Chrome extension doesn't work on "about:blank" URI. Why?

Question

Why does my extension not work on the about:blank URI?

I've tried to add these into the manifest.json:

• "permissions": [ "about:blank" ]
  

• "matches": [ "about:blank" ]
  

However, it does not work.

Answer 1

Update: As of May 15, the issue is now fixed in Chrome 37.

Original answer:

The about: scheme is expressly excluded as a content script target, just like the chrome: scheme. From the documentation on match patterns:

Host permissions and content script matching are based on a set of URLs defined by match patterns. A match pattern is essentially a URL that begins with a permitted scheme (http, https, file, ftp, or chrome-extension)...

As you can see, about is not a "permitted scheme" so what you're trying to do is likely impossible.

Answer 2

Try to set match_about_blank to true in content_scripts

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