Skip to content

Introduction

Overview

WXT is a free and open source framework for building web extensions in an conventional, intuitive, and safe way for all browsers.

WXT is based of Nuxt, and aims to provide the same great DX with TypeScript, auto-imports, and an opinionated project structure.

Example build output

Conventions

WXT is an opinionated framework. This helps keep projects consistent and easy to pick up.

  • Generated manifest: Based on your project's file structure
  • Entrypoint configuration: Configure entrypoints from the same file they're declare in
  • Type-safety is a priority: Out-of-the-box TypeScript support with improved browser API typing
  • Simple output file structure: Output file paths minimize the path at runtime

Development

WXT's dev server supports modern features like HMR to provide a lighting fast dev mode.

When changes can't be hot-reloaded, like content scripts or background scripts, they're reloaded individually to prevent reloading the entire extension and slowing down your development cycle.

Production-ready

Production builds are optimized for store review, changing as few files as possible between builds.

In addition, WXT fully supports Firefox's source code requirements when using a bundler. It will automatically create and upload a ZIP file of your source code.

INFO

See Publishing for more info around production builds.

New to Extension Development?

Most of these docs assume you have a basic understanding of how to write a chrome or web extension.

If you've never written a web extension before or need a refresher, follow Google's "Hello, World!" tutorial to understand the basics.