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Browser-Agnostic Messaging

Target Audience: Advanced Goal: Route messages through typed clients and ports while keeping code browser-agnostic.

HexaJS standardizes communication across Background, Content, and UI contexts through client and port abstractions.

Core principles​

  • Never call chrome.* / browser.* directly in app classes.
  • Use @hexajs-dev/ports and injected clients.
  • Route request/response messages through background endpoints.
  • Keep code platform-agnostic; CLI builds per target platform.

Platform build behavior​

During build, platform-aware ports use __HEXA_PLATFORM__ and token fallback (HEXA_PLATFORM) so platform-specific branches can be tree-shaken safely.

What you'll learn​

  • How clients route messages across context boundaries.
  • How RuntimePort and other ports hide browser API differences.
  • How to implement custom ports with platform switch logic.
  • How background acts as the router between UI/content contexts.

API reference​

For exhaustive built-in ports documentation, see API Reference.