How About Microsoft Edge Extension Support [In Progress]
Now Edge Support Extension and lasspass supported?
How About Microsoft Edge Extension Support
1Password Version: B6
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Win 10 1607
Sync Type: Not Provided
Comments
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Hi @EvanQu,
As Brenty've mentioned, there are APIs limitations in Edge and Windows Store that we cannot work around at the moment, we have to wait for Microsoft to add that support for us. Which means until that happens, 1Password will not support Edge.
This isn't limited to us, other extension that works with an offline Windows client have the same issue. Lasspass doesn't require an offline client, its extension is self-contained.
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Could 1Password not create a self contained extension for 1Password.com Teams/Families etc?
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Hi guys,
Evan, on behalf of Brenty and the team here, you're welcome.
Could 1Password not create a self contained extension for 1Password.com Teams/Families etc?
It is something we'd love to do in the future now that we have 1Password.com available. However to build such an extension is a massive undertaking, it is not going to be quick to build.
The current extension has no UI or data, it simply handles the filling and saving, while communicating locally to 1Password Helper running in the background on your PC to do everything for you. With this setup, 1Password Helper has a single native UI for all browsers, thus allowing us to ship extension updates with all features included very quickly.
To build a self-contained extension, everything must be included; crypto libraries, UI, connection stack to our servers, extensive security audits, and so many more. It would be equal to building an entire app, it just happens to run within the browser.
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So edge is still really an under-baked browser with poor extension support?
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Hi @brandscill,
Edge is a pretty good browser, I like it and it is snappy. However, the extension APIs is only a day old and all browsers have gone through the same growth pains.
The issue here isn't just the extension APIs. The problem is extensions like 1Password and others that relies on local communication path to a separate process running on the same computer, there is no official clear APIs to do this. By default, Edge doesn't even permit localhost communication, so you have to set an exception to allow localhost traffic and then there's an unclear rule in the Windows Store that says such Edge extensions cannot use this exception. Since the only supported place to get extensions is at Windows Store, we don't have much options left. Sideloading extensions is not a good solution, it can be risky.
Microsoft is correct about one thing, allowing localhost traffic can be risky in Edge but there is no safer alternative available right now in Edge. If there was, it'd be the first thing we'd try.
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How did LastPass achieve that? https://blog.lastpass.com/2016/06/announcing-lastpass-for-microsoft-edge.html/
- Nevermind, just saw the earlier comment.
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@bitdisaster: Indeed. There are pros and cons to each approach, and in this case it hasn't worked out well for us — all of us. We're always considering different approaches, and a standalone extension might be something we can do in the future...but that's not something that can happen overnight, so either way it may be a while. I'm sorry that none of us are able to use 1Password with Edge directly yet. Thanks for your patience. :blush:
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Waiting for an edge extension as well. It's an awesome browser.
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Lastpass has an extension. This is a deal breaker for using 1Password.
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Hi @gltruitt,
Yes, we do understand that it is a dealbreaker for some. We simply cannot make the extension work in Edge without Microsoft's help and we're not the only one affected. Any offline-based password manager that has to communicate with an offline desktop program on the same computer has the same issue.
We actually built an Edge version based on our Chrome extension and got it to work in Edge. However, due to the API limitations of offline/localhost communication between two separate processes on the same machine, it will not work for the users that do not configure their Windows to be in the development mode and it requires a few more workarounds to make it work. In addition, there are unclear rules where such extensions will not be permitted in the Windows Store.
Extensions that can connect to cloud-based backend can build extensions without having to worry about using the localhost communication.
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Thank you for this very useful explanation! I like Edge, but I like 1Password better :) I hope you guys can figure something out.
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You're welcome. I hope so, I do like Edge and 1Password + Edge would be awesome.
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Would the 1password for teams/indiv/family count as a cloud backend? Would make it even more worthwhile to pay for the subscription.
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@Nimish Telang: Indeed. But when we created the 1Password extension, 1Password Accounts did not exist (this was years ago). It's something we may be able to leverage in the future, but it will require a brand new extension...and even if we go that route, it won't happen overnight. It's an interesting possibility though. :)
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Just to explain the situation further;
The current extension has no UI or data, it uses the background 1Password Helper service to process a native UI for the extensions in all browsers we support and deals with the local vault files for you. This also means that it is a single consistent UI for all browsers, so when we add a new feature, we just add it to 1Password Helper and the extensions most often do not have to be updated for each browser.
