chromeurl 2025.12.22.0

Native messaging host component of chrome current url extension.

Installation

$ pip3 install chromeurl
$ chromeurl --install-manifest all

Development

1. Obtain the chrome native component (python package). Options:

   • from the source tree

     $ cd native
     $ python setup.py install --user
     

2. Install the extension. Options:

   • automatically from the web store

     $ chromeurl --install-manifest extension
     

   • manually from the chrome web store

   • manually from local source tree (for development)

     • navigate to chrome://extensions/
     • Load Unpacked the extension directory rooted at ./chrome
     • note the extension `ID` as UNPACKED_EXTENSION_ID
3. Install native host manifest (make chrome aware of the native host). Options:

   • if extension came from the webstore

     $ chromeurl --install-manifest native
     

   • if unpacked locally and loaded from source (for development):

     $ chromeurl --install-manifest native --extension-id <UNPACKED_EXTENSION_ID>
     

Get current url

• While chrome is running, make an HTTP request to get the current url

  $ curl http://127.0.0.1:19615/tabs/current/url
  https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/activeTab
  

Debugging

• start chromium from a terminal to see native host debug messages
• navigate to the extension background from page (chrome://extensions) to see background page log messages

Security

• Any local process may read the user's current url
• By default the browsing history is logged to ~/.browser-history.tsv

Config file

• Native host behavior can be configured via a config file at any of these locations:

  • /etc/chromeurl.conf
  • ~/.config/chromeurl.conf

• Example config file:

  port = 1239
  verbose = True
  logfile = /dev/null
  

• See $chromeurl --help$ for a list of options