-->
The Edge browser used the EdgeHTML rendering engine and got thumbs up from enthusiasts for its fresh looks, smooth scrolling, and better power management compared to market leader Google Chrome. Running 10 tabs took up 952 MB of memory in Chrome, while Firefox took up 995 MB. The real surprise, however, was Edge, weighing in at only 873 MB of memory. That Edge made such a great showing is. Get on the bleeding edge of the web with Chrome Canary designed for experienced developers and updated nightly. Google uses cookies to deliver its services, to personalize ads, and to analyze. With that, we conclude our Google Chrome vs Microsoft Edge browser comparison. Although this was a very close battle because there’s little difference between the two in our. Both Edge and Chrome have access to extensions that provide more functionality. Because they are both built on Chromium, most of the extensions in the Google Chrome Store work on Edge too. To use them, you need to click on the three dots and select Extensions. Then move the slider next to “Allow extensions from other stores” to On.
An extension is a small program that you (a developer) use to add or modify features for Microsoft Edge (Chromium). An extension is intended to improve a user's day-to-day browsing experience. It provides niche functionality that is important to a target audience.
You may create an extension if you have an idea or product that is based upon either of the following conditions.
- A specific web browser.
- Improvements to features of specific webpages.
Examples of companion experiences include ad blockers and password managers.
An extension is structured similar to a regular web app. At a minimum, it should include the following features.
- An app manifest JSON file that contains basic platform information.
- A JavaScript file that define functionality.
- HTML and CSS files that define the user interface.
To work directly with part of the browser, such as a window or tab, you must send API requests and often reference the browser by name.
Basic guidance
Some of the most popular browsers to build extensions for include Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, and Microsoft Edge. Great places to begin your extension development tutorials and documentation research are sites hosted by the browser organizations. The following table isn't definitive, and may be used as a starting point.
| Web browser | Chromium-based? | Extension development webpage |
|---|---|---|
| Safari | No | developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/safari_app_extensions |
| Firefox | No | developer.mozilla.org/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions |
| Chrome | Yes | developer.chrome.com/extensions |
| Opera | Yes | dev.opera.com/extensions |
| Brave | Yes | Uses Chrome Web Store |
| new Microsoft Edge | Yes | developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-edge/extensions |
Edge Of Chrome
Important
Many of the tutorials of the sites use browser-specific APIs that may not match the browser for which you develop. In most cases, a Chromium extension works as-is in different Chromium browsers and the APIs work as expected. Only some less common APIs may be strictly browser-specific. For links to the tutorials, navigate to See also.
Why Chromium?
If your goal is to publish your extension in the extensions store for each browser, it must be modified for each version to target and run in each distinct browser environment. For example, Safari extensions may use both web and native code to communicate with counterpart native applications. The last four browsers in the previous table use the same code package, and minimizes the requirement to maintain parallel versions. These browsers are based on the Chromium open-source project.
Create a Chromium extension to write the least amount of code. It also targets the maximum number of extension stores and ultimately the maximum number of users who find and acquire your extension.
The following content focuses mostly on Chromium extensions.
Browser compatibility and extension testing
Occasionally, API parity doesn't exist between Chromium browsers. For example, there are differences in the identity and payment APIs. To ensure your extension meets customer expectations, review API status through the following official browser docs.
The APIs you require define the changes you must make to address the differences between each browser. It may mean that you must create slightly different code packages with small differences for each store.
To test your extension in different environments before you submit it to a browser store, sideload it into your browser while you develop it.
Publish your extension to browser stores
You may submit and seek browser extensions in the following browser stores.
Some stores allow you to download listed extensions from other browsers. However, cross-browser access is not guaranteed by browser stores. To ensure your users find your extension in different browsers, you should maintain a listing on each browser extension store.
Users may need to install your extension in different browsers. In this scenario, you may migrate existing Chromium extensions from one browser to another.
Migrate an existing extension to Microsoft Edge
If you've already developed an extension for another Chromium browser, you may submit it to the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store. You don't need to rewrite your extension, and must verify it works in Microsoft Edge. When you migrate an existing Chromium extension to other Chromium browsers, ensure the same APIs or alternatives are available for your target browser.
For more information on porting your Chrome extension to Microsoft Edge, navigate to Port Chrome extensions to Microsoft Edge (Chromium). After you port your extension to the target browser, the next step is to publish it.
