Marketplace feature removal
The functionality described on this page no longer works — Firefox Marketplace has discontinued support for Android, Desktop, Tablets, and payments (and other related functionality). For more information, read the Future of Marketplace FAQ.
The Open Web Apps JavaScript API is a programmatic interface for installing Web apps and for managing a client-side collection of Web apps that a user has installed. This collection is called the application repository.
Feature availability
The JavaScript API described here is available in Firefox OS.
Methods of the API
All methods related to apps are accessed from the navigator.mozApps
object. There are two types of functions available in the API:
- Installation Functions: related to the installation or management of installed apps. These are interesting to stores, self-distributing apps, and app directories.
- Management Functions: related to the display, launch, or synchronization of apps. Primarily used by dashboards.
Installation API (navigator.mozApps.*
)
The apps installation API is exposed as methods on the window.navigator.mozApps
object.
navigator.mozApps.install()
navigator.mozApps.installPackage()
navigator.mozApps.getSelf()
navigator.mozApps.getInstalled()
navigator.mozApps.checkInstalled()
Management API (navigator.mozApps.mgmt.*
)
The apps management API is privileged. It is intended to grant access to trusted pages, also called "dashboards". The management API exposes functions that let dashboards manage and launch apps on a user's behalf. Additionally, the API exposes functions for app sync, which lets the dashboard display the logged-in state of the user and allows the user to sign up or register for an account to synchronize apps across devices.
Objects
These types of JavaScript objects are used by the apps API:
- App objects represent apps.
- DOMRequest objects monitor the progress, success, error, or result of an operation. They are returned by several methods.
- DOMError objects represent errors returned by methods.
Old API and the new API
If you were using the older API, it is obsolete as of . The old API is compared with the new API below.
- navigator.mozApps.install()
- This function has a changed signature.
- navigator.mozApps.amInstalled()
- Replaced by
navigator.mozApps.getSelf()
. - navigator.mozApps.getInstalledBy()
- Replaced by
navigator.mozApps.getInstalled()
. - navigator.mozApps.mgmt.list()
- Replaced by
navigator.mozApps.mgmt.getAll()
. - navigator.mozApps.mgmt.watchUpdates(onupdate)
navigator.mozApps.mgmt.clearWatch(watchId) - Both of these replaced by
navigator.mozApps.oninstall
andnavigator.mozApps.onuninstall
. - navigator.mozApps.mgmt.uninstall(origin, [onsuccess], [onerror])
- Replaced by
navigator.mozApps.mgmt.uninstall(app)
whereapp
is an object returned bygetAll()
or any other function handingapp
objects.