Pass a parameter to a content script injected using chrome.tabs.executeScript()

google-chrome-extension, javascript

Solution

There's not such a thing as "pass a parameter to a file".

What you can do is to either insert a content script before executing the file, or sending a message after inserting the file. I will show an example for these distinct methods below.

Set parameters before execution of the JS file

If you want to define some variables before inserting the file, just nest `chrome.tabs.executeScript` calls:

chrome.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {
    code: 'var config = 1;'
}, function() {
    chrome.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {file: 'content.js'});
});

If your variable is not as simple, then I recommend to use `JSON.stringify` to turn an object in a string:

var config = {somebigobject: 'complicated value'};
chrome.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {
    code: 'var config = ' + JSON.stringify(config)
}, function() {
    chrome.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {file: 'content.js'});
});

With the previous method, the variables can be used in `content.js` in the following way:

// content.js
alert('Example:' + config);

Set parameters after execution of the JS file

The previous method can be used to set parameters after the JS file. Instead of defining variables directly in the global scope, you can use the message passing API to pass parameters:

chrome.tabs.executeScript(tab.id, {file: 'content.js'}, function() {
    chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tab.id, 'whatever value; String, object, whatever');
});

In the content script (`content.js`), you can listen for these messages using the `chrome.runtime.onMessage` event, and handle the message:

chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener(function(message, sender, sendResponse) {
    // Handle message.
    // In this example, message === 'whatever value; String, object, whatever'
});

Problem

Original source