Chrome extension quits running javascript after opening new tab

Question

I am trying to make a chrome extensions, that is started in one tab and continues to run while opening several new tabs. However, it only starts ONE new tab instead of the 5 specified because the script stops running.

The important part:

function launch (url, name, callOnLoad) {
  window.open(url, name)
    .addEventListener(
      "load",
      callOnLoad,
      { once: true, passive: true }
    );
}
async function launchProcess (taburl) {
  const sleep3 = { then(resolve) { setTimeout(resolve, 250); } };
  for (let i = 2; i < 7; ++i) {
    launch(taburl, "tab" + i, proceed);
    await sleep3;
  }
}
launchProcess(taburl) //Taburl is acquired by running a chrome query to find the last active site.

The whole script:



function proceed (evt) {
  console.log("A window has been loaded");
  console.log(evt);
//End of execution
}

async function launchProcess (taburl) {
  const sleep3 = { then(resolve) { setTimeout(resolve, 250); } };
  for (let i = 2; i < 7; ++i) {
    launch(taburl, "tab" + i, proceed);
    await sleep3;
  }
}

async function timer(time) { //timer() is only used if the user activates it, so you can ignore it atm
    const sleep = { then(resolve) { setTimeout(resolve, 15000); } };
    var date = new Date();
    var timestamp = date.getTime();
    timestamp = timestamp + 60000
    while (time > timestamp) {
        date = new Date();
        timestamp = date.getTime();
        timestamp = timestamp + 60000
        await sleep;
    }
    const sleep2 = { then(resolve) { setTimeout(resolve, 250); } };
    var excttimestamp = new Date();
    while (time > excttimestamp) {
        excttimestamp = new Date();
        await sleep2;
    }
    launchProcess().then(console.log, console.error);
}

PS: If someone has some clues on how to make timer() more efficient, help is very welcomed :)

I expect the Function to "launch" multiple tabs and sleep, then opening another tab and running other not mentioned functions. Instead it only opens one and quits.

The script is restricted to the file it is created in, you cannot pass code to new tabs — Andrew Daly, Aug 01 '19 at 15:11
Of course the script is restricted to the file it is created in, I don't want to pass code to new tabs, the only thing I want to have is that the extension continues to run if the tab is changing and the popup is closed... If I run the script in Console, it runs perfectly fine and finishes all it's duties — Ranger, Aug 01 '19 at 15:29

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 01 '19 at 15:59

2

I found a solution for myself: chrome.tabs.create({url: 'http://www.google.com', active: false}); opens a new tab over chrome but doesn't focus on it, so the popup stays and the code keeps running :)

answered Aug 01 '19 at 15:59

Ranger

75
7

However, I don't quite know how to implement .addEventListener in this scenario... Could anyone help me out? – Ranger Aug 01 '19 at 16:32
Use chrome.tabs.onUpdated ([example](https://stackoverflow.com/a/44864966)) or chrome.webNavigation.onCompleted ([example](https://stackoverflow.com/a/57315200)). – wOxxOm Aug 01 '19 at 18:47
@wOxxOm Okay... I'm not quite sure if there's a better method than just posting messages to the popup script from background page – Ranger Aug 03 '19 at 11:41
Also, I don't know how to access the content script stored in the new opened Tabs... Tab Class from Chrome doesn't seem to have something like currentTarget where you can directly call functions – Ranger Aug 03 '19 at 11:42
The content script runs in a web page which is one process. The popup/background script runs in an extension page which is another process. You can use [messaging](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/messaging) to communicate between different processes. You definitely can't invoke functions directly from another process. – wOxxOm Aug 03 '19 at 12:01

Chrome extension quits running javascript after opening new tab

The important part:

1 Answers1