Oliver Haslam on August 30, 2020, 2:49 am

Apple Reminds Developers That Safari 14 Can Support Extensions Ported From Other Browsers

Apple has reminded web developers that any extension designed for use with Chrome, Firefox, and Edge can be ported to work with Safari 14 using the same WebExtensions API.

There’s a new conversion tool built into the Xcode 12 beta that’s designed exactly for that.

While not all extensions will work when ported to Safari, many will and developers are being told to keep that in mind when planning their extensions.

– Convert your existing extension into a Safari web extension, so you can use it in Safari on macOS and distribute it in the App Store. Xcode includes a command-line tool to simplify this process.
– Build a new Safari web extension in Xcode using the built-in template. You can then repackage the extension files for deployment in other browsers.

Users will need to be running macOS 10.14.6 or 10.15.6 with Safari 14 installed to take advantage of the new extensions, with macOS Big Sur supporting them as standard. That update will arrive with users in the next few weeks, so developers of extensions still have a little time to get things wrapped up.

It’s also worth noting that developers will need to be part of the Apple Developer Program, paying the $99 entrance fee.