules/<name>.json
```

### Linux

For global visibility, store the manifest in either:
```

/usr/lib/mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/<name>.json
```


```
/usr/lib/mozilla/managed-storage/<name>.json
```


```
/usr/lib/mozilla/pkcs11-modules/<name>.json
```


or:
```

/usr/lib64/mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/<name>.json
```


```
/usr/lib64/mozilla/managed-storage/<name>.json
```


```
/usr/lib64/mozilla/pkcs11-modules/<name>.json
```


For per-user visibility, store the manifest in:
```

~/.mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/<name>.json
```


```
~/.mozilla/managed-storage/<name>.json
```


```
~/.mozilla/pkcs11-modules/<name>.json
```