Publish to the Microsoft Edge add-ons website
To start publishing your extension to Microsoft Edge, you must register for a developer account with an MSA email account to submit your extension listing to the store. An MSA email account includes @outlook.com, @live.com, and so on. When you choose an email address to register, consider if you must transfer or share ownership of the extension with others in your organization. After registration is complete, you may create a new extension submission to the store.
To submit your extension to the store, ensure you provide the following items.
- An archive (
.zip) file that contains your code files. - All required visual assets, which include a logo and small promotional tile.
- Optional promotional media, such as screenshots, promotional tiles, and a video URL.
- Information that describes your extension such as the name, short description, and a privacy policy link.
Note
Different stores may have different submission requirements. The above list summarizes the requirements to publish an extension for Microsoft Edge.
After you've successfully submitted your extension, your extension undergoes a review process and either passes or fails the certification process. Owners are notified of the outcome and given next steps as required. If you submit an extension update to the store, a new review process is started.
See also
As of Wednesday, January 15, Microsoft will make the non-beta version of its new, Chromium-based version of the Edge browser to Windows 10 Home and Pro users. We covered the beta version of Chromium-based Edge in November. The beta was still pretty raw then—but 'raw' is a relative term. The new Edge project began with a complete and fully functional Web browser—Chromium—so it worked fine for browsing the Web. There were just a few rough edges as far as installing extensions, logging into them, and the like.We've seen one take waxing nostalgic for the old, purely Microsoft developed version of Edge, but we don't think many people will miss it much. It's not so much that Edge was a bad browser, per se—it just didn't serve much of a purpose. Edge didn't have the breadth of extensions or the user-base enthusiasm of Chrome or Firefox—and it was no better than they are at running crusty old 'Internet Explorer Only' websites and Web apps.
While there is some validity to worrying about one company 'controlling the Web' and one of Google's biggest competitors now becoming a Google downstream, we don't think those concerns add up to much. We don't want to see the full-on Google Chrome become any more indispensable than it already is—but we don't think Microsoft trading in its own fully proprietary, closed-source HTML-rendering engine for one of the two biggest open source rendering engines is a bad thing.
We downloaded the final beta version of Chromium-based Edge—the one available on the afternoon of the 14th, one day before the official launch—and took it for a spin in a Windows 10 virtual machine. Mostly, it still just looks like a slightly plainer version of Chrome—which isn't a bad thing! Sites load snappily, UI elements are familiar, and so forth. One of the biggest obvious improvements since the last time we test-drove Chromium Edge is the ability to install extensions from the official Chrome Web store.
AdvertisementMicrosoft's own Web store is still extremely sparse—we went looking for the must-have, EFF-developed HTTPS Everywhere, and instead we got a recommendation for 'NBC Sports'—which does not seem well-loved by its users. However, typing 'chrome Web store' in the address/search bar took us right where we needed to go and presented us with an obvious tool-tip for installing third-party extensions. That was that—HTTPS Everywhere installed with a single click, just as you'd expect it to on Chromium or Google Chrome itself.
Chromium-based Edge is still missing a couple of obvious features to compete with the full Google Chrome experience—most notably, browser history and extensions don't sync between devices yet. This is described as a temporary problem in the 'Known Issues' page, and it may even be fixed already in the production version launching today.
Pushing the new Edge as something to look forward to right now is difficult—we suspect most people who really care about their browser will continue using Chrome, Firefox, or whatever less-well-known variant they've found and learned to love. Meanwhile, the people who have actually been actively using Edge likely won't notice much of a change—unless Microsoft bobbles something in the user data import functionality when they push the official, non-beta version out through Windows Update later this month.
Edge Of Chrome Web
In all likelihood, the change absolutely will improve the lives of the folks who 'just click the blue E' in the long run, though. It will likely make it easier for Microsoft to lure more technical users—who demand feature and extension parity but might be interested in Edge's Azure authentication back-end—away from Google Chrome.
Edge Of Chrome Update
This article initially stated that Chromium-based Edge was being pushed over Windows Update beginning on the 15th; a Microsoft representative reached out to correct us: it was only available for download beginning on the 15th, and will not be pushed over Windows Update until later this month. The article has been updated accordingly.