CODEWITHSUNDEEP
google-chrome-extension
user5047085
user5047085

Reputation:

Use env variable in background script of Chrome extension

Is there a way to use an env variable in a background script of a Chrome extension?

I need to conditionally take an action depending on whether we are in development/production environment.

Upvotes: 18

Views: 14298

Answers (3)

taher2612
taher2612

Reputation: 1

Unlike other environments such as that of NodeJS using a .env file or using the dotenv module, in a chrome extension environment, we can simply achieve this without any permissions using the manifest file itself, like :

{
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "name": "My Extension",
  "version": "1.0",
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js"
  },
  "host_permissions": [
    "https://www.googleapis.com/*"
  ],
  "action": {
    "default_popup": "popup.html"
  },
  "externally_connectable": {
    "matches": ["*://*.yourwebsite.com/*"]
  },
  "env": {
    "API_KEY": "your-api-key",
    "ENVIRONMENT": "development"
  }
}

and to make use of the variables, you simply add this line of code :

// Accessing environment variables from manifest.json
const apiKey = chrome.runtime.getManifest().env.API_KEY;
console.log('API Key:', apiKey);

I hope this is useful.

Upvotes: -3

Glenn
Glenn

Reputation: 5051

You can get the installType without the need to add management permissions if you use the .getSelf() method (documentation):

chrome.management.getSelf((self) => {
  console.log(self.installType)
})

Upvotes: 6

Brian Li
Brian Li

Reputation: 3050

You can get the ExtensionInstallType of a Chrome Extension which will be one of "admin", "development", "normal", "sideload", or "other."

To do this, first add "permissions": {"management"} to manifest.json to enable management.

Then in your background.js file, add the following code:

chrome.management.get(chrome.runtime.id, function (extensionInfo) {
      if (extensionInfo.installType === 'development') {
        // perform dev mode action here
      }
});

Upvotes: 10

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