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Development Guide​

Edit English only; translations propagate

Update documentation only under website/docs (English). Translations under website/i18n/<locale>/… are generated and should not be edited manually. Use the translation tasks (e.g., make translate_web_docs_batch) to refresh localized content.

Prerequisites​

  • Node.js 22+ and npm (tested with Node 22)
  • Thunderbird 128 ESR or newer (for manual testing)

Project Layout (high‑level)​

  • Root: packaging script distribution_zip_packer.sh, docs, screenshots
  • sources/: main add-on code (background, options/popup UI, manifests, icons)
  • tests/: Vitest suite
  • website/: Docusaurus docs (with i18n under website/i18n/de/...)

Install & Tooling​

  • Install root deps: npm ci
  • Docs (optional): cd website && npm ci
  • Discover targets: make help

Live Dev (web‑ext run)​

  • Quick loop in Firefox Desktop (UI smoke‑tests only):
  • npx web-ext run --source-dir sources --target=firefox-desktop
  • Run in Thunderbird (preferred for MailExtensions):
  • npx web-ext run --source-dir sources --start-url about:addons --firefox-binary "$(command -v thunderbird || echo /path/to/thunderbird)"
  • Tips:
  • Keep Thunderbird’s Error Console open (Tools → Developer Tools → Error Console).
  • MV3 event pages are suspended when idle; reload the add‑on after code changes, or let web‑ext auto‑reload.
  • Some Firefox‑only behaviors differ; always verify in Thunderbird for API parity.
  • Thunderbird binary paths (examples):
  • Linux: thunderbird (e.g., /usr/bin/thunderbird)
  • macOS: /Applications/Thunderbird.app/Contents/MacOS/thunderbird
  • Windows: "C:\\Program Files\\Mozilla Thunderbird\\thunderbird.exe"
  • Profile isolation: Use a separate Thunderbird profile for development to avoid impacting your daily setup.

Make Targets (Alphabetical)​

The Makefile standardizes common dev flows. Run make help anytime for a one‑line summary of every target.

Tip: running make with no target opens a simple Whiptail menu to pick a target.

TargetOne‑line description
cleanRemove local build/preview artifacts (tmp/, web-local-preview/, website/build/).
commitFormat, run tests (incl. i18n), update changelog, commit & push.
eslintRun ESLint via flat config (npm run -s lint:eslint).
helpList all targets with one‑line docs (sorted).
lintweb‑ext lint on sources/ (temp manifest; ignores ZIPs; non‑fatal).
menuInteractive menu to select a target and optional arguments.
packBuild ATN & LOCAL ZIPs (runs linter; calls packer script).
prettierFormat repository in place (writes changes).
prettier_checkPrettier in check mode (no writes); fails if reformat needed.
prettier_writeAlias for prettier.
testPrettier (write), ESLint, then Vitest (coverage if configured).
test_i18ni18n‑only tests: add‑on placeholders/parity + website parity.
translate_appAlias for translation_app.
translation_appTranslate app UI strings from sources/_locales/en/messages.json.
translate_web_docs_batchTranslate website docs via OpenAI Batch API (preferred).
translate_web_docs_syncTranslate website docs synchronously (legacy, non-batch).
translate_web_indexAlias for translation_web_index.
translation_web_indexTranslate homepage/navbar/footer UI (website/i18n/en/code.json → .../<lang>/code.json).
web_buildBuild docs to website/build (supports --locales / BUILD_LOCALES).
web_build_linkcheckOffline‑safe link check (skips remote HTTP[S]).
web_build_local_previewLocal gh‑pages preview; auto‑serve on 8080–8090; optional tests/link‑check.
web_push_githubPush website/build to the gh-pages branch.

Syntax for options

  • Use make <command> OPTS="…" to pass options (quotes recommended). Each target below shows example usage.

--

Locale build tips​

  • Build a subset of locales: set BUILD_LOCALES="en de" or pass OPTS="--locales en,de" to web targets.
  • Preview a specific locale: http://localhost:<port>/Thunderbird-Reply-with-Attachments/de/.

