Contributor Guide

Table of contents

GeckoView Contributor Quick Start Guide

This is a guide for developers who want to contribute to the GeckoView project. If you want to get started using GeckoView in your app then you should refer to the wiki.

Background

GeckoView is a public API that exposes core Gecko functionality to GeckoView consumers. Several Mozilla products use GeckoView as their core entry-way into Gecko. For example, Android Components has GeckoView as a dependency and uses it to communicate with Gecko. Fenix, Focus, and Reference Browser have Android Components as a dependency and build a browser on top of this framework.

The architecture, in broad strokes, looks like this:

Gecko <-> GeckoView <-> Android Components <-> Fenix or Focus or Reference Browser

  • Gecko is the fundamental platform that the rest are built on. It is a multilayered robust platform that conforms to standards related to browser mechanics.

  • GeckoView exposes key portions of Gecko for API consumers to use in Android systems. A subset of key Gecko functionality is exposed this way. It is a public API, so public API changes are designed to always be non-breaking and follow a deprecation process.

  • Android Components links to GeckoView to support Gecko browsers. It is platform-independent of Gecko and GeckoView. For example, another browser engine could be used instead of Gecko. It also provides other reusable browser-building components.

  • Fenix or Focus or Reference Browser are the end app products. They contain the primary view layer and connect everything together to form a final product.

Please keep this architecture in mind while solving bugs. Identifying the correct layer to solve a bug is an important first step for any bug.

Performing a bug fix

As a first step, you need to set up mozilla-central, and Bootstrap and build the project.

Once you have got GeckoView building and running, you will want to start contributing. There is a general guide to Performing a Bug Fix for Git Developers for you to follow. To contribute to GeckoView specifically, you will need the following additional information.

Debugging code

Because GeckoView is on many layers, often the best debugging tool depends on the layer the bug is on. For Java or Kotlin code, using the Android Studio IDE is an easy way to connect a debugger and set breakpoints. It can also be used with C++ code once native debugging is setup. Please see this guide on Native Debugging.

For JavaScript code, it is possible to connect a debugger using Firefox Desktop Nightly’s about:debugging section. The device must be setup to support USB connections and the device likely needs developer mode enabled.

Sometimes it is easier to leave logs to help trace exactly which layer the bug is on first, to do this on the various layers:

  • Java - Log.i("Any Tag", "Any string " + variable.toString())

    • May be used for permanent logging in GeckoView, but should follow existing logging practices. Requires an import.

    • Note, Android Components has different permanent logging practices.

  • JavaScript - dump("Any string " + variable)

    • May not be used for permanent logging.

    • May need to use JSON.stringify(variable) to deserialize objects in JavaScript.

  • JavaScript - debug`Any String ${variable}`

    • May be used for permanent logging, but should follow existing logging practices. Requires an import.

    • Recommend dump for earlier debugging.

  • JavaScript - console.log("Any String " + variable)

    • May be viewed using about:debugging on Desktop to a connected device and then connecting to the content process.

  • C++ - MOZ_LOG doesn’t show up properly in logcat yet.

    • Add this line CreateOrGetModule("modulename")->SetLevel(LogLevel::Verbose); to this section of code for a temporary solution to see MOZ_LOG logging.

  • C++ - printf_stderr("Any String") or __android_log_write(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, "Any Tag", "Any string"); or __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, "Any Tag", "Any string");

    • None of these may be used for permanent logging, only for debugging. Use MOZ_LOG for permanent logging.

    • Variable logging will need to be converted to a C string or other supported logging string.

    • Permanent logging for a GeckoView C++ file could be setup similar to:

      #define GVS_LOG(...) MOZ_LOG(sGVSupportLog, LogLevel::Info, (__VA_ARGS__))
static mozilla::LazyLogModule sGVSupportLog("Any Tag");
GVS_LOG("Any string");

Please be sure to remove any non-permanent debugging logs prior to requesting landing.

To view logging on Android, attach a device, and run adb logcat -v color for colorful logs or else use the Android Studio log frame.

Running tests and linter locally

To ensure that your patch does not break existing functionality in GeckoView, you can run the junit test suite with the following command

./mach geckoview-junit

This command also allows you to run individual tests or test classes, e.g.

./mach geckoview-junit org.mozilla.geckoview.test.NavigationDelegateTest
./mach geckoview-junit org.mozilla.geckoview.test.NavigationDelegateTest#loadUnknownHost

To see information on other options, simply run ./mach geckoview-junit --help; of particular note for dealing with intermittent test failures are --repeat N and --run-until-failure, both of which do exactly what you’d expect. If a test is intermittently failing, consult Debugging Intermittent Test Failures for additional tips.

