Adding the XPI MIME Type for Firefox Extension Installs
Yesterday I posted version 0.1 of the David Walsh Blog Toolbar for Firefox. Unfortunately that led to an awkward conversation with my .htaccess file.
.htaccess: I have no idea what to do with this.
me: I want the toolbar to install when they request this file.
.htaccess: Well, how am I supposed to do that?
me: OMG! You don't know?!
.htaccess: No, just like you didn't know how to create a Firefox extension before you did the research.
me: Good point. When can you research and start serving it up?
.htaccess: I can't research. I'm a file.
me: Oh. So I just need to figure things out for you again?
.htaccess: You never pay attention to me anymore...
That went on for quite a while but the moral of the story is that if you want your server to handle XPI files correctly, you need to add the following to your .htaccess file:
AddType application/x-xpinstall .xpi
If you don't add the above directive, Firefox will open the file as plain text which is an ugly mess.
Discussion
Be Heard!
Share your thoughts with fellow developers of all skill levels! I want to hear from you!
Only a web dev could have some kind of decent conversation with a file!
I did wonder why it didn’t install when I clicked it, good to see you found out why though. The ever brilliant David saves the day!
Awesome :)
Is it just me or are .htaccess files getting increasingly uppity lately?
You’re hilarious, dude! Have fun in Cali!!
LOL! i used to have long talks whit .htaccess too.
I envy your relationship with your .htaccess file.