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  2. Mozilla
  3. Add-ons
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  5. manifest.json
  6. sidebar_action

sidebar_action

In This Article
  1. Syntax
  2. Example
  3. Browser compatibility
Type Object
Mandatory No
Example
"sidebar_action": {
  "default_icon": {
    "16": "button/geo-16.png",
    "32": "button/geo-32.png"
  },
  "default_title": "My sidebar",
  "default_panel": "sidebar/sidebar.html"
}

A sidebar is a pane that is displayed at the left-hand side of the browser window, next to the web page. The browser provides a UI that enables the user to see the currently available sidebars and to select a sidebar to display.

The sidebar_action key enables you to define the default properties for the sidebar. You can change these properties at runtime using the sidebarAction API.

Syntax

The sidebar_action key is an object that may have any of the properties listed below. The only mandatory property is default_panel.

Name Type Description
browser_style Boolean

Optional, defaulting to true.

Use this to include a stylesheet in your popup that will make it look consistent with the browser's UI and with other extensions that use the browser_style property.

default_icon Object or String

Use this to specify one or more icons for the sidebar. The icon is shown in the browser's UI for opening and closing sidebars.

Icons are specified as URLs relative to the manifest.json file itself.

You can specify a single icon file by supplying a string here:

"default_icon": "path/to/geo.svg"

To specify multiple icons in different sizes, specify an object here. The name of each property is the icon's height in pixels, and must be convertible to an integer. The value is the URL. For example:

    "default_icon": {
      "16": "path/to/geo-16.png",
      "32": "path/to/geo-32.png"
    }

See Choosing icon sizes for more guidance on this.

This property is optional: if it is omitted, the sidebar doesn't get an icon.

default_panel String

The path to an HTML file that specifies the sidebar's contents.

The HTML file may include CSS and JavaScript files using <link> and <script> elements, just like a normal web page.

Unlike a normal web page, JavaScript running in the panel can access all the WebExtension APIs (subject, of course, to the extension having the appropriate permissions).

This property is mandatory.

This is a localizable property.

default_title String

Title for the sidebar. This is used in the browser UI for listing and opening sidebars, and is displayed at the top of the sidebar when it is open.

This property is optional: if it is omitted, the sidebar's title is the extension's name.

This is a localizable property.

Example

"sidebar_action": {
  "default_icon": "sidebar.svg",
  "default_title": "My sidebar!",
  "default_panel": "sidebar.html",
  "browser_style": true
}

For a simple example of an extension that uses a sidebar, see annotate-page.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

ChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefox for AndroidOpera
Basic supportNoNo54NoYes
browser_styleNoNo55NoNo

Document Tags and Contributors

Tags: 
  • WebExtensions
 Contributors to this page: wbamberg, andrewtruongmoz
 Last updated by: wbamberg, Jul 18, 2017, 9:35:43 AM
See also
  1. Browser extensions
  2. Getting started
    1. What are extensions?
    2. Your first extension
    3. Your second extension
    4. Anatomy of an extension
    5. Example extensions
  3. How to
    1. Intercept HTTP requests
    2. Modify a web page
    3. Add a button to the toolbar
    4. Implement a settings page
  4. User interface
    1. Introduction
    2. Toolbar button
    3. Address bar button
    4. Sidebar
    5. Context menu items
    6. Options page
    7. Bundled web pages
    8. Notifications
    9. Address bar suggestions
    10. Developer tools panels
  5. Concepts
    1. Using the JavaScript APIs
    2. Content scripts
    3. Match patterns
    4. Internationalization
    5. Content Security Policy
    6. Native messaging
  6. Porting
    1. Porting a Google Chrome extension
    2. Porting a legacy Firefox extension
    3. Embedded WebExtensions
    4. Comparison with the Add-on SDK
    5. Comparison with XUL/XPCOM extensions
    6. Chrome incompatibilities
    7. Differences between desktop and Android
  7. Firefox workflow
    1. Temporary Installation in Firefox
    2. Debugging
    3. Developing for Firefox for Android
    4. Getting started with web-ext
    5. web-ext command reference
    6. Extensions and the Add-on ID
    7. Publishing your extension
  8. JavaScript APIs
    1. Browser support for JavaScript APIs
    2. alarms
    3. bookmarks
    4. browserAction
    5. browsingData
    6. commands
    7. contextMenus
    8. contextualIdentities
    9. cookies
    10. devtools.inspectedWindow
    11. devtools.network
    12. devtools.panels
    13. downloads
    14. events
    15. extension
    16. extensionTypes
    17. history
    18. i18n
    19. identity
    20. idle
    21. management
    22. notifications
    23. omnibox
    24. pageAction
    25. permissions
    26. privacy
    27. proxy
    28. runtime
    29. sessions
    30. sidebarAction
    31. storage
    32. tabs
    33. topSites
    34. types
    35. webNavigation
    36. webRequest
    37. windows
  9. Manifest keys
    1. applications
    2. author
    3. background
    4. browser_action
    5. chrome_settings_overrides
    6. chrome_url_overrides
    7. commands
    8. content_scripts
    9. content_security_policy
    10. default_locale
    11. description
    12. developer
    13. devtools_page
    14. homepage_url
    15. icons
    16. incognito
    17. manifest_version
    18. name
    19. omnibox
    20. optional_permissions
    21. options_ui
    22. page_action
    23. permissions
    24. protocol_handlers
    25. short_name
    26. sidebar_action
    27. version
    28. web_accessible_resources
  10. Themes
  11. Publishing add-ons
  12. Guides
    1. Signing and distribution overview
    2. Submit an add-on
    3. Creating an appealing listing
    4. Review policies
    5. Developer agreement
    6. Featured add-ons
    7. Contact addons.mozilla.org
  13. Community and support
  14. Channels
    1. Add-ons blog
    2. Add-on forums
    3. Stack Overflow
    4. Development newsgroup
    5. IRC Channel
  15. Legacy add-ons
  16. Legacy technologies
    1. Add-on SDK
    2. Legacy Firefox for Android
    3. Bootstrapped extensions
    4. Overlay extensions