extension.getBackgroundPage()

Returns the Window of the background page if the background script is running. If the script is not running, null is returned.

This a synchronous function.

Note: This method cannot be used in Private Browsing mode — it always returns null. Consider using runtime.sendMessage() or runtime.connect(). See Firefox bug 1329304 for more information.

Syntax

let page = browser.extension.getBackgroundPage()

Parameters

None.

Return value

object. Window of the background page or null.

Examples

Suppose a background script defines a function foo():

// background.js

function foo() {
  console.log("I'm defined in background.js");
}

A script running in a popup can call this function directly like this:

// popup.js

let page = browser.extension.getBackgroundPage();
page.foo(); // -> "I'm defined in background.js"

Example extensions

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
getBackgroundPage Yes 14 45 ? Yes 14 ? ? 48 ? 15 ?

Note: This API is based on Chromium's chrome.extension API. This documentation is derived from extension.json in the Chromium code.

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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API/extension/getBackgroundPage