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bad-antics edited this page Jan 26, 2026 · 1 revision

🛠️ Extension Development Guide

Learn how to create your own Marshall Browser extensions.

Quick Start

1. Create Extension Directory

mkdir -p my-extension
cd my-extension

2. Create Manifest

{
  "name": "my-extension",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My awesome extension",
  "main": "main.js",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "permissions": ["network", "storage"],
  "category": "utility",
  "icon": "icon.png"
}

3. Create Entry Point

// main.js
marshall.extension.onActivate(async () => {
  console.log('Extension activated!');
  
  // Register toolbar button
  marshall.toolbar.register({
    id: 'my-button',
    icon: '🔧',
    title: 'My Extension',
    onclick: () => showPanel()
  });
});

function showPanel() {
  marshall.ui.showPanel('<h1>Hello World!</h1>', {
    title: 'My Extension',
    width: 400,
    height: 300
  });
}

marshall.extension.onDeactivate(() => {
  console.log('Extension deactivated');
});

4. Test Extension

marshall --load-extension ./my-extension

Manifest Reference

Required Fields

Field Type Description
name string Extension identifier (lowercase, no spaces)
version string Semantic version (1.0.0)
description string Short description
main string Entry point file

Optional Fields

Field Type Default Description
author string - Author name
homepage string - Project URL
repository string - Source repository
license string MIT License
icon string - Icon file path
category string utility Category (recon, forensics, network, utility)
permissions array [] Required permissions
minimum_marshall_version string 1.0.0 Minimum browser version

Full Example

{
  "name": "advanced-scanner",
  "version": "2.1.0",
  "description": "Advanced vulnerability scanner for web applications",
  "main": "main.js",
  "author": "NullSec Team",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/bad-antics/advanced-scanner",
  "repository": "https://github.com/bad-antics/advanced-scanner",
  "license": "MIT",
  "icon": "assets/icon.png",
  "category": "recon",
  "permissions": [
    "network",
    "storage",
    "tabs",
    "dom",
    "notifications"
  ],
  "minimum_marshall_version": "2.0.0",
  "sandbox": {
    "security_level": "standard",
    "rate_limits": {
      "requests_per_minute": 100
    }
  }
}

Marshall API Reference

Tabs

// Get current tab
const tab = await marshall.tabs.getCurrent();
console.log(tab.url, tab.title);

// Get all tabs
const tabs = await marshall.tabs.getAll();

// Create new tab
const newTab = await marshall.tabs.create({
  url: 'https://example.com',
  active: true
});

// Update tab
await marshall.tabs.update(tab.id, {
  url: 'https://newurl.com'
});

// Close tab
await marshall.tabs.close(tab.id);

// Execute script in tab
const result = await marshall.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {
  code: 'document.title'
});

Network

// Fetch URL
const response = await marshall.network.fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer token'
  }
});
const data = await response.json();

// Intercept requests
marshall.webRequest.onBeforeRequest((details) => {
  if (details.url.includes('ads')) {
    return { cancel: true };
  }
  return {};
}, { urls: ['<all_urls>'] });

// Modify headers
marshall.webRequest.onBeforeSendHeaders((details) => {
  details.requestHeaders.push({
    name: 'X-Custom-Header',
    value: 'custom-value'
  });
  return { requestHeaders: details.requestHeaders };
}, { urls: ['<all_urls>'] });

Storage

// Set value
await marshall.storage.set('key', 'value');
await marshall.storage.set('config', { theme: 'dark', limit: 100 });

// Get value
const value = await marshall.storage.get('key');
const config = await marshall.storage.get('config');

// Remove value
await marshall.storage.remove('key');

// Clear all
await marshall.storage.clear();

// Get all keys
const keys = await marshall.storage.keys();

UI

// Show panel
marshall.ui.showPanel('<div>Content</div>', {
  title: 'Panel Title',
  width: 500,
  height: 400
});

// Show notification
marshall.ui.notify('Operation completed!', 'success');
marshall.ui.notify('Warning message', 'warning');
marshall.ui.notify('Error occurred', 'error');

// Show prompt
const input = await marshall.ui.prompt('Enter value:', 'default');

// Show confirm
const confirmed = await marshall.ui.confirm('Are you sure?');

// Show context menu
marshall.ui.contextMenu([
  { label: 'Option 1', onclick: () => {} },
  { label: 'Option 2', onclick: () => {} },
  { type: 'separator' },
  { label: 'Option 3', onclick: () => {} }
]);

Toolbar

// Register button
marshall.toolbar.register({
  id: 'my-button',
  icon: '🔍',
  title: 'My Tool',
  onclick: handleClick
});

// Update button
marshall.toolbar.update('my-button', {
  icon: '✅'
});

// Set badge
marshall.toolbar.setBadge('my-button', '5');

// Remove button
marshall.toolbar.unregister('my-button');

