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Guide to porting extensions?

Posted: 2019-08-21, 03:06
by moonbat
I found and liked Pure URL from CAA, and contacted the author about porting it to PM. He said he doesn't use PM and was ok with others going ahead porting it. The extension is licensed under GPL.
Is there an existing post or guide on how to change install.rdf when repackaging an extension for PM? Can I add the modified extension here on the addons site after that?

Re: Guide to porting extensions?

Posted: 2019-08-21, 11:40
by vannilla
To make it compatible with Pale Moon (or Basilisk) you have to add a "targetApplication" block with Pale Moon (or Basilisk)'s GUID. It's XML, so it shouldn't be too hard (even if all you do is copy and pasting.)
If it's licensed under the GPL there shouldn't be any problem distributing it, but personally I'd change the branding (name & icons) just in case.
Also you might want to check the stickied threads, like this one: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=16785

Re: Guide to porting extensions?

Posted: 2019-08-21, 11:54
by New Tobin Paradigm
You also should change the ID unless you can prove that the original developer has given you permission to take over the extension. Of course at that point you likely have permission to use the name and branding too ;)

We require this because half-ass forking an extension with an existing ID can be seen as a form of browser highjacking because an update request would pull the new version. This is why all submissions are checked against the 19 thousand or so known IDs from AMO by the Phoebus Software and rejected unless the Add-ons Team releases the ID.

Re: Guide to porting extensions?

Posted: 2019-08-21, 13:45
by moonbat
vannilla wrote:
2019-08-21, 11:40
Also you might want to check the stickied threads, like this one: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=16785
Thanks, this is what I was looking for - thought it would be in the browser extensions forum :)
New Tobin Paradigm wrote:
2019-08-21, 11:54
You also should change the ID unless you can prove that the original developer has given you permission to take over the extension. Of course at that point you likely have permission to use the name and branding too ;)
Will Telegram chat transcript screenshots suffice? ;)
But yeah, makes sense, I'll see about changing the ID.