Fully support Web USB and Web Serial

[ali1234]

Web-based IDEs like Arduino and Github Codespaces are now commonplace. They are hobbled in Firefox due to an inability to access development boards without installing extra system software, which rather defeats the purpose of having an IDE that runs in your browser. This is not the case on Chrome, where Web USB and Web Serial can be used. (Clarification: they *could* be used on Chrome, but often are not because developers don't want to maintain two separate codebases.)

I will preempt the response I have received every previous time I brought up this topic: Web USB and Web Serial present no more of a security risk than web camera or location data, and Firefox already has a permissions system to protect those. On the other hand, the software you have to install to make Arduino IDE work in Firefox starts a webserver that shares your serial port over a websocket, just so that your browser can connect to it. It isn't clear if there are any protections at all on that websocket.

I will also note than the current prevalence of web-based development environments is in part due to Mozilla's insistence that everything should be able to run in the browser, along with projects like Firefox OS.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Serial_API

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/USB

[zoonman]

Hmm Am I being banned from posting?

[Astral]

I went through all the speeches. I think even though it's not a feature that everyone will use, people who need it can't live without it. We don't want to see "not supporting Firefox" discrimination anymore,thanks.

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[timwis]

Just to add to the list: I'm an avid Firefox user and supporter, and I'd really like this feature to be available in Firefox.

[bauersimon]

I think it is sad that Mozilla things it "knows what is best for their users", i.e. WebUSB being a harmful API. That sounds more like a Google thing that they would do with Chrome (i.e. deprecating Extension Manifest v2). Looks like Mozilla is becoming the very thing they swore to destroy.

[Anutrix]

Still waiting on this since forever. There's so many devices like digital keyboards(Yamaha) and IoT/MCUs(ESP32 series) that make use of WebUSB APIs.
If security is concern, then add it behind a flag for now on about:config and maintain a list of whitelist domains to user can add as needed.

[Espfox]

Webserial is actually really awesome! I love chromium. I’m starting to use chromium more and more. I installed it because of webserial. Webserial is chromes Troijan horse into the Firefox userbase. Amazing tactic.