extension.getBackgroundPage()

Alias for runtime.getBackgroundPage().

Note: This method cannot be used in Private Browsing mode — it always returns an empty array. Consider using runtime.sendMessage() or runtime.connect(). For more info see bug 1329304.

Syntax

var page = browser.extension.getBackgroundPage()

Parameters

None.

Return value

object. Window of the background page.

Examples

Suppose a background script defines a function foo():

// background.js

function foo() {
  console.log("I'm defined in background.js");
}

A script running in a popup can call this function directly like this:

// popup.js

var page = browser.extension.getBackgroundPage();
page.foo(); // -> "I'm defined in background.js"

Example extensions

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`getBackgroundPage`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	48	?	?	?

Note: This API is based on Chromium's chrome.extension API. This documentation is derived from extension.json in the Chromium code.

Microsoft Edge compatibility data is supplied by Microsoft Corporation and is included here under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API/extension/getBackgroundPage