This is a shell for a chrome extension/app pair that will handle ndn:// uri schemes from both the omnibox and html image/css/etc tags. The pattern could be repurposed for any scenario where you want to handle a custom protocol in Chrome without having to operate a static remote domain.

How it works

The extension detects the 'ndn' keyword being typed into the omnibox... once the user enables the extension and starts typing, the extension launches the app

The app runs a Node style http server on port 5000 (this is hardcoded until a more elegant solution is found) which serves as a local http proxy to ndn (or any other protocol/process)

Now that the app is loaded, it will continue to serve requests for the "web+ndn" protocol for the rest of the browser session, whether they're entered in the omnibox or via image/script/css/etc tag.

Installation

• clone and install dependencies

   //if you don't have it already
   npm install -g browserify

   git clone git@github.com:rynomad/protochrome.git
   cd protochrome
   npm install

   browserify app/index.js > app/background.js

• open chrome:
• navigate to chrome://extensions
• enable developer mode (upper right corner)
• click "load unpacked extension"
• get into the 'app' folder and click open
• copy and paste the 'ID' of the app into the id string in extension/index.js, save
• click "load unpacked extension" again
• get into the 'extension' folder and click open
• restart chrome

Testing

open chrome and navigate to localhost:5000.... nothing should happen.

• now enter 'ndn' + TAB into the omnibox
• start typing a uri.
• IMPORTANT: since this is a minimum demo, there's no post install hook to register the protocol handler, so the first time you do this, after you've started typing a url (ie after the app is launched) but before you press enter, open a new tab and go back to localhost:5000... you'll get an empty white screen but chrome will ask your permission to register the protocol handler (if it doens't pop up, there's sometimes a little double-tilted-square icon in right hand side of the omnibox). Allow it
• now press enter
• you should be redirected to a page served from the app
• subsequent attempts to use web+ndn protocol in any context should route through the app :)
• Remember: the first use in any browser session requires the extension.

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