1481471 - Unable to update tab URL in geckoview

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(GeckoView :: General, defect, P2)

Description

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

I am attempting to get Raptor (performance automation tool) running in GeckoView (using the GeckoView Example app) to run the speedometer benchmark. Raptor is a web extension [1] and uses the tab API to navigate to the benchmark pages.

I am unable to change the URL in the geckoview example app by using 'browser.tabs.update'. If I don't provide a tabID (so by default it should use the current tab) I get this error:

E GeckoConsole: [JavaScript Error: "nativeTab is null" {file: "chrome://geckoview/content/ext-tabs.js" line: 311}]

I have also tried providing a tabID of 0 and 1 but if I do that I get an 'invalid TabID' error.

Is the tabs API not supported in geckoview? Are there plans to support this? If not, how can I set the URL from within a web extension, is that possible? Thanks!

[1] https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/testing/raptor/webext/raptor

Comment 1

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

If I could send the URL in to navigate to the benchmark URL upon app startup that would be good however I still need the ability to refresh the page / reload the same URL as we do multiple cycles of each benchmark without restarting the browser in between.

Comment 2

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

browser.tabs.reload() results in the same error:

E GeckoConsole: [JavaScript Error: "nativeTab is null" {file: "chrome://geckoview/content/ext-tabs.js" line: 342}]

Comment 3

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

Hi Jim, do you know if the tabs api will be supported in geckoView? Or is there is another way to change the URL and refresh/reload, from within a webext? Thanks!

If this is not going to be supported we will need to come up with a new solution for running speedometer on geckoview/android.

Comment 4

[James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) (he/him)]

We should be able to make browser.tabs work in GeckoView, though it's probably only going to return a single tab.

Comment 5

[Joel Maher ( :jmaher ) (UTC -8)]

one tab should be good, but what is the timeline to make this work?

Comment 6

[(inactive) Jim Chen [:jchen] [:darchons]]

I can take a look. :esawin did some work already to make `browser.tabs` work, so I don't think there should be too much more work to get `reload` working.

Comment 7

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

(In reply to Jim Chen [:jchen] [:darchons] from comment #6)
> I can take a look. :esawin did some work already to make `browser.tabs`
> work, so I don't think there should be too much more work to get `reload`
> working.

Is there a different bug for the browser.tabs work you mentioned? I just tried a geckoview_example app from the latest inbound and still seeing the same browser.tabs errors.

Comment 8

[(inactive) Jim Chen [:jchen] [:darchons]]

I think bug 1329154 made parts of the `browser.tabs` API work.

Comment 9

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

Thanks - I was seeing old adb logcat entries that are dumped each time it starts. With the latest geckoview example app it looks like the raptor webext isn't loading now, so I can't get far enough to try out tabs yet.

Comment 10

[(inactive) Jim Chen [:jchen] [:darchons]]

Hey Matt, do you have some time to help Rob with this? You'll probably want to look at "ext-tabs.js" and "GeckoViewTab.jsm" to make "browser.tabs.reload" work.

Comment 11

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

With an Anroid 4.0 geckoview_example from today's inbound, on google pixel 2, confirmed that browser.tabs.update is still giving this error:

08-10 15:13:02.517  8586  8603 E GeckoConsole: [JavaScript Error: "nativeTab is null" {file: "chrome://geckoview/content/ext-tabs.js" line: 316}]

Comment 12

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

> Hey Matt, do you have some time to help Rob with this?

Sure.

Comment 13

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

`windowTracker.topWindow` is returning null here:

https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/rev/ca869724246f4230b272ed1c8b9944596e80d920/mobile/android/components/extensions/ext-utils.js#439

`topWindow` calls the window-mediator service:

    get topWindow() {
      return Services.wm.getMostRecentWindow("navigator:browser");
    }

Comment 14

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

For this to work with GeckoView, it would need to use "navigator:geckoview" instead.

Comment 15

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

Attachment: Bug 1481471 - Remove some cruft left behind by Bug 1481471. r=snorp

Comment 16

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

Attachment: Bug 1481471 - Allow browser.tabs extension APIs to find GeckoView windows. r=snorp

Depends on D3353

Comment 17

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

Attachment: Bug 1481471 - Implement browser.tab.getActive() in GeckoView. r=snorp

Depends on D3354

Comment 18

[James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) (he/him)]

Comment on attachment 9000015 [details]
Bug 1481471 - Implement browser.tab.getActive() in GeckoView. r=snorp

James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) has approved the revision.

Comment 19

[James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) (he/him)]

Comment on attachment 9000014 [details]
Bug 1481471 - Allow browser.tabs extension APIs to find GeckoView windows. r=snorp

James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) has approved the revision.

Comment 20

[James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) (he/him)]

Comment on attachment 9000013 [details]
Bug 1481471 - Remove some cruft left behind by Bug 1481471. r=snorp

James Willcox (:snorp) ([e-mail]) has approved the revision.

Comment 21

[Robert Wood [:rwood]]

Verified (with a build on try from :jmaher with your patches applied) that the fix works great - browser.tabs.update now works from within the raptor web extension on the geckoview example app. Thanks!

Comment 22

[Matt Brubeck (:mbrubeck)]

https://treeherder.mozilla.org/#/jobs?repo=try&revision=1d1f3fbbe3e56d70722873ebdab9c8745415667a

Comment 23

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/9288bcd578ed
Remove some cruft left behind by Bug 1481471. r=snorp
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/0f4415f29a66
Allow browser.tabs extension APIs to find GeckoView windows. r=snorp
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/7d9cc6236b1f
Implement browser.tab.getActive() in GeckoView. r=snorp

Comment 24

[Narcis Beleuzu [:NarcisB]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/9288bcd578ed
https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/0f4415f29a66
https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/7d9cc6236b1f