2 Weeks ago I published itch-sort-and-export as a Userscript for Tampermonkey.

Since I find Browser add-ons much easier to use, I immediately thought

why not a browser add-on?...

Turns out it's super easy but can also make everything so much more complex... software is hard.

Some thoughts an findings:

A Browser Add-On is basically just JavaScript with Metadata

Converting a Userscript (which is just a JavaScript file) into a add-on basically just requires an additional manifest.json and an icon.png 

Publishing in the Firefox Store is super simple and beginner friendly

• it's free and only takes seconds to open a dev account
• the upload-wizard makes some quick checks and gives errors and warnings in case something is missing
• add-ons get reviewed. It only took around 2 days
• description, screenshots etc. can be changed even after publishing, which is great for a beginner
• the store doesn't allow GIFs but allows basic HTML in the description
• I'm not sure if I got the permission right. It currently requires the user to change the permission manually... it doesn't show a pop-up... this could also be something that the add-on manifest V3 causes...

Publishing in the Chrome Store is harder

• it cost 5$ to open a dev account -> which is fair. I was surprised that Firefox has a review process despite being free for all
• the store requires much more details about the plugin. Including explanations for the usage of permissions.. which is great for security... but I doubt "it somehow doesn't work without this permission -.-'" is a valid explanation :D 
• some fields for the store are not editable and get pulled from the manifest.json. Which is good for security, but also requires a change in the code.. which ideally requires a Commit in git....
• it seems to also require a public email address... so more work, again
• the Chrome Store also requires multiple images in very specific resolutions... I get why. but it's much more work :D

an Add-on needs to be build... building requires a Pipeline... 

• the add-on is an artifact from the Pipeline... which ideally should be deployed automatically..
• .... deploying something automatically requires testing...
• I don't know how I'll solve this. For now I just build the add-on in a Pipeline on Github and upload it manually into the Firefox store..

Multi-Browser Support is annoying

• Personally I only use chrome-based Browsers. But since the publishing process is much harder, I went with the Firefox Store first...
• it turned out that I had to change the Code for Firefox, because even the initial Userscript didn't work properly in Firefox.. since I've only tested it in Chrome.. nothing new in Software...  but the second I've found this bug, I wanted automatic testing... and I don't think I'll build automatic testing for this sort of thing.... it would be much more complex than simple unit-tests :D

Anyway! It works and it's cool to see the my very own add-on in the official Firefox Add-on Store \^___^/

The code can be found in the Github Repository.
The Code and Pipeline for the Add-On currently live in the development branch: Itch-Sort-And-Export/browser_addon at development · 6uhrmittag/Itch-Sort-And-Export (github.com)

Any Comment or Feedback is appreciated❤️