Intent to Prototype: Web app scope extensions

[Lu Huang]

Contact emails

mandy...@microsoft.com, lu...@microsoft.com, luig...@microsoft.com

Explainer

https://github.com/WICG/manifest-incubations/blob/gh-pages/scope_extensions-explainer.md

Summary

Introduce a "scope_extensions" app manifest member that enables web apps to extend their scope to other origins.

Example usage:
{
   "name" : "Example",
   "display" : "standalone",
   "start_url" : "/index.html",
   "scope_extensions" : [
      {"origin" : "*.example.com"},
      {"origin" : "example.co.uk"},
      {"origin" : "*.example.co.uk"}
   ]
}

This allows sites that control multiple subdomains and top-level domains to behave as a single web app.

Blink component

UI>Browser>WebAppInstalls

Motivation

Web app scope (defined by the scope field) can only be defined with a path from a single origin. It is used to determine whether an app window's current document is a part of the app. It also determines what URLs are allowable in other manifest members. With a mechanism like "scope_extensions", developers are able to expand the behaviors of their app to include other origins if there is agreement between the primary origin of a web app and the associated origins.

Initial public proposal
https://github.com/WICG/get-installed-related-apps/issues/30
https://discourse.wicg.io/t/proposal-web-app-scope-extensions/5584  

TAG review
-
TAG review status

Pending

Risks
The proposed feature should not affect any cross-origin data or privacy protections.

    Interoperability and Compatibility

    Gecko: No signal 
    WebKit: No signal
    Web developers: No signals

Debuggability
Most issues that could arise can be investigated using the DevTools Application pane and information visible from chrome://web-app-internals. More debug UI can be added to DevTools if necessary.

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

No

Flag name
WebAppScopeExtensions

Requires code in //chrome?

False

Tracking bug

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1250011

Estimated milestones

No milestones specified

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5746537956114432