Extension native messaging not supported

[samuelmaddock]

Native messaging is the ability for Chrome extensions to communicate with native apps installed on the desktop.

This is not implemented in Electron as most of the code for doing so resides in Chrome.

Known affected extensions

• 1Password w/ required desktop app
  • Even if native messaging is implemented in Electron, the 1Password team doesn't plan to support small market share web browsers.
  • There's another official 1Password extension which doesn't require use of the desktop app.

Possible solutions

• Copy native messaging code from Chrome into Electron.
  • There's a good chance Electron maintainers won't support this effort due to the added maintenance burden.
• Implement Chrome Native Messaging Host Protocol in JS or as a Node native module.
  • I'm going to need convincing to decide whether this effort is worth it. Especially with the caveats above with extensions like 1Password.