fox-webusb by steck0714

Adds a navigator.usb (WebUSB) polyfill to Firefox via a local Native Messaging host. Firefox does not implement WebUSB natively (see README). Install the host with: pip install fox-webusb-host

Experimental

Available on Firefox for Android™

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About this extension

fox-webusb is an experimental WebExtension that provides a WebUSB-compatible navigator.usb API in Firefox.

Firefox does not implement WebUSB natively. fox-webusb bridges WebUSB API calls from web pages to a locally installed Native Messaging host, which handles communication with USB devices.

The native host is distributed separately as the fox-webusb-host Python package.

Install it with:

pip install fox-webusb-host

After installation, follow the project README for Native Messaging host registration and setup instructions.

Provides navigator.usb and WebUSB-compatible interfaces
USB device selection through requestDevice()
Device open and close operations
Interface claiming and releasing
Configuration and alternate-interface selection
Control, bulk, and isochronous transfers
Device reset and endpoint halt management
USB connect and disconnect events
Origin-based permission and device management
Extension options page for managing permissions and known devices
Popup diagnostics for native-host connection status
Optional Rust acceleration for faster Base64 processing

Web page
    │
    │ navigator.usb
    ▼
fox-webusb WebExtension
    │
    │ Native Messaging
    ▼
fox-webusb-host
    │
    │ PyUSB / libusb
    ▼
USB device

fox-webusb is an experimental WebUSB-compatible implementation for Firefox.

It is intended to provide a compatible WebUSB API rather than claim that Firefox has native WebUSB support. Some behavior, limitations, and compatibility may differ from Chromium's native WebUSB implementation.

Physical USB hardware and WebUSB website compatibility are still under active testing.

The implementation is actively developed and may change between releases.

If you want to inspect the actual implementation of the latest Firefox version, including the WebExtension, Native Messaging bridge, native host, tests, and supporting components, see the firefox branch of the project repository:

https://github.com/steck0714/fox-webusb/tree/firefox

The firefox branch contains the current Firefox-specific implementation and is the best place to inspect the implementation in detail.

Repository:

https://github.com/steck0714/fox-webusb

fox-webusb is part of the Mock-webusb project, which explores WebUSB-compatible APIs for environments where native WebUSB support is unavailable.

Developer comments

This is an experimental / pre-alpha implementation of WebUSB for Firefox.

fox-webusb uses Firefox Native Messaging to communicate with a separately installed native host. The native host handles USB communication through PyUSB.

Physical USB hardware support is still under verification. The current verification log documents the tested API behavior, Native Messaging communication, and known limitations.

Verification log:
https://github.com/steck0714/fox-webusb/blob/main/checklog2.md

The native host is not bundled with the WebExtension and must be installed separately.

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fox-webusb by steck0714

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