Build & Package​

  • Build ZIPs: make pack
  • Produces ATN and LOCAL ZIPs in the repo root (do not edit artifacts by hand)
  • Tip: update version in both sources/manifest_ATN.json and sources/manifest_LOCAL.json before packaging
  • Manual install (dev): Thunderbird → Tools → Add‑ons and Themes → gear → Install Add‑on From File… → select the built ZIP

Test​

  • Full suite: make test (Vitest)
  • Coverage (optional):
  • npm i -D @vitest/coverage-v8
  • Run make test; open coverage/index.html for HTML report
  • i18n only: make test_i18n (UI keys/placeholders/titles + website per‑locale per‑doc parity with id/title/sidebar_label checks)

Debugging & Logs​

  • Error Console: Tools → Developer Tools → Error Console
  • Toggle verbose logs at runtime:
  • Enable: messenger.storage.local.set({ debug: true })
  • Disable: messenger.storage.local.set({ debug: false })
  • Logs appear while composing/sending replies

Docs (website)​

  • Dev server: cd website && npm run start
  • Build static site: cd website && npm run build
  • Make equivalents (alphabetical): make web_build, make web_build_linkcheck, make web_build_local_preview, make web_push_github
  • Usage examples:
  • EN only, skip tests/link‑check, no push: make web_build_local_preview OPTS="--locales en --no-test --no-link-check --dry-run"
  • All locales, with tests/link‑check, then push: make web_build_local_preview && make web_push_github
  • Before publishing, run the offline‑safe link check: make web_build_linkcheck.
  • i18n: English lives in website/docs/*.md; German translations in website/i18n/de/docusaurus-plugin-content-docs/current/*.md
  • Search: If Algolia DocSearch env vars are set in CI (DOCSEARCH_APP_ID, DOCSEARCH_API_KEY, DOCSEARCH_INDEX_NAME), the site uses Algolia search; otherwise it falls back to local search. On the homepage, press / or Ctrl+K to open the search box.
  • website/src/pages/donate.js
  • Route: /donate (and /<locale>/donate)
  • Behavior:
  • If the current route has a locale (e.g., /de/donate), use it
  • Otherwise, pick the best match from navigator.languages vs configured locales; fall back to default locale
  • Redirects to:
  • en → /docs/donation
  • others → /<locale>/docs/donation
  • Uses useBaseUrl for proper baseUrl handling
  • Includes meta refresh + noscript link as fallback

Preview Tips​

  • Stop Node preview cleanly: open http://localhost:<port>/__stop (printed after Local server started).
  • If images don’t load in MDX/JSX, use useBaseUrl('/img/...') to respect the site baseUrl.
  • The preview starts first; the link check runs afterward and is non‑blocking (broken external links won’t stop the preview).
  • Example preview URL: http://localhost:<port>/Thunderbird-Reply-with-Attachments/ (printed after “Local server started”).
  • External links in link‑check: Some external sites (e.g., addons.thunderbird.net) block automated crawlers and may show 403 in link checks. The preview still starts; these are safe to ignore.

Translate the Website​

What you can translate

  • Website UI only: homepage, navbar, footer, and other UI strings. Docs content stays English‑only for now.

Where to edit

  • Edit website/i18n/<locale>/code.json (use en as reference). Keep placeholders like {year}, {slash}, {ctrl}, {k}, {code1} unchanged.

Generate or refresh files

  • Create missing stubs for all locales: npm --prefix website run i18n:stubs
  • Overwrite stubs from English (after adding new strings): npm --prefix website run i18n:stubs:force
  • Alternative for a single locale: npx --prefix website docusaurus write-translations --locale <locale>

Translate homepage/navbar/footer UI strings (OpenAI)

  • Set credentials once (shell or .env):
  • export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
  • Optional: export OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini
  • One‑shot (all locales, skip en): make translate_web_index
  • Limit to specific locales: make translate_web_index OPTS="--locales de,fr"
  • Overwrite existing values: make translate_web_index OPTS="--force"

Validation & retries

  • The translation script validates JSON shape, preserves curly‑brace placeholders, and ensures URLs are unchanged.
  • On validation failure, it retries with feedback up to 2 times before keeping existing values.

Preview your locale

  • Dev server: npm --prefix website run start
  • Visit http://localhost:3000/<locale>/Thunderbird-Reply-with-Attachments/

Submitting

  • Open a PR with the edited code.json file(s). Keep changes focused and include a quick screenshot when possible.

