Open with Silo

A Firefox extension that adds "Open with Silo" to the right-click context menu on any link. Sends the URL to Silo, a browser picker for Linux, so you can choose which browser or profile to open it in.

There is no toolbar button. Just install it and right-click any link.

Requirements

• Firefox
• Silo installed
• Python 3

Install

1. Install the native messaging host

The native messaging host is a small Python script that bridges Firefox and Silo.

Copy the host script:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/silo
sudo cp native-host/silo-host.py /usr/lib/silo/
sudo chmod +x /usr/lib/silo/silo-host.py

Register it with Firefox:

mkdir -p ~/.mozilla/native-messaging-hosts
cp native-host/com.nofaff.silo.json ~/.mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/

2. Install the extension

The extension will be available on Firefox Add-ons once published.

To install manually from source:

cd /path/to/silo-firefox-extension
zip -r silo-firefox.xpi manifest.json background.js icons/

Then open about:addons in Firefox, click the gear icon, "Install Add-on From File" and select the .xpi file.

Note: unsigned extensions require xpinstall.signatures.required set to false in about:config. This only works in Firefox Developer Edition or unbranded builds, not standard Firefox.

How it works

1. Right-click any link in Firefox
2. Click "Open with Silo"
3. Silo's picker appears, letting you choose a browser or profile

Note: Each browser row in Silo's picker has an "Always" button that creates a rule for that domain. If you click it, that domain will skip the picker and open silently in your chosen browser next time you use "Open with Silo".

The originating site sees nothing. No data is sent to the site about the redirect.

Permissions

Firefox will show that this extension needs permission to "Exchange messages with programs other than Firefox". This is the native messaging permission. It means the extension can talk to Silo, which is a program installed on your computer. This is the same mechanism used by password managers like KeePassXC and Bitwarden.

The extension does not read or modify any web pages. It does not access your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords or any other data. It has no network access. The only thing it does is send the URL you right-clicked to Silo.

Privacy

This extension collects no data. There is no telemetry, no analytics and no network access. The URL you click is sent to Silo on your local machine and nowhere else. The source code is public and you can verify this yourself.

See also

• Silo - the browser picker itself
• Open with Silo for Chrome - the Chrome/Chromium version
• Find - Ulauncher extension for finding files instantly

Licence

MIT