Remove native messaging by koppor · Pull Request #14884 · JabRef/jabref

koppor · 2026-01-20T16:14:08Z

User description

Follow-up to #14855

With the re-written browser extension (https://github.com/JabRef/JabRef-Browser-Extension), no native messaging is requried any more.

Steps to test

Install JabRef
Install Browser extension from source.
Try if browser connection can connect to JabRef

Mandatory checks

I own the copyright of the code submitted and I license it under the MIT license
[/] I manually tested my changes in running JabRef (always required)
[/] I added JUnit tests for changes (if applicable)
[/] I added screenshots in the PR description (if change is visible to the user)
[/] I described the change in CHANGELOG.md in a way that is understandable for the average user (if change is visible to the user)
[/] I checked the user documentation: Is the information available and up to date? If not, I created an issue at https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/issues or, even better, I submitted a pull request updating file(s) in https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/tree/main/en.

PR Type

Enhancement

Description

Remove native messaging host scripts and configuration files
Eliminate browser extension integration from installation packages
Simplify build configuration by removing native messaging resources
Update installation scripts to remove native messaging setup

Diagram Walkthrough

flowchart LR
  A["Native Messaging<br/>Host Scripts"] -->|removed| B["Linux/macOS/<br/>Windows Hosts"]
  C["Browser Extension<br/>Config Files"] -->|removed| D["Firefox/Chrome/<br/>Chromium Configs"]
  E["Installation<br/>Scripts"] -->|updated| F["Debian/RPM/<br/>macOS/Snap"]
  G["Build<br/>Configuration"] -->|simplified| H["Gradle Build<br/>Resources"]

File Walkthrough

Relevant files

Enhancement

20 files

jabrefHost.py `Remove Linux native messaging host script`	+0/-131
jabrefHost.py `Remove macOS native messaging host script`	+0/-101
JabRefHost.ps1 `Remove Windows PowerShell native messaging script`	+0/-54
JabRefHost.bat `Remove Windows batch native messaging launcher`	+0/-20
bifehkofibaamoeaopjglfkddgkijdlh.json `Remove Chromium browser extension auto-install config`	+0/-3
org.jabref.jabref.json `Remove Chromium native messaging host configuration`	+0/-10
org.jabref.jabref.json `Remove Firefox native messaging host configuration`	+0/-10
bifehkofibaamoeaopjglfkddgkijdlh.json `Remove macOS Chromium browser extension config`	+0/-3
org.jabref.jabref.json `Remove macOS Chromium native messaging config`	+0/-10
org.jabref.jabref.json `Remove macOS Firefox native messaging config`	+0/-7
jabref-chrome.json `Remove Windows Chrome native messaging config`	+0/-10
jabref-firefox.json `Remove Windows Firefox native messaging config`	+0/-10
connect-plug-etc-chromium-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Chromium native messaging hook`	+0/-9
connect-plug-etc-opt-chrome-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Chrome native messaging hook`	+0/-9
connect-plug-etc-opt-edge-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Edge native messaging hook`	+0/-9
connect-plug-hostfs-mozilla-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Firefox native messaging hook`	+0/-9
disconnect-plug-etc-chromium-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Chromium disconnect hook`	+0/-7
disconnect-plug-etc-opt-chrome-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Chrome disconnect hook`	+0/-7
disconnect-plug-etc-opt-edge-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Edge disconnect hook`	+0/-7
disconnect-plug-hostfs-mozilla-native-messaging-jabref `Remove Snap Firefox disconnect hook`	+0/-7

Configuration changes

6 files

build.gradle.kts `Remove native messaging resources from build packaging`	+0/-13
jabref.spec `Remove native messaging installation from RPM spec`	+2/-16
postinst `Remove native messaging setup from Debian postinstall`	+3/-8
postrm `Remove native messaging cleanup from Debian uninstall`	+0/-9
postinstall `Remove native messaging setup from macOS installer`	+2/-11
snapcraft.yaml `Remove native messaging plugs and browser-proxy app`	+0/-21

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-01-20T16:14:43Z

PR Compliance Guide 🔍

Below is a summary of compliance checks for this PR:

Security Compliance
🟢	No security concerns identified No security vulnerabilities detected by AI analysis. Human verification advised for critical code.
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⚪	🎫 No ticket provided Create ticket/issue
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⚪	Codebase context is not defined Follow the guide to enable codebase context checks.
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	Generic: Meaningful Naming and Self-Documenting Code Objective: Ensure all identifiers clearly express their purpose and intent, making code self-documenting Status: Passed Learn more about managing compliance generic rules or creating your own custom rules
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	Generic: Secure Error Handling Objective: To prevent the leakage of sensitive system information through error messages while providing sufficient detail for internal debugging. Status: Passed Learn more about managing compliance generic rules or creating your own custom rules
	Generic: Secure Logging Practices Objective: To ensure logs are useful for debugging and auditing without exposing sensitive information like PII, PHI, or cardholder data. Status: Passed Learn more about managing compliance generic rules or creating your own custom rules
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qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-01-20T16:15:43Z

PR Code Suggestions ✨

Explore these optional code suggestions:

Category Suggestion Impact

Possible issue

Ensure cleanup of old files

Retain the cleanup logic in jabgui/buildres/linux/postrm for native messaging
host files to ensure a clean upgrade path for users and prevent orphaned files.