Security & Configuration Tips​

  • Do not commit sources/manifest.json (created temporarily by the build)
  • Keep browser_specific_settings.gecko.id stable to preserve the update channel

Settings Persistence​

  • Storage: All user settings live in storage.local and persist across add‑on updates.
  • Install: Defaults are applied only when a key is strictly missing (undefined).
  • Update: A migration fills only missing keys; existing values are never overwritten.
  • Schema marker: settingsVersion (currently 1).
  • Keys and defaults:
  • blacklistPatterns: string[] → ['*intern*', '*secret*', '*passwor*']
  • confirmBeforeAdd: boolean → false
  • confirmDefaultChoice: 'yes'|'no' → 'yes'
  • warnOnBlacklistExcluded: boolean → true
  • Code: see sources/background.js → initializeOrMigrateSettings() and SCHEMA_VERSION.

Dev workflow (adding a new setting)

  • Bump SCHEMA_VERSION in sources/background.js.
  • Add the new key + default to the DEFAULTS object in initializeOrMigrateSettings().
  • Use the "only-if-undefined" rule when seeding defaults; do not overwrite existing values.
  • If the setting is user‑visible, wire it in sources/options.js and add localized strings.
  • Add/adjust tests (see tests/background.settings.migration.test.js).

Manual testing tips

  • Simulate a fresh install: clear the extension’s data dir or start with a new profile.
  • Simulate an update: set settingsVersion to 0 in storage.local and re‑load; confirm existing values remain unchanged and only missing keys are added.

Troubleshooting​

  • Ensure Thunderbird is 128 ESR or newer
  • Use the Error Console for runtime issues
  • If stored settings appear not to apply properly, restart Thunderbird and try again. (Thunderbird may cache state across sessions; a restart ensures fresh settings are loaded.)

CI & Coverage​

  • GitHub Actions (CI — Tests) runs vitest with coverage thresholds (85% lines/functions/branches/statements). If thresholds are not met, the job fails.
  • The workflow uploads an artifact coverage-html with the HTML report; download it from the run page (Actions → latest run → Artifacts).

Contributing​

  • See CONTRIBUTING.md for branch/commit/PR guidelines
  • Tip: Create a separate Thunderbird development profile for testing to avoid impacting your daily profile.

Translations​

  • Running large “all → all” translation jobs can be slow and expensive. Start with a subset (e.g., a few docs and 1–2 locales), review the result, then expand.
  • Retry policy: translation jobs perform up to 3 retries with exponential backoff on API errors; see scripts/translate_web_docs_batch.js and scripts/translate_web_docs_sync.js.

Screenshots for docs

  • Store images under website/static/img/.

  • Reference them in MD/MDX via useBaseUrl('/img/<filename>') so paths work with the site baseUrl.

  • After adding or renaming images under website/static/img/, confirm all references still use useBaseUrl('/img/…') and render in a local preview. Favicons

  • The multi‑size favicon.ico is generated automatically in all build paths (Make + scripts) via website/scripts/build-favicon.mjs.

  • No manual step is required; updating icon-*.png is enough. Review tip

  • Keep the front‑matter id unchanged in translated docs; translate only title and sidebar_label when present.

clean​

  • Purpose: remove local build/preview artifacts.
  • Usage: make clean
  • Removes (if present):
  • tmp/
  • web-local-preview/
  • website/build/

commit​

  • Purpose: format, test, update changelog, commit, and push.
  • Usage: make commit
  • Details: runs Prettier (write), make test, make test_i18n; appends changelog when there are staged diffs; pushes to origin/<branch>.

eslint​

  • Purpose: run ESLint via flat config.
  • Usage: make eslint

help​

  • Purpose: list all targets with one‑line docs.
  • Usage: make help

lint​

  • Purpose: lint the MailExtension using web-ext.
  • Usage: make lint
  • Notes: temp‑copies sources/manifest_LOCAL.json → sources/manifest.json; ignores built ZIPs; warnings do not fail the pipeline.

menu​

  • Purpose: interactive menu to select a Make target and optional arguments.
  • Usage: run make with no arguments.
  • Notes: if whiptail is not available, the menu falls back to make help.