Keyboard

// Register shortcut
marshall.keyboard.register('Ctrl+Shift+S', () => {
  console.log('Shortcut triggered!');
});

// Unregister
marshall.keyboard.unregister('Ctrl+Shift+S');

DOM Access

// Get page content (requires 'dom' permission)
const html = await marshall.dom.getPageContent();

// Query selector
const elements = await marshall.dom.querySelectorAll('a[href]');

// Get element text
const text = await marshall.dom.getText('h1');

// Click element
await marshall.dom.click('#submit-button');

// Fill input
await marshall.dom.fill('#username', 'test-user');

Clipboard

// Read clipboard (requires 'clipboard' permission)
const text = await marshall.clipboard.read();

// Write to clipboard
await marshall.clipboard.write('Copied text');

Multi-Language Extensions

TypeScript

// main.ts
import * as marshall from 'marshall-api';

interface ScanResult {
  url: string;
  vulnerabilities: string[];
}

marshall.extension.onActivate(async () => {
  const results: ScanResult[] = await performScan();
  displayResults(results);
});

async function performScan(): Promise<ScanResult[]> {
  const tab = await marshall.tabs.getCurrent();
  // ... scanning logic
  return [];
}

Compile with tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "strict": true
  }
}

Ruby

# main.rb
require 'marshall'

Marshall.extension.on_activate do
  puts "Extension activated!"
  
  Marshall.toolbar.register(
    id: 'cert-check',
    icon: '🔐',
    title: 'Certificate Inspector',
    onclick: -> { inspect_certificate }
  )
end

def inspect_certificate
  tab = Marshall.tabs.get_current
  url = URI.parse(tab['url'])
  
  cert_info = fetch_certificate(url.host)
  display_results(cert_info)
end

Lua

-- main.lua
local marshall = require("marshall")

marshall.extension.onActivate(function()
  print("[Extension] Activated")
  
  marshall.toolbar.register({
    id = "tamper",
    icon = "🔧",
    title = "Request Tamper",
    onclick = function() show_panel() end
  })
end)

function show_panel()
  local html = generate_panel_html()
  marshall.ui.showPanel(html, {
    title = "Request Tamper",
    width = 600,
    height = 500
  })
end

C Extension

// main.c
#include <marshall_ext.h>

void on_activate() {
    printf("Extension activated\n");
    
    toolbar_button_t btn = {
        .id = "forensics",
        .icon = "🧠",
        .title = "Memory Forensics",
        .onclick = handle_click
    };
    
    marshall_toolbar_register(&btn);
}

void handle_click() {
    // Perform analysis
    analysis_result_t* result = analyze_memory();
    
    char* html = format_results(result);
    marshall_ui_show_panel(html, "Memory Analysis", 700, 600);
    
    free_result(result);
    free(html);
}

MARSHALL_EXTENSION_ENTRY(on_activate, NULL)

Best Practices

Security

  1. Request minimal permissions - Only what you need
  2. Validate all input - Don't trust user/external data
  3. Sanitize HTML output - Prevent XSS in panels
  4. Use HTTPS - Always for network requests
  5. Don't store secrets - Use secure credential APIs

Performance

  1. Lazy load - Load resources when needed
  2. Cache responses - Avoid redundant requests
  3. Debounce events - Don't flood with handlers
  4. Clean up - Remove listeners on deactivate

UX

  1. Provide feedback - Loading states, progress
  2. Handle errors gracefully - User-friendly messages
  3. Follow conventions - Consistent UI patterns
  4. Document usage - Clear README and help

Testing

Unit Tests

// test/main.test.js
const { MockMarshall } = require('marshall-test-utils');

describe('MyExtension', () => {
  let marshall;
  
  beforeEach(() => {
    marshall = new MockMarshall();
  });
  
  it('should register toolbar button', async () => {
    await require('../main.js');
    expect(marshall.toolbar.buttons).toHaveLength(1);
  });
  
  it('should fetch data correctly', async () => {
    marshall.network.mockResponse('https://api.test.com', {
      status: 200,
      body: { data: 'test' }
    });
    
    const result = await fetchData();
    expect(result.data).toBe('test');
  });
});

Integration Tests

# Run extension in test mode
marshall --test-extension ./my-extension

# Run automated tests
marshall --run-extension-tests ./my-extension/tests

Publishing

1. Prepare for Release

# Update version in manifest.json
# Update CHANGELOG.md
# Run tests
npm test

2. Sign Extension

# Generate key pair (first time only)
marshall-sign --generate-key

# Sign extension
marshall-sign --extension ./my-extension --output my-extension.signed.zip

3. Submit for Review

  1. Fork marshall-extensions repository
  2. Add extension to extensions/category/
  3. Open pull request
  4. Wait for review

4. Distribution

After approval:

  • Listed in Marshall extension catalog
  • Installable via marshall://extensions
  • Available via CLI: marshall --install my-extension

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