CODEWITHSUNDEEP
google-chrome-extension
rgareth
rgareth

Reputation: 3526

Remote control a Chrome Extension

I've written a non-published (personal) Chrome extension that performs page checking and then performs actions such as opening new tabs if certain conditions are met. I would like to be able to "remote control" it from my phone though, e.g. turn on or off or adjust settings when I'm away from my desk.

I considered if the extension can read/write to a file in Dropbox, which I could then edit from my phone too, or any other device. But I'm not sure if extensions are allowed to arbitrarily read/write in the filesystem, or only "apps". Any other suggestions?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 469

Answers (2)

Xan
Xan

Reputation: 77482

Assuming you can't directly connect to your computer (otherwise wOxxOm's answer is valid)..

You could make a companion phone app and use GCM push messages; your phone would message your server via it (which can be hosted on a free App Engine tier easily if it's just for your private use) and the server will push out the message.

Though it'll probably be much easier to just have said App Engine server up and providing a WebSocket endpoint that your extension can connect to to receive commands in real-time, and some sort of API / control panel on the web (authenticated, of course).

Upvotes: 1

woxxom
woxxom

Reputation: 73506

Any free webserver-based solution would lag, as bad as 500ms, I think.

Try making a complementary native PC program: mobile apps for remote control usually have their PC part running as a background service or an application with just a shelltray icon. Such program opens a TCP/UDP port on PC and listens for commands from the mobile app, and can communicate with your extension via Chrome's native messaging API.

Upvotes: 0

Related Questions