Support for Safari

[saweyer]

you probably get a lot of such requests.
is adding a Safari extension too difficult?
not high priority since I can get by with Firefox (I keep it around as 2nd browse).
thx

fantastic extension btw.
Steve

[jpd236]

It looks like there is a way to convert Chrome extensions to Safari extensions: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/safari_web_extensions/converting_a_web_extension_for_safari

Assuming that works without too much fuss - which I'm not super sure about - it might not be too bad to at least build the extension.

I'd be more concerned about ongoing testing, since I use Windows in my day-to-day, and about distribution, since I think that has to go through the Apple Store which charges a $99 fee even for free app distribution.

I'll at least try to take a look at whether it builds with the simple converter - that would potentially produce an extension you could install manually, and for a one-off case maybe that's okay. This is the first request I've explicitly seen for another browser.

[saweyer]

thanks for the suggestion / info. I had played with a couple of XCode projects a few years back, but after I stopped using it, the large updates got annoying so I removed it.

if I get around to reinstalling Xcode, I'd try the conversion to Safari -- but since your Firefox version works so well maybe that won't be for awhile.

Steve

[jpd236]

Sounds good - let me know how it goes, if you get the chance.

I'll leave this open for the longer term, but for now I plan to leave this on the backburner given the costs (actually $99 annually, not one-time), the extra maintenance burden it would be, even if the conversion happens to work well, and the relative lack of demand thus far, since this is the only request as of now.

Happy to revisit if the situation changes regarding any of the above. Also happy to explore other browsers if the cost of distribution is free/minimal and it's relatively easy to port.

[reesericci]

I can potentially take this up if there's still interest, I currently maintain the Canvas+ extension port for Safari.

[saweyer]

Safari would be a nice option to have. otoh, I’m content to continue using Firefox. Steve

…

On Dec 1, 2025, at 2:57 PM, Reese is on Codeberg ***@***.***> wrote: reesericci left a comment (jpd236/CrosswordScraper#5) <#5 (comment)> I can potentially take this up if there's still interest, I currently maintain the Canvas+ extension port for Safari. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#5 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEIVAQSJGM33D2UN3GA5U3337TBU7AVCNFSM6AAAAACNXJ27YKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTKOJZGMYTKNZWGI>. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.

[jpd236]

Appreciate the offer! Though I think my feelings from the last comment still stand - I'm not too keen on the maintenance burden of a third distribution platform given that there hasn't been much explicit interest on this request or offline, especially given the annual cost.

What I'd be willing to consider is something like this:

• A PR to add continuous build support to generate the Safari build of the extension, including any changes needed to the base. That would at least ensure that we're building functional artifacts. This assumes the changes are pretty minor (e.g. move the action runner from Linux to Mac and run the XCode conversion script as alluded to above). If making Safari work takes a lot of effort due to browser-specific quirks, I'd be afraid it would be brittle to maintain.
• If there is a semi-reasonable way to run those builds on a local device, even if requires e.g. running XCode or enabling some developer options, I could host those instructions here.
• Someone else could handle managing an Apple Developer account and performing unofficial releases whenever I make a release here. These would ideally be clearly marked as unofficial / not supported by me, but contributed by the community. I'd be happy to link to it as an unofficial release, noting that it may be behind the official Chrome/Firefox releases, and point people to it from the README here.

[reesericci]

We don't need a developer account if we choose not to sign it, and just instruct folks to click through the warnings.

[jpd236]

I was under the impression per these docs that this would only work for 24 hours at a time before the extension gets automatically removed, which seems like too much of a pain to be useful.

[reesericci]

Shoot you're right, it's a special restriction on extensions. Anyways, I'll probably work through building a third-party port and write a few CD actions to keep it up to date.