jabgui/buildres/linux/postrm [20-25]

 case "$1" in
     purge|remove|upgrade|failed-upgrade|abort-install|abort-upgrade|disappear)
+        # Remove the native-messaging hosts script only if relative to the deb package
+        for NATIVE_MESSAGING_JSON in "/usr/lib/mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/org.jabref.jabref.json"\
+                                     "/etc/chromium/native-messaging-hosts/org.jabref.jabref.json"\
+                                     "/etc/opt/chrome/native-messaging-hosts/org.jabref.jabref.json"\
+                                     "/etc/opt/edge/native-messaging-hosts/org.jabref.jabref.json"; do
+            if [ -e $NATIVE_MESSAGING_JSON ] && grep --quiet '"path": "/opt' $NATIVE_MESSAGING_JSON; then
+                rm -f $NATIVE_MESSAGING_JSON
+            fi
+        done
         # Remove the auto-install triggers of the browser addon for chrom/chromium
         rm -f /opt/google/chrome/extensions/bifehkofibaamoeaopjglfkddgkijdlh.json
         rm -f /usr/share/google-chrome/extensions/bifehkofibaamoeaopjglfkddgkijdlh.json
     ;;

[To ensure code accuracy, apply this suggestion manually]

Suggestion importance[1-10]: 7

__

Why: The suggestion correctly identifies that removing the cleanup logic from the postrm script will leave orphaned files on users' systems when upgrading, which is poor package management practice.

Medium

Update

Siedlerchr · 2026-01-20T18:44:14Z

We should really wait that we have the new extension published first

github-actions · 2026-01-22T03:39:09Z

Your pull request conflicts with the target branch.

Please merge with your code. For a step-by-step guide to resolve merge conflicts, see https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/addressing-merge-conflicts/resolving-a-merge-conflict-using-the-command-line.

…ging-at-installation * upstream/main: Use LTWA file from mirror (#14892) Re-enable JavaDoc formatting (#14860) chore(deps): update dependency org.glassfish.grizzly:grizzly-http-server to v5 (#14882) chore(deps): update dependency org.glassfish.grizzly:grizzly-framework to v5 (#14881) Chore(deps): Bump jablib/src/main/resources/csl-styles (#14864) chore(deps): update dependency com.konghq:unirest-modules-gson to v4.7.4 (#14880)

…ging-at-installation * upstream/main: Update Junie workflow to junie-github-action chore(deps): update jackson monorepo to v3.0.4 (#14894) Markdown-only JavaDoc: Full JEP-467 (#14891) update h2 (#14887) Remove grizzly-websockets also at .jbang/JabSrvLauncher.java (#14888)

koppor · 2026-01-27T20:55:53Z

Will probably a longer discussion - JabRef/JabRef-Browser-Extension-fresh#18

The maintainer of the 2025 extensions is not convinced of HTTP being the more proper interface. Main reason: Starting of JabRef and then doing an HTTP call is sometimes unreliable.

github-actions · 2026-01-27T21:12:27Z

The build of this PR is available at https://builds.jabref.org/pull/14884/merge.

Siedlerchr · 2026-03-16T16:01:11Z

I postponed this to beta until we have cusotm url protocol handling in

Remove native messaging

06c4bb3

koppor added this to the 6.0-alpha.5 milestone Jan 20, 2026

koppor added the dev: binaries Binary builds should be uploaded to builds.jabref.org label Jan 20, 2026

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects Bot added the Review effort 2/5 label Jan 20, 2026

koppor modified the milestones: 6.0-alpha.5, 6.0-beta Jan 20, 2026

calixtus previously approved these changes Jan 21, 2026

View reviewed changes

calixtus added this pull request to the merge queue Jan 21, 2026

calixtus removed this pull request from the merge queue due to a manual request Jan 21, 2026

github-actions Bot added the status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete label Jan 22, 2026

remove native messaging from main wxs

f528b5d

Siedlerchr dismissed calixtus’s stale review via f528b5d January 22, 2026 19:13

Siedlerchr added 2 commits January 22, 2026 20:16

Siedlerchr mentioned this pull request Jan 22, 2026

Fix JabRef-post-image.wsf to make it agnostic to the location of the … #13033

Draft

1 task

koppor modified the milestones: 6.0-beta, 6.0-alpha.6 Jan 23, 2026

koppor mentioned this pull request Jan 24, 2026

Open JabRef with a url handler JabRef/JabRef-Browser-Extension-fresh#18

Open

Merge branch 'main' into remove-native-messaging-at-installation

546e3f4

koppor added the 📌 Pinned label Jan 27, 2026

koppor marked this pull request as draft January 27, 2026 20:56

koppor removed the dev: binaries Binary builds should be uploaded to builds.jabref.org label Jan 27, 2026

FynnianB mentioned this pull request Mar 8, 2026

Implement Custom URL Protocol Handling #15294

Closed

5 tasks

Siedlerchr removed this from the 6.0-alpha.6 milestone Mar 16, 2026

Siedlerchr added this to the 6.0-beta milestone Mar 16, 2026

FynnianB mentioned this pull request Mar 19, 2026

Implement Custom URL Protocol Handling #15378

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This was referenced May 18, 2026

Hide deprecated options #15755

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Add POST /libraries/query and import endpoints #15790

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