Handling Offline Mode in Firefox Browser Extensions

When building extensions that depend on network data — like my Weather & Clock Dashboard — offline handling is critical. Users notice immediately when your extension shows stale data or broken UI.

The Problem

Browser extensions run at browser startup. If the user is on a train, airplane, or just has spotty WiFi, your fetch calls will fail. Without proper handling, users see errors or empty states.

Detecting Online Status

The browser gives you two ways to check connectivity:

// Passive check
if (!navigator.onLine) {
  showCachedData();
  return;
}

// Listen for changes
window.addEventListener('online', () => {
  console.log('Back online — refreshing data');
  fetchFreshData();
});

window.addEventListener('offline', () => {
  console.log('Gone offline — switching to cache');
  showOfflineIndicator();
});

Note: navigator.onLine only tells you if you have a network connection — not if that connection actually works. You can be "online" but unable to reach your API.

A Robust Fetch Wrapper

Here's a pattern I use for all API calls in the extension:

async function fetchWithFallback(url, options = {}) {
  const CACHE_KEY = `cache_${url}`;
  const CACHE_TTL_KEY = `cache_ttl_${url}`;
  const TTL_MS = 3600000; // 1 hour

  try {
    // Attempt network fetch with timeout
    const controller = new AbortController();
    const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000); // 5s timeout

    const response = await fetch(url, {
      ...options,
      signal: controller.signal
    });
    clearTimeout(timeoutId);

    if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);

    const data = await response.json();

    // Cache the fresh data
    const cacheEntry = {
      data,
      timestamp: Date.now()
    };
    localStorage.setItem(CACHE_KEY, JSON.stringify(cacheEntry));

    return { data, fromCache: false };

  } catch (error) {
    console.warn(`Fetch failed for ${url}:`, error.message);

    // Try cache
    const cached = localStorage.getItem(CACHE_KEY);
    if (cached) {
      const { data, timestamp } = JSON.parse(cached);
      const age = Date.now() - timestamp;
      const ageHours = Math.round(age / 3600000);

      return {
        data,
        fromCache: true,
        cacheAge: age,
        stale: age > TTL_MS
      };
    }

    // No cache available
    throw new Error('No data available (offline and no cache)');
  }
}

Showing Stale Data Indicators

Users prefer seeing old data over an error. But they deserve to know it's stale:

async function updateWeather() {
  const statusEl = document.getElementById('weather-status');

  try {
    const { data, fromCache, cacheAge } = await fetchWithFallback(WEATHER_API_URL);

    renderWeather(data);

    if (fromCache) {
      const hours = Math.floor(cacheAge / 3600000);
      const minutes = Math.floor((cacheAge % 3600000) / 60000);
      statusEl.textContent = hours > 0 
        ? `Last updated ${hours}h ago (offline)` 
        : `Last updated ${minutes}m ago (offline)`;
      statusEl.className = 'status-stale';
    } else {
      statusEl.textContent = `Updated just now`;
      statusEl.className = 'status-fresh';
    }

  } catch (error) {
    statusEl.textContent = 'Weather unavailable';
    statusEl.className = 'status-error';
  }
}

Using the Service Worker Cache API

For heavier caching needs, consider the Cache API (available in extensions with the right permissions):

const CACHE_NAME = 'weather-data-v1';

async function cacheResponse(url, data) {
  const cache = await caches.open(CACHE_NAME);
  const response = new Response(JSON.stringify(data), {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }
  });
  await cache.put(url, response);
}

async function getCachedResponse(url) {
  const cache = await caches.open(CACHE_NAME);
  const response = await cache.match(url);
  if (response) {
    return response.json();
  }
  return null;
}

Testing Offline Behavior

Chrome/Firefox DevTools let you simulate offline mode:

1. Open DevTools → Network tab
2. Change "No throttling" dropdown to "Offline"
3. Reload your extension's new tab page

For automated testing:

// In Playwright tests
await context.setOffline(true);
await page.reload();

// Should show cached data
const weatherText = await page.textContent('#weather-temp');
expect(weatherText).not.toBe('');

// Should show stale indicator
const statusText = await page.textContent('#weather-status');
expect(statusText).toContain('offline');

Background Refresh Pattern

For new tab extensions, pre-fetch data in the background script so it's ready before the tab opens:

// background.js
chrome.alarms.create('weatherRefresh', { periodInMinutes: 30 });

chrome.alarms.onAlarm.addListener(async (alarm) => {
  if (alarm.name === 'weatherRefresh') {
    try {
      const city = await getStoredCity();
      const data = await fetchWeatherData(city);
      await browser.storage.local.set({ 
        weatherCache: data,
        weatherCacheTime: Date.now()
      });
    } catch (e) {
      // Silently fail — cache stays valid
    }
  }
});

Then in your new tab page, read from storage first:

async function loadWeather() {
  const { weatherCache, weatherCacheTime } = await browser.storage.local.get(['weatherCache', 'weatherCacheTime']);

  if (weatherCache) {
    // Show cache immediately for instant load
    renderWeather(weatherCache);
    showCacheAge(weatherCacheTime);
  }

  // Then try to refresh in the background
  fetchFreshWeather().then(data => {
    renderWeather(data);
    clearCacheIndicator();
  }).catch(() => {
    // Keep showing cached data
  });
}

This gives users instant perceived performance even on slow connections.

The Weather & Clock Dashboard Approach

In my extension, I use localStorage for persistence with a 1-hour TTL. The offline indicator shows as a small cloud icon next to the temperature when the data is stale.

Try it out: Weather & Clock Dashboard on AMO

What's your approach to offline handling in extensions? Let me know in the comments!

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Part of a series on building Firefox browser extensions.

firefox #javascript #webdev #browserextension #pwa