# mozilla/web-ext

A command line tool to help build, run, and test web extensions

Repository: https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/web-ext
Language: JavaScript
License: MPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: webextension, webextensions, browser-extension, add-ons, javascript
Last push: 2026-08-24T07:23:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 96, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3866, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 29, "gap_med": 27.0, "n_releases_24m": 21}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3132, forks 384 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:45.545251+00:00)

## What it is
web-ext is Mozilla's command line tool for building, running, linting, signing, and testing WebExtensions. It streamlines Firefox extension development while aiming for portable, cross-browser extension support.

## Use cases
- develop and hot-reload a Firefox extension while coding
- lint and validate web extension source for add-on store compliance
- package an extension into a zip for distribution
- sign an extension with Mozilla so it installs in Firefox
- test a browser extension against Firefox nightly from the command line
- integrate extension build steps into npm scripts or CI

## When to choose
- you are developing a Firefox WebExtension or cross-browser add-on
- you want automated linting against Mozilla add-on policies
- you need to build, sign, and run extensions from CI or npm scripts

## When to avoid
- you are building a native desktop app rather than a browser extension
- you need a GUI-based extension development environment
- your target is a browser with an incompatible extension API and no WebExtension support

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, linter, build-tool, testing
- domain: browser-extensions, developer-tools, web-development
- platform: cli, cross-platform, windows
- tags: webextension, firefox, mozilla, add-ons, browser-extension-development, npm, command-line, nodejs, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- mozilla/web-ext (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:45.545251+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:26:08.772528+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:45.545251+00:00, sha dee181348015)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/web-ext (fetched 2026-08-29T09:41:16.391109+00:00, sha 41e9c44c4fed)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.