Adds a Flare button immediately to the right of Deploy on Laravel Cloud. Connect the extension to Flare using its toolbar icon. For a matching project, the main button opens Flare Errors and its menu offers Errors, Performance, and Logs. When no project matches, Set up Flare opens the create-project dialog with the Cloud project name filled in. When the extension is disconnected, Connect Flare opens its settings.
The connection uses Flare's read-only OAuth device flow. The extension stores the access and refresh tokens in browser extension storage, keeps them out of the Laravel Cloud page, and revokes them when you disconnect. Flare matches an exact allowed domain first, then an exact project name or slug.
The settings screen explains why the extension needs access to cloud.laravel.com and flareapp.io. If Laravel Cloud access is missing, choose Allow access there. Connect to Flare requests Flare access and starts the account connection. The settings also include an option to hide Set up Flare on Laravel Cloud projects with no matching Flare project. Matched projects still show the Flare button.
- Download the repository as a ZIP and unzip it. Keep the unzipped folder in a permanent location.
- Open
chrome://extensionsin Chrome and enable Developer mode. - Click Load unpacked and select the
extensionfolder inside the unzipped repository. - Click the Flare toolbar icon, connect your Flare account, and approve the read-only connection on Flare.
- Open or refresh a Laravel Cloud project page. The Flare button appears beside Deploy.
To update this local installation, download the latest repository ZIP, replace the files in the same extension folder, click Reload on the Flare card in chrome://extensions, then refresh Laravel Cloud. Chrome must keep using that folder at the same path. A local installation does not update automatically.
Run python3 scripts/watch_extension.py install once to start the development watcher. Saving a file in extension then bumps the version automatically. An open Laravel Cloud page with the Flare button detects that version, reloads the unpacked extension, and refreshes itself within a few seconds. Chrome Developer mode must stay enabled. Keep the extension folder at the same path while Chrome uses it.
Run python3 scripts/watch_extension.py uninstall to stop the watcher. You can also publish a version manually with python3 scripts/publish_dev.py.
For a Chrome Web Store release, run python3 scripts/package_chrome.py. The ZIP in dist/ excludes the development reload script and its permissions. Upload that ZIP to the Chrome Web Store and choose Unlisted visibility. Store copy and privacy disclosures are drafted in store/listing.md and PRIVACY.md. Store releases are reviewed and update installed copies through Chrome.
Disable the unpacked development extension before installing the Web Store version in the same Chrome profile. Both copies would otherwise try to add the button to the same page.
Testers can install Flare by Spatie through a TestFlight invitation. The installed app and Safari extension are named Flare. Open the app first to see why Safari requests access to Laravel Cloud and Flare, then use its button to open Safari Settings > Extensions. Enable Flare. In Flare's extension settings, allow access to cloud.laravel.com if needed, then choose Connect to Flare and allow access to flareapp.io when Safari asks. Safari controls the approval prompts, so the app cannot grant website access during installation.
For local development, open safari/Flare/Flare.xcodeproj in Xcode, select the macOS app target, and run it.
The Safari Xcode project references the files in extension, so changes to the shared extension source can be rebuilt in Xcode.
After a local xcodebuild archive, unregister the copy staged inside Xcode's archive intermediates with pluginkit -r /path/to/ArchiveIntermediates/Flare/InstallationBuildProductsLocation/Applications/Flare.app/Contents/PlugIns/Flare\ Extension.appex. Check pluginkit -m -A -D -v -p com.apple.Safari.web-extension afterward. It should list only the installed /Applications/Flare.app copy. A second registered copy can make Safari's content script and background process come from different builds, leaving the project lookup waiting indefinitely.
Run python3 scripts/package_firefox.py to build a Firefox add-on ZIP in dist/. For local testing, open about:debugging in Firefox, choose This Firefox, then Load Temporary Add-on and select the ZIP. Firefox removes temporary add-ons when it restarts. Once Mozilla publishes a signed version, install it from Firefox Add-ons for automatic updates.
Run python3 scripts/package_firefox_source.py to build the matching source archive required by Mozilla reviewers. It contains the shared source, packaging scripts, and build instructions.
Chrome, Safari, and Firefox use the same interface and connection code in extension/. The Firefox package changes only the browser-specific manifest and omits the Chrome development reload script. After editing shared files, rebuild the Safari app and regenerate both browser store packages before distributing them.
Push the latest extension/ changes to main, then run Release browser extensions under GitHub Actions. The workflow uses the version in extension/manifest.json, checks that it has not been tagged, builds Chrome and Firefox ZIPs, lints the Firefox package, checks that Safari builds, and creates a GitHub release with both ZIPs. The Safari build is a verification build, not a signed app for distribution.
Leave Submit Chrome update off for the first Chrome Web Store release. Google requires the first item, its listing, and its unlisted visibility to be created in the developer dashboard. The API can then upload and submit later versions with the same visibility.
To enable Chrome submissions from the workflow, enable the Chrome Web Store API in a Google Cloud project, create a service account, add its email under the publisher's Settings > Service account, and configure GitHub to impersonate it through Workload Identity Federation. Set these repository Actions variables:
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
CHROME_WEB_STORE_PUBLISHER_ID |
The publisher ID from the developer dashboard |
CHROME_WEB_STORE_ITEM_ID |
The extension ID after its first dashboard upload |
CHROME_WEB_STORE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT |
The linked service account email |
GCP_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_PROVIDER |
The full Google Cloud provider resource name |
After the first unlisted Chrome release is published and these variables are configured, select Submit Chrome update when running the workflow. It uploads the new ZIP and submits it for review. Google publishes it after approval. The Firefox ZIP still needs Mozilla signing before it can be installed permanently.