When the extension wants to save something, it connects to 1Password Helper and give it the data to encrypt and save into the data file. To fill, it passes the URL to the Helper, Helper show you the UI of Logins, you select the item you want and Helper passes it on to the extension. Basically, the extension isn't what you see daily, you're seeing all of that from 1Password Helper. The extension handles the internal filling/saving processes and adds an icon for you to click on. That's why when people tried out 1Password 6 Beta, they see a completely different 1Password experience while using the same extension. It is also why it is vital that 1Password in Edge needs to connect to the 1Password Helper service.
To build an extension with a cloud backend, you have to not only build the UI which would be unique to each browser, but also complete data management (which again would be unique to each browser), meaning it has to include extensive encryption libraries, an internal database to download encrypted data into before decrypting, and many more. In addition, such an extension would have to lock on its own, may not work with keyboard shortcuts, can't rely on other apps to do it and many more. You basically have to rebuild the actual 1Password program into a web extension but using JavaScript to run the code instead of native compiled languages that we use 1Password programs in.
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It sounds like you can reuse code http://mspoweruser.com/microsofts-new-tool-lets-developers-convert-their-chrome-extensions-to-edge-extensions/
If we use dropbox or onedrive, the data is already in the cloud so wouldn't it be possible to create a self contained extension that can access our data without needing a cloud backend? Anyway, I hope 1Password comes up with a solution soon.
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Hi @kurtd,
We've already done that a few months ago, we got 1Password extension for Edge built from our Chrome extension but it doesn't remove the limitations with localhost communication.
If we use dropbox or onedrive, the data is already in the cloud so wouldn't it be possible to create a self contained extension that can access our data without needing a cloud backend?
Dropbox and OneDrive are cloud backends, you're just connecting to their servers instead of ours. The issue is how to handle changes in both directions, our servers are specialized to handle your 1Password database directly. Theirs are tuned for general file accesses in both directions but they may have better APIs for this. We're using this in a way already in our mobile apps and based on what we've seen, it may not be flexible for extensions.
Yes, it is possible to do this with other cloud backends but quickly? Not likely, it would be faster to build it on our cloud backend because we already know what we're doing with our servers.
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@MikeT Don't you have the full JS lib built for the web interface to 1password for teams already (I mean I see the SJCL libs loaded already so there's some kind of client side js crypto happening, somewhere)?
Edge runs in a pretty isolated appcontainer sandbox for security so I frankly doubt they will allow add-ons to punch through.
You'd have to package a UI for each browser on windows, but Chrome, Firefox and Edge are all moving to WebExtensions anyway and their UI is HTML/JS/CSS based...
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Hi @Nimish Telang,
I don't know if our website's code can be retrofitted into the extension, I'm not familiar with it in depth (we have a separate team for each platform). There's a good chance that we probably can reuse some if not most of the code and if yes, the development would be shorter.
I love the idea of WebExtensions and hope it'll succeed really well, so that all browsers would use it in the end (looks at Apple). The one thing we've learned in the past when we had a semi-self-contained extension (1Password 3 extensions) is that even if they all have the same standard, they will have their own standard differences that can really throw it apart and hopefully, they won't do this.
Another thing that we really would like to see is NativeMessaging (aka connectNative) support in Edge, that would really kill the need for localhost connection. We're seeing good progress in Chrome and Firefox but my understanding it is on the radar for Edge.
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Enpass has a temporary solution for those on Insider builds or who are willing to deal with the security risk involved, which they detailed here: https://discussion.enpass.io/index.php?/topic/342-traditional-windows-beta-with-edge-extension/
Perhaps you guys could use a similar workaround and at least allow some beta testing? It might encourage Microsoft to get this working properly if both you and Enpass are pushing for this and giving access.
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Hi @bassclarinet42,
It is identical to what we did a few months ago and we are not planning to support it due to many workarounds required to make it work and the risks mentioned, Microsoft will not support these workarounds, that's for sure.
We do not ship or release unsupported features like this unless we know it can be supported later. We are trying to work with Microsoft on this situation as well as finding a different solution.
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This is starting to get serious, if we can't use edge, we won't be able to earn points! http://www.bing.com/explore/ms-rewards-announcement
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Now that the Edge browser supports third party extensions, will Windows users be seeing a 1Password extension for Edge?
1Password Version: 6.0.186d
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Windows 10
Sync Type: Dropbox0 -
[Deleted]. Found other thread. Should search first, shoot later.
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@fool4: No worries! I'm happy to merge you with the existing discussion.
@Keifer: You too!
I'm sorry that we're not able to support Edge yet, but we're exploring ways to do so in the future. I personally love Microsoft's new browser, and I know I am not alone in this — either as a 1Password user or as an AgileBits team member. Suffice to say, we're very motivated to make it possible for 1Password to work in Edge. Thanks for your patience! :blush:
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Now that an Edge extension seems like an unusually difficult project, would you be revisiting fixes for browser auto-type problems?
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