macOS Big Sur, the next major release of Apple’s operating system, will ship this fall with lots of amazing new features for both users and developers, including streamlined apps, a sleeker dock, and revamped notification center.

One of the most exciting features of Big Sur is the upgraded Safari web browser, which is the official browser for Apple devices. In this guide, we’ll zoom in on changes to Safari web extensions and how they affect the developer experience.

What’s the deal with Safari browser extensions?

Extensions are small pieces of software that users can install to enhance and customize the browsing experience. They provide additional functionalities that browsers are not shipped with.

For instance, have you ever needed to translate the content of a webpage? There are extensions for that, such as Microsoft Translator. Other common types of extensions include password managers (e.g., LastPass), bookmarking tools (e.g., Evernote Web Clipper), and proofreading apps (Grammarly for Safari). The list goes on and on.

Safari supports extensions, but the ecosystem is relatively small compared to other popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome due to differences in the technology stack and issues with OS compatibility. To bridge this gap, Apple will provide additional support for web extensions in Safari.

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