Other tests, such as mochitests, may be ran using:

./mach test <path-or-dir-to-test>

Core GeckoView lints are:

# Will perform general Android specific formatting and linting.
./mach lint -l android-format
# Will determine if GeckoView API changes happened, find more info at API documentation below, if changes occurred.
./mach lint --linter android-api-lint
# Will perform static analysis and report required changes.
./mach lint --warnings --outgoing

For the linters below, add --fix to the command for the linter to fix the issue automatically. Note, using --fix will make changes. Most commands also accept a specific file or directory to speed up linting.

If your patch makes a GeckoView JavaScript module, you should run ESLint:

./mach lint -l eslint mobile/android/modules/geckoview/

If your patch makes a C++ file change, you should run the C++ linter formatter:

./mach clang-format -p <path/to/file.cpp>

If your patch makes a Python file change:

./mach lint --linter flake8
./mach lint --linter black

Additionally, sometimes lints can be automatically detected and fixed on certain files, for example:

# Will attempt to detect the linter and fix any issues.
# Note, using ``--fix`` will make code changes.
./mach lint --fix <path-to-file>

Updating the changelog and API documentation

If the patch that you want to submit changes the public API for GeckoView, you must ensure that the API documentation is kept up to date.

GeckoView follows a deprecation policy you can learn more in this design doc. To deprecate an API, add the deprecation flags with an identifier for a deprecation notice, so that all notices with the same identifier will be removed at the same time (see below for an example). The version is the major version of when we expect to remove the deprecated member attached to the annotation. The GeckoView team instituted a deprecation policy which requires each backward-incompatible change to keep the old code for 3 releases, allowing downstream consumers, like Fenix, time to migrate asynchronously to the new code without breaking the build.

@Deprecated
@DeprecationSchedule(id = "<interface_or_class_of_method>-<method_name>", version = <Current Nightly + 3>)

Since this is a public API, the changelog must also be updated. Please ensure that you follow the correct format for changelog entries. Under the heading for the next release version, add a new entry for the changes that you are making to the API, along with links to any relevant files, and bug number.

The format should be as follows:

- Summary of changes that should mention the method name, along with the respective class /
  interface name, the major version and the index, and the bug ID, along with the
  bugzilla link

[<major_version>.<index>]: {{javadoc_uri}}/<url_path>

For now, just update the changelog with the summary of changes made to the API (the first line in the example). To determine the index, take the next index in the list of [<major_version>.<index>]. If no list is present, start with index = 1.

  • Example for Adding a Method

- Added [`GeckoRuntimeSettings.Builder#aboutConfigEnabled`][71.12] to control whether or
  not `about:config` should be available.
  ([bug 1540065]({{bugzilla}}1540065))

[71.12]: {{javadoc_uri}}/GeckoRuntimeSettings.Builder.html#aboutConfigEnabled(boolean)

  • Example for Deprecating a Method

- ⚠️ Deprecated [`GeckoSession.ContentDelegate.onProductUrl`][128.5], will now be removed in v131.
([bug 1898055]({{bugzilla}}1898055))

[128.5]: {{javadoc_uri}}/GeckoSession.ContentDelegate.html#onProductUrl(org.mozilla.geckoview.GeckoSession)

To check whether your patch has altered the API, run the following command:

./mach lint --linter android-api-lint

The output of this command will inform you if any changes you have made break the existing API. The first run of the command will tell you if there are API changes. Review the changes and follow the instructions it provides, if there are changes and they are expected.

./mach gradle geckoview:apiLintWithGeckoBinariesDebug

Running the above command should cause the build to fail and the output should contain an API key, which should be used to update the [api-version] field in the changelog. Next, run the command again:

./mach gradle geckoview:apiLintWithGeckoBinariesDebug

The build should pass this time, and an api.txt file will be generated for the changes. Next, follow the next command to double check that the changes made do not break the existing API:

./mach lint --linter android-api-lint

If an API is deprecated, file a follow-up bug or leave the bug open by adding the keyword leave-open to remove and clean up the deprecated API for the version it is to be removed on. Also, ensure that running the previous two commands has changed the javadoc of the deprecated method to indicate that the method has been scheduled for deprecation. If not, ensure to do this manually.

A special situation is when a patch changing the API may need to be uplifted to an earlier branch of mozilla-central, for example, to the beta channel. To do this, follow the usual uplift steps and make a version of the patch for uplift that is graphed onto the new target branch and rerun the API linter commands.

Next, we will create the JavaDoc locally:

Creating JavaDoc Locally

Note

Make sure that the API version is updated in the changelog and that the summary of changes made to the API in the changelog are made correctly. Otherwise, this step won’t work.

