Creating a Chrome Extension for Automation in Python

1. Understand the Structure:

• A Chrome extension consists of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
• Background script communicates with your Python script.
• Use chrome.runtime.sendMessage API for communication.

2. Create the Chrome Extension:

    
{
  "manifest_version": 2,
  "name": "My Extension",
  "version": "1.0",
  "permissions": [
    "activeTab",
    "storage"
  ],
  "background": {
    "scripts": ["background.js"],
    "persistent": false
  },
  "browser_action": {
    "default_popup": "popup.html",
    "default_icon": {
      "16": "images/icon16.png",
      "48": "images/icon48.png",
      "128": "images/icon128.png"
    }
  },
  "icons": {
    "16": "images/icon16.png",
    "48": "images/icon48.png",
    "128": "images/icon128.png"
  }
}
    
  

3. Create Background Script:

    
chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener(
  function(request, sender, sendResponse) {
    if (request.message === "startAutomation") {
      chrome.tabs.query({active: true, currentWindow: true}, function(tabs) {
        chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tabs[0].id, {message: "startAutomation"});
      });
    }
  }
);
    
  

4. Inject Automation Script:

    
chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener(
  function(request, sender, sendResponse) {
    if (request.message === "startAutomation") {
      chrome.tabs.query({active: true, currentWindow: true}, function(tabs) {
        chrome.tabs.executeScript(tabs[0].id, {file: "automation.js"});
      });
    }
  }
);
    
  

5. Create Automation Script:

    
// Sample automation script using Selenium
console.log("Automation script started");

// Your Selenium automation code goes here
    
  

6. Python Script:

    
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
import time

options = Options()
options.add_extension("path/to/your/extension_directory")

driver = webdriver.Chrome(chrome_options=options)

# Open a URL or perform any other automation tasks

# Trigger the extension to start automation
driver.execute_script('chrome.runtime.sendMessage({message: "startAutomation"});')

time.sleep(5)  # Give some time for the automation to run

driver.quit()