(Optionally) allow programmable buttons to access webextension APIs

ELLIOTTCABLE

These are a great feature; and a perfect way to sidestep the weight (and security issues) of having a ton of tiny single-purpose browser-extensions from authors that you don't know.

However, at the moment, it appears that they don't have a lot of the power of browser-extensions - for instance, I tried to copy the meat of this simple "Popout Tab" extension into a programmable button; but it appears they don't have access to the WebExt APIs:

ReferenceError: Can't find variable: browser

This would obviate any need for a variety of small extensions, especially those that are only occasionally useful, and are only useful on-trigger. They lend themselves well to small snippets of code that don't need updating, and that also makes them relatively secure.

Yannick

It's possible too, but we will want to keep both separate, as this will introduce a big security concern.
We can introduce some safe internal APIs for Programmable Buttons in future for better handling instead of web-ext APIs 💪

ELLIOTTCABLE

Since posting this, the more I think about it, the more I'm just saying "it'd be nice if WebExtensions were simpler to author and share."

But unfortunately, I feel that's kinda out-of-scope for Orion - the really correct way to do this would be to have a second 'kind' of webextension you can install, without bothering with authorization interface, without any sort of configuration, and that wouldn't clutter your lists of installed-extensions / permissions-per-website and so on. But, nonetheless, that's still "an extension", that can do extension-y, dangerous things, that should have the user's safety-hackles raised and eagle-eyes on.

My 2¢: close this as NYI, honestly. I can't see a user-friendly way to implement it that encourages good user behaviour and doesn't require buy-in from other browser-vendors that is never going to happen, lol.