# Browser plugins

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- Browser extensions

There are two types of browser plugins, based on the plugin API they use:

- Netscape plugin API (NPAPI): these plugins work in some smaller browsers (Firefox and Chromium do not support these plugins).
- Pepper plugin API (PPAPI): these plugins work in Chromium, Opera and Vivaldi. (Firefox does not support these plugins).

Most plugins on this page are NPAPI-only, unless noted otherwise.

## Flash players

### Adobe Flash Player

Warning: Adobe Flash Player support ended on 31 December 2020. As a result, the NPAPI and PPAPI plugins are no longer supported in any browser. Additionally, the project will no longer receive any bug fixes or security updates. [1]

An older standalone version can be installed with the flashplayer-standaloneAUR package. This package predates the hard coded end-of-life clock being inserted in Flash Player and therefore continues to work.

### Gnash

Warning: Gnash is not actively maintained.[2] The final release was in 2012.

Gnash is a free (libre) alternative to Adobe Flash Player. It is available both as a standalone player for desktop computers and embedded devices, as well as a browser plugin, and supports the SWF format up to version 7 (with versions 8 and 9 under development) and about 80% of ActionScript 2.0.

Gnash can be installed with the gnash-gitAUR package.

### Lightspark

Lightspark is another attempt to provide a free alternative to Adobe Flash aimed at supporting newer Flash formats. Lightspark has the ability to fall back on Gnash for old content, which enables users to install both and enjoy wider coverage. Although it is still very much in development, it supports some popular sites.

Lightspark can be installed with the lightsparkAUR or lightspark-gitAUR package.

### Ruffle

Ruffle is a Flash Player emulator written in Rust. It runs natively as a standalone application, and on all modern browsers through the use of WebAssembly. While still being under active development, basic ActionScript 1.0/2.0 support is in place and improving; ActionScript 3.0 support is forthcoming.

Ruffle can be installed with one of the ruffle-gitAUR or ruffle-nightly-binAUR packages.

## Java (IcedTea)

Note: Both Java plugins are NPAPI-only and thus do not work in Chromium, Opera and Firefox.

To enable Java support in your browser, you have two options: the open-source OpenJDK (recommended) or Oracle's proprietary version. For details about why OpenJDK is recommended see [3].

To use OpenJDK, you have to install the IcedTea[dead link 2021-06-10 ⓘ] browser plugin, icedtea-web.

If you want to use Oracle's JRE, install the jreAUR package.

## Pipelight

See Pipelight.

## Multimedia playback

Many browsers support the GStreamer framework to play multimedia inside HTML5 `<audio>` and `<video>` elements. Check the optional dependencies of the browser package (or of the web engine, e.g. webkit2gtk or qt5-webkit) to see if GStreamer is supported. See GStreamer#Installation for the description of each plugin.

For media formats that are not natively supported by your browser (e.g. most browsers do not play `.mkv` files), the following plugins are available:

- Rosa Media Player Plugin — Qt-based NPAPI plugin that uses MPlayer as backend.

  https://abf.rosalinux.ru/uxteam/ROSA_Media_Player || rosa-media-player-pluginAUR

- VLC Plugin — NPAPI plugin that uses VLC as backend.

  https://code.videolan.org/videolan/npapi-vlc || npapi-vlcAUR

## MozPlugger

Warning: MozPlugger is not maintained. The final release was in 2014.

MozPlugger can be installed with the mozpluggerAUR package.

MozPlugger is a Mozilla plugin which can show many types of multimedia inside your browser. To accomplish this, it uses external programs such as MPlayer, xine, Evince, OpenOffice, TiMidity, etc. To modify or add applications to be used by MozPlugger just modify the `/etc/mozpluggerrc` file.

For a more complete list of MozPlugger options see mozplugger(7).

### PDF viewers

If you want to use MozPlugger with Evince, for example, you have to find the lines containing `pdf` in the `/etc/mozpluggerrc` file and modify the corresponding line after `GV()` as below:

    repeat noisy swallow(evince) fill: evince "$file"

(replace `evince` with something else if it is not your viewer of choice).

When using Firefox, you may need to change 2 values in `about:config`:

- Change `pdfjs.disabled`'s value to true;
- Change `plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types`'s value to an empty value.

Then restart Firefox to use the plugin.

### Use LibreOffice instead of OpenOffice

For example, MozPlugger uses OpenOffice by default to open `doc` files. To change it to use LibreOffice instead, look for the OpenOffice section:

    /etc/mozpluggerrc

    ...
    ### OpenOffice
    define([OO],[swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: ooffice2.0 -nologo -norestore -view $1 "$file"
        swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: ooffice -nologo -norestore -view $1 "$file"
        swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: soffice -nologo $1 "$file"])
    ...

and add LibreOffice at the beginning of the list:

    /etc/mozpluggerrc

    ...
    ### LibreOffice/OpenOffice
    define([OO],[swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: libreoffice --nologo --norestore --view $1 "$file"
        swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: ooffice2.0 -nologo -norestore -view $1 "$file"
        swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: ooffice -nologo -norestore -view $1 "$file"
        swallow(VCLSalFrame) fill: soffice -nologo $1 "$file"])
    ...

Note: Be sure to also choose LibreOffice as your preferred application to open `doc` files.

### Open ccp files in Kate

As another simple example, if you want to open `cpp` files with your favorite text editor (we will use Kate) to get syntax highlighting, just add a new section to your `mozpluggerrc` file:

    /etc/mozpluggerrc

    text/x-c++:cpp:C++ Source File
    text/x-c++:hpp:C++ Header File
        repeat noisy swallow(kate) fill: kate -b "$file"

### Use mpv instead of MPlayer

To change the default of MPlayer so that mpv is used instead, change the appropriate lines such that:

    /etc/mozpluggerrc

    ...
    ### MPlayer

    #define(MP_CMD,[mplayer -really-quiet -nojoystick -nofs -zoom -vo xv,x11 -ao esd,alsa,oss,arts,null -osdlevel 0 $1 </dev/null])
    define(MP_CMD,[mpv -really-quiet $1 </dev/null])

    #define(MP_EMBED,[embed noisy ignore_errors: MP_CMD(-xy $width -wid $window $1)])
    define(MP_EMBED,[embed noisy ignore_errors: MP_CMD(--autofit=$width -wid $window $1)])

    #define(MP_NOEMBED,[noembed noisy ignore_errors maxaspect swallow(MPlayer): MP_CMD($1)])
    define(MP_NOEMBED,[noembed noisy ignore_errors maxaspect swallow(mpv): MP_CMD($1)])

    ...

    #define(MP_AUDIO,[mplayer -quiet -nojoystick $1 </dev/null])
    define(MP_AUDIO,[mpv -really-quiet $1 </dev/null])

    #define(MP_AUDIO_STREAM,[controls stream noisy ignore_errors: mplayer -quiet -nojoystick $1 "$file" </dev/null])
    define(MP_AUDIO_STREAM,[controls stream noisy ignore_errors: mpv -really-quiet $1 "$file" </dev/null])
    ...

## Troubleshooting

### Firefox: plugins are installed but not working

A common problem is that the plugin path is unset. This typically occurs on a new install, when the user has not re-logged in before running Firefox after the installation. Test if the path is unset:

    $ printenv MOZ_PLUGIN_PATH

If unset, then either re-login, or source `/etc/profile.d/mozilla-common.sh` and start Firefox from the same shell:

    $ source /etc/profile.d/mozilla-common.sh && firefox

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