pack​

  • Purpose: build ATN and LOCAL ZIPs (depends on lint).
  • Usage: make pack
  • Tip: bump versions in both sources/manifest_*.json before packaging.

prettier​

  • Purpose: format the repo in place.
  • Usage: make prettier

prettier_check​

  • Purpose: verify formatting (no writes).
  • Usage: make prettier_check

prettier_write​

  • Purpose: alias for prettier.
  • Usage: make prettier_write

test​

  • Purpose: run Prettier (write), ESLint, then Vitest (coverage if installed).
  • Usage: make test

test_i18n​

  • Purpose: i18n‑focused tests for add‑on strings and website docs.
  • Usage: make test_i18n
  • Runs: npm run test:i18n and npm run -s test:website-i18n.

translate_app / translation_app​

  • Purpose: translate add‑on UI strings from EN to other locales.
  • Usage: make translation_app OPTS="--locales all|de,fr"
  • Notes: preserves key structure and placeholders; logs to translation_app.log. Script form: node scripts/translate_app.js --locales ….

translate_web_docs_batch / translate_web_docs_sync​

  • Purpose: translate website docs from website/docs/*.md into website/i18n/<locale>/....
  • Preferred: translate_web_docs_batch (OpenAI Batch API)
    • Usage (flags): make translate_web_docs_batch OPTS="--files <doc1,doc2|all> --locales <lang1,lang2|all>"
    • Legacy positional is still accepted: OPTS="<doc|all> <lang|all>"
  • Behavior: builds JSONL, uploads, polls every 30s, downloads results, writes files.
  • Note: a batch job may take up to 24 hours to complete (per OpenAI’s batch window). The console shows elapsed time on each poll.
  • Env: OPENAI_API_KEY (required), optional OPENAI_MODEL, OPENAI_TEMPERATURE, OPENAI_BATCH_WINDOW (default 24h), BATCH_POLL_INTERVAL_MS.
  • Legacy: translate_web_docs_sync
    • Usage (flags): make translate_web_docs_sync OPTS="--files <doc1,doc2|all> --locales <lang1,lang2|all>"
    • Legacy positional is still accepted: OPTS="<doc|all> <lang|all>"
  • Behavior: synchronous per‑pair requests (no batch aggregation).
  • Notes: Interactive prompts when OPTS omitted. Both modes preserve code blocks/inline code and keep front‑matter id unchanged; logs to translation_web_batch.log (batch) or translation_web_sync.log (sync).

translate_web_index / translation_web_index​

  • Purpose: translate website UI strings (homepage, navbar, footer) from website/i18n/en/code.json to all locales under website/i18n/<locale>/code.json (excluding en).
  • Usage: make translate_web_index or make translate_web_index OPTS="--locales de,fr [--force]"
  • Requirements: export OPENAI_API_KEY (optional: OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini).
  • Behavior: validates JSON structure, preserves curly‑brace placeholders, keeps URLs unchanged, and retries with feedback on validation errors.

web_build​

  • Purpose: build the docs site to website/build.
  • Usage: make web_build OPTS="--locales en|de,en|all" (or set BUILD_LOCALES="en de")
  • Internals: node ./node_modules/@docusaurus/core/bin/docusaurus.mjs build [--locale …].
  • Deps: runs npm ci in website/ only if website/node_modules/@docusaurus is missing.

web_build_linkcheck​

  • Purpose: offline‑safe link check.
  • Usage: make web_build_linkcheck OPTS="--locales en|all"
  • Notes: builds to tmp_linkcheck_web_pages; rewrites GH Pages baseUrl to /; skips remote HTTP(S) links.

web_build_local_preview​

  • Purpose: local gh‑pages preview with optional tests/link‑check.
  • Usage: make web_build_local_preview OPTS="--locales en|all [--no-test] [--no-link-check] [--dry-run] [--no-serve]"
  • Behavior: tries Node preview server first (scripts/preview-server.mjs, supports /__stop), falls back to python3 -m http.server; serves on 8080–8090; PID at web-local-preview/.server.pid.

web_push_github​

  • Purpose: push website/build to the gh-pages branch.
  • Usage: make web_push_github

Tip: set NPM=… to override the package manager used by the Makefile (defaults to npm).

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