@mathix maybe you can make it clear on the website that this doesn't create app/play store apps, as most people probably think about them when they read "turn any website into an app".
From the github readme[0]:
> FTWA uses the --app='https://app.example' parameter with Chromium-based browsers to launch a website in "app mode".
> [...]
> When choosing linux as target OS, FTWA generate a shell script that will create a .desktop file and it's icons.
* The Firefox (BETA) entry does not work on default Ubuntu installs, where Firefox is a Snap. Yes, snap bad, bla bla bla, but it still remains one of the most likely way Firefox will be installed on Ubuntu. This comes from the fact that your script attempts to locate the profile folder in ~/.mozilla/firefox, whereas snaps stores them in ~/snap/firefox/common/.mozilla/firefox/.
* New profiles unfortunately don't share logins on Firefox, which means your app is disconnected at first. Not a big deal, but could maybe be changed by copying some things from the default profile ?
* Firefox does not display _any_ titlebar when ran in this way.
Love the idea. There's many times where I'd like something to have a bit more "privilege" on my toolbar than what a regular tab (even pinned) gets.
Since Mozilla has started to provide an official Debian-style repository there is no reason to use snap on Ubuntu any more. Well, except if some users don't know or don't care to switch.
Thank you, I just followed these [1] instructions and couldn't be happier getting rid of the snap!!! Before upgrading I was running a binary release from firefox, but running mozilla apt repo is much preferred!
>there is no reason to use snap on Ubuntu any more. Well, except if some users don't know or don't care to switch.
Also known as "90% of your users". Defaults stick, and there's nothing bad enough about snaps that i'd waste time of my day adding the debian repo, trying to switch my profiles over, etc.
- Yes I could create a second firefox preset for snap installs
- I would prefer not to touch such sensible files, but will give instructions on how to do it manually
I had written a similar program (but very barebone compared with what you've made), with Firefox only. The way I dealt with profile, is to specify the full path of the profile, rather than a name. This way, I don't have to know where Firefox is searching for profiles, and I can keep all the additional profiles in a separate directory, so they don't mix with normal profiles and don't clog up profile manager.
I just switched to Firefox and struggled with this exact functionality. The posted site ships a script for curl|sh that creates a new firefox profile with a custom userChrome.css.
I ended up writing a firefox extension to open up URLs in a new "popup" window[1]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/web-app-maker.... I just checked it on Windows (usually using linux) and the popup window type does not allow the maximize button to work. Oh well...
There's an excellent extension that makes this pretty simple to manage. Additionally the windows it creates have some pwa specific settings, like how links should be handled.
For people who want a "separate window" on Chrome osX (at least), you can go on the website, click on the "..." next to your profile picture, then "Cast, save and share" > "Install website as app"
It does the same, but runs as a "separate app" so that cmd+Q only exits the app
Yes, it's pretty much the same for macOS I guess. On linux it's pretty different, I was using .desktop files over PWAs for years because of their bad UI on Linux.
So I did this, turned out it's not only just Firefox without the browser UI, but it also bricked my actual Firefox browser and now it doesn't connect to the internet.
I would like to have the complete opposite. Turn any app into a website so that I don't need to download them, and can just access them through my browser.
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@mathix maybe you can make it clear on the website that this doesn't create app/play store apps, as most people probably think about them when they read "turn any website into an app".
From the github readme[0]:
> FTWA uses the --app='https://app.example' parameter with Chromium-based browsers to launch a website in "app mode".
> [...]
> When choosing linux as target OS, FTWA generate a shell script that will create a .desktop file and it's icons.
[0]: https://github.com/mathix420/free-the-web-apps?tab=readme-ov...
* The Firefox (BETA) entry does not work on default Ubuntu installs, where Firefox is a Snap. Yes, snap bad, bla bla bla, but it still remains one of the most likely way Firefox will be installed on Ubuntu. This comes from the fact that your script attempts to locate the profile folder in ~/.mozilla/firefox, whereas snaps stores them in ~/snap/firefox/common/.mozilla/firefox/.
* New profiles unfortunately don't share logins on Firefox, which means your app is disconnected at first. Not a big deal, but could maybe be changed by copying some things from the default profile ?
* Firefox does not display _any_ titlebar when ran in this way.
Love the idea. There's many times where I'd like something to have a bit more "privilege" on my toolbar than what a regular tab (even pinned) gets.
[1] - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux
Also known as "90% of your users". Defaults stick, and there's nothing bad enough about snaps that i'd waste time of my day adding the debian repo, trying to switch my profiles over, etc.
- Yes I could create a second firefox preset for snap installs - I would prefer not to touch such sensible files, but will give instructions on how to do it manually
There is an official thread here with people discussing how the single-page-as-an-app functionality should work: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/how-can-firefox-c...
I ended up writing a firefox extension to open up URLs in a new "popup" window[1]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/web-app-maker.... I just checked it on Windows (usually using linux) and the popup window type does not allow the maximize button to work. Oh well...
[1]https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/Web...
https://github.com/filips123/PWAsForFirefox/
It does the same, but runs as a "separate app" so that cmd+Q only exits the app
I wanted Udemy app to be available for smart TV platforms like FireTV stick or SamsungTV.
Udemy makes an android and ios app but not for TVs.
Teachable is another online learning platform that ignores Android altogether and makes only an ios app.
LMS vendors like Docebo that have become very popular (AWS Skill Builder, Databricks academy, etc) have very poor mobile support.
Wonder if there is a way to make it work using tools like these. Any pointers in that direction would be appreciated.
I believe the PWAs will correctly show up in the OS native app launchers.