1378107 - WebExtensions devtools pages are not executed on existing (opened) developer toolboxes

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1394750

(WebExtensions :: Developer Tools, defect, P3)

Description

[CosminB]

[Affected versions]:
- Firefox 56.0a1 (20170703100357) 
- Firefox 55.0b6 (20170629005331)
- Firefox 54.0.1 (20170628075643)
 
[Affected platforms]:
- Mac OS X 10.12.1
- Mac OS X 10.11.6
 
[Steps to reproduce]:
1.Install https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/remotedev
2.Open https://zalmoxisus.github.io/examples/todomvc/ in a new tab.
3.Open the Web Console.
4.Disable the WebExtension.
5.Refresh the https://zalmoxisus.github.io/examples/todomvc/ web page.
6.Re-enable the WebExtension.
7.Refresh the https://zalmoxisus.github.io/examples/todomvc/ web page.
 
[Expected results]:
- After the WebExtension was re-enabled the icon is displayed in the Web Console.
 
[Actual results]:
- After the WebExtension was re-enabled the icon is not displayed in the Web Console.
 
[Additional notes]:
- This issue reproduces constantly.
- The icon is visible only after a restart of the web page or if you open a new tab with https://zalmoxisus.github.io/examples/todomvc/
- Please see the attached video.

Comment 1

[CosminB]

Attachment: DevToolsIcon.zip

Video for this issue.

Comment 2

[Luca Greco [:rpl] [:luca] [:lgreco]]

Hi Cosmin,
I've tweaked the bug summary a bit to better describe the actual behavior.

What happens is that, at least currently, we only run the WebExtension devtools page when a new developer toolbox has been opened, after the extension has been installed/enabled (and we don't enumerate the existent ones to enable the devtools page on them).

The WebExtensions devtools page is an invisible page that creates the devtools panel (which contains the icon that is missing from the toolbox after the extension has been disabled and then enabled again while the developer toolbox was opened)

If I recall correctly Chrome has the same behavior (but I'm going to check again the actual chrome behavior), but the main reason why I chose this as the initial behavior is that, at the time we implemented it, the devtools internals were starting to transition into a separate extension that is installed on-demand on the release channel.

Nevertheless, now that the plans and the implementation details related to the "devtools as an addon" transition are much more detailed, I feel that we can start to re-evaluate this behavior and plan to change it to be able to run the WebExtension devtools pages also on the existing (opened) developer toolboxes.

Comment 3

[Luca Greco [:rpl] [:luca] [:lgreco]]

Fixed as part of Bug 1394750.