GeckoView is a public API, so well maintained javadoc is an important practice. To create the javadoc locally, we use the following command:

./mach gradle geckoview:javadocWithGeckoBinariesDebug

To view the javadoc locally, choose one of the two options:

  • Navigate to <mozilla-central root>/<build architecture>/gradle/build/mobile/android/geckoview/docs/javadoc/withGeckoBinaries-debug

  • In your mozilla-unified directory, type the following command:

    find . -name withGeckoBinaries-debug

    This should return the relative path of the local javadoc.

    As an example, the output could be this:

    mozilla-unified/objdir-frontend/gradle/build/mobile/android/geckoview/docs/javadoc/withGeckoBinaries-debug

    Then, use the following command to go into the directory of the local javadoc:

    cd <path_of_javadoc_from_above>

Now, we want to launch a local web server. To launch locally, use any web server, for example:

python3 -m http.server 8000

In this example, navigate to the web docs via http://localhost:8000/org/mozilla/geckoview/.

Note

If you get a 404 error, please ensure that you have navigated to the correct directory and try launching the web server again.

Then, look for the changed method in the list displayed on the webpage and click into it.

In the changelog, under the list of summaries for the major version, there should be a list of URLs for the changed methods. Add a new entry for the next index (keeping the major version the same). Then, in the local web server, copy everything after .../org/mozilla/geckoview/. Fill in the entry by doing {{javadoc_uri}}/<paste_the_copied_text>. See the example above for reference.

Submitting to the try server

It is advisable to run your tests before submitting your patch. You can do this using Mozilla’s try server. To submit a GeckoView patch to try before submitting it for review, type:

./mach try --preset android-geckoview

This will automatically run critical tests from the GeckoView test suite. If your patch passes on try you can be (fairly) confident that it will land successfully after review.

Failures on try will show up with the test name highlighted in orange. Select the test to find out more. Intermittent failures occasionally occur due to issues with the test harness. Retriggering the test is a good way to confirm it is an intermittent failure and not due to the patch. Usually there will also be a bug number with a portion of the stack trace as well for documented intermittent failures. See Intermittent Test Failures for more information.

To debug failures on try, it is always a good idea to check the logcat. To do this, select the individual test, select “Artifacts and Debugging” and then open the log from “logcat-emulator-5554.log”.

Tagging a reviewer

When submitting a patch to Phabricator, if you know who you want to review your patch, put their Phabricator handle against the reviewers field.

If you don’t know who to tag for a review in the Phabricator submission message, leave the field blank and, after submission, follow the link to the patch in Phabricator and scroll to the bottom of the screen until you see the comment box.

  • Select the Add Action drop down and pick the Change Reviewers option.

  • In the presented box, add geckoview-reviewers. Selecting this group as the reviewer will notify all the members of the GeckoView team there is a patch to review.

  • Click Submit to submit the reviewer change request.

GeckoView, Android Components, Fenix, Focus, and Reference Browser Dependency Substitution

Internal product dependency substitution is handled automatically in mozilla-central on full builds. When building, the substitution into these other products will happen automatically after ./mach build is ran. However, in artifact builds, changes in Gecko or GeckoView will not consistently be reflected. If making changes to Gecko or GeckoView, it is strongly recommended to only use full builds as changes in Gecko or GeckoView may not be reflected when using artifact builds.

Include GeckoView as a dependency

If you want to include a development version of GeckoView as a dependency inside another app, you must link to a local copy. There are several ways to achieve this, but the preferred way is to use Gradle’s dependency substitution mechanism, for which there is first-class support in mozilla-central and a pattern throughout Mozilla’s GeckoView-consuming ecosystem.

The good news is that mach build produces everything you need, so that after the configuration below, you should find that the following commands rebuild your local GeckoView and then consume your local version in the downstream project.

cd /path/to/mozilla-central && ./mach build
cd /path/to/project && ./gradlew assembleDebug

Be sure that your ``mozconfig`` specifies the correct ``–target`` argument for your target device. Many projects use “ABI splitting” to include only the target device’s native code libraries in APKs deployed to the device. On x86-64 and aarch64 devices, this can result in GeckoView failing to find any libraries, because valid x86 and ARM libraries were not included in a deployed APK. Avoid this by setting --target to the exact ABI that your device supports.

Dependency substituting your local GeckoView into a non-Mozilla project

In projects that don’t have first-class support for dependency substitution already, you can do the substitution yourself. See the documentation in substitue-local-geckoview.gradle, but roughly: in each Gradle project that consumes GeckoView, i.e., in each build.gradle with a dependencies { ... 'org.mozilla.geckoview:geckoview-...' } block, include lines like:

ext.topsrcdir = "/path/to/mozilla-central"
ext.topobjdir = "/path/to/object-directory" // Optional.
apply from: "${topsrcdir}/substitute-local-geckoview.gradle"

Remember to remove the lines from all ``build.gradle`` files when you want to return to using the published GeckoView builds!

Next Steps