no longer be supported in the Google 😞

[kitchy art]

Google has informed me that your extension will no longer be supported in the Google Store because it doesn't follow the best practices for Chrome extensions. What steps are you planning to take to address this issue? How can we continue using this amazing app?

[AutoControl support]

That's probably related to the forceful transition to the "Manifest V3" platform that Google wants to impose on all developers.

That new platform doesn't provide the necessary features that AutoControl needs, so the extension will not be ported until there's no other choice but to do so. The deadline is currently on June 2025, so there's still some time.

Once AutoControl is ported to the MV3 platform, there will be some missing features, such as the "RUN SCRIPT" action which will no longer be supported. There will also be random instability problems because MV3 is still quite buggy. It will also consume more computer resources as MV3 needs 2 background processes (a process called "service worker" and another called "offscreen document") whereas as the old platform only needs 1 background process.

In spite of all these problems, Google is determined to force everybody to make the change, which is unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do about it.

[cw noway]

That's unfortunate.  I've written and use a lot of scripts.

May the question (below) be a possible workaround for the limitations that will come June 2025:

Will AC built under Manifest V2 as it is currently,  continue to work if we disable AC updates (so the MV3 coded version never gets installed) prior to the June 2025 deadline?

In other words.  If we never update AC to the version that you will code to work with Manifest V3, will our current Manifest V2 coded version still work after the deadline?

Thanks in advanced.

[AutoControl support]

You'll be able to keep using the MV2 version of AutoControl for as many years as you want, but you have to use a browser that supports MV2 extensions. Google Chrome will remove MV2 support in June 2025, which will be version 140 (approximately). So, if you keep using Chrome 139, you can keep using AutoControl MV2 for ever.

But, of course, at some point Chrome 139 will become too old and outdated. So, sooner or later you will have to update the browser.

Let's hope that by then the MV3 platform is able to support the "RUN SCRIPT" action.

[cw noway]

Thank you

[cw noway]

In an effort to learn more about Manifest V3, I just saw a Chromium blog (see below) addressing the Manifest V3 concerns.  It mentioned:

Something about Manifest V3 added support for user scripts...


Does that somehow mean "Run Script" may possibly still work come June 2025?  

Thanks in advance


BLOG:
Chromium Blog ( https://blog.chromium.org/2024/05/manifest-v2-phase-out-begins.html )

Manifest V2 phase-out begins
Dated:  Thursday, May 30, 2024

"Addressing community feedback

We understand migrations of this magnitude can be challenging, which is why we’ve listened to developer feedback and spent years refining Manifest V3 to support the innovation happening across the extensions community. This included adding support for user scripts and introducing offscreen documents to allow extensions to use DOM APIs from a background context. Based on input from the extension community, we also increased the number of rulesets for declarativeNetRequest, allowing extensions to bundle up to 330,000 static rules and dynamically add a further 30,000. You can find more detail in our content filtering guide. "

[AutoControl support]

The feature that needs to be added to MV3 is the following:

https://github.com/w3c/webextensions/issues/549

It's been accepted as a proposal, so that's good news. Now we have to wait for it to be implemented, which could take who knows how long. If we are lucky, it's possible that it will be added to MV3 before June 2025.

Fingers crossed.

[cw noway]

Thank you very much.  That's great, there's hope.

[cw noway]

Will we still have access to custom functions that we have stored in local (external) .js files?

For example:

I normally place one of the lines below (see below) in a "Run Script" upon menu open, so I can access my
custom functions globally, that are located in my local (external) .js file.

// ----------------------------------------------------------------
// Use any function defined in '.js' file ( with ACtl API support )
// ----------------------------------------------------------------
eval(await ACtl.getFile('v:\\functions.js'));

// ---------------------------------------------------------------
// Use any function defined in '.js' file ( No ACtl API support )
// ---------------------------------------------------------------
/// await ACtl.include('v:\\functions.js');
// ---------------------------------------------------------------


Come June 2025:

1. Will we still have access to functions in local (external) .js files?

2. If so, assuming "Run Script" will not be available, (which will not allow me to use the code lines above);
   Is there another way, using "Actions," other than "Run Script," that will provide access to my local (external) .js file so I will continue
   to have global access to my custom functions?



JUST THINKING Aloud:

I can manually convert some of my "basic" functions that are located in my local (external) .js file to "chained actions," that replicate
those functions.

But, the problem for me is, is that I have a lot of custom "complex" functions that contain things such as very complex "Regex" statements
that I can not replicate using "chained actions."

I will probably end up using your early suggestion of sticking to Chrome or other browser versions that will still be Manifest V2 capable.

Wow, what a quandary.  


I have written way to much code that is currently running like a "well oiled machine" in AutoControl, to let it all go to waste due
to Manifest V3 implementation and it's limitations.  

Nope.  I will not let access to my custom scripts go without a fight.  Can't do it.  Won't do it.  I refuse to relinquish access to my custom scripts located in "Run Script," and my local (external) .js file, unless they force me to.


I will just have to maintain a Manifest V2 version browser specifically for the use of AutoControl and my scripts.  Although, I realize that the Chrome Webstore will most likely disallow any Webstore extension installations for that browser come June 2025, and/or continuously nag me and/or try to automatically disable my Manifest V2 extensions.  That would be a major problem if they somehow auto disable all Manifest V2 extensions.  That would be "GAME OVER."

I guess I will also have to utilize Manifest V3 browsers to continue to access my other Chrome webstore extensions.  I can only assume some of those extensions will also be facing access to script issues due to Manifest V3.  What a mess...

Wow.  


Ok, I’m done pondering…




Any additional help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[AutoControl support]

As of today, all Chromium browsers already support both the old MV2 extension platform as well as the new MV3 platform.

What's going to change in June 2025 is that Google Chrome will remove support for the old MV2 platform.

So, if the userScripts.execute() proposal is not added to the MV3 platform before June 2025, then you can keep using the Chrome version released on May 2025 for a few additional months until they implement the userScripts.execute() proposal.

Alternatively, it's quite likely that other browser vendors will keep MV2 support after June 2025. So you can switch to a different browser if you don't want to keep using an outdated version of Chrome.

[cw noway]

Thank you very much