External Application Button (WebExtension)

Name: External Application Button (WebExtension)
Rating: 4.4902 (51 reviews)
Author: Andy Portmen

By: Andy Portmen

A highly customizable external application button and context-menu items

External Application Button (WebExtension)

Download

Install

Features & Capabilities

External Application Button is a Firefox extension that allows users to create highly customizable toolbar buttons and context menu items. With this extension, you can seamlessly send the current page to other browsers like Chrome, Opera, or Internet Explorer, or send selected text to text editors such as Notepad++ or Sublime Text. It also lets you send image URLs to your preferred photo editor or transfer download links to external download managers like the FlashGot extension.

To use this extension fully, a minimal native client must be installed manually, with installation instructions provided within the add-on interface. This makes integration with external applications smooth and efficient. Video tutorials are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac users, and further support can be found in the add-on's discussion section. This tool streamlines workflow by bridging Firefox with external applications directly from the browser interface.

User Growth & Download Statistics

Add-on Developer Tools

By:

Daily users:

Rating:

Version:

0.6.0 Last updated: 2025-06-30

Version code:

5979162

Creation date:

2016-12-28

Risk:

Permissions:

Size:

166.66KB

URLs:

Website

Full description:

Source:

Firefox Add-ons Store

Data ingested on:

2026-06-03

Compare stats and ranking:

Ranking

# 2,787 ▼ 18

Other rankings

#249 in Download Management ▼ 1

#310 in Web Development ▲ 3

#1 in application keyword 37

#8 in extention keyword 7

#58 in location keyword 37

Upgrade to see more rankings

Other platforms

External Application Launcher (v0.6.0)

10,000 4.25

(44)

External Application Launcher (v0.6.0)

1,395 4.50

(2)

For Developers

Monetize with App Pass Boost with Extension Booster

Contact the developer

Chrome-Stats does not own this Firefox add-on. Please use these information below to contact the Firefox add-on developer.

Developed by:

Andy Portmen

Firefox Add-ons Store

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/external-application/

Website:

https://webextension.org/listing/external-application-button.html

Permission Change History

2024-11-09: Version 0.5.3 → 0.5.7

Add Optional host permissions: *://*/*

Add Permissions: declarativeNetRequestWithHostAccess scripting

Add Optional permissions: tabs

Remove Optional permissions: *://*/*

2022-10-16: Version 0.4.2 → 0.5.1

Add Permissions: contextMenus

Remove Permissions: menus bookmarks

Remove Optional permissions: webNavigation

User Reviews

Users broadly praise External Application Button for being reliable and useful for launching external apps or scripts. It is considered among the best options in its niche and is appreciated for its functionality across environments. Some users note a learning curve and a geeky vibe, suggesting it may be less approachable for non-technical users. Overall, it provides a practical, well-regarded solution for triggering external applications from Firefox, with a strong focus on functionality and versatility.

Pros

Works reliably and as intended.
Allows launching external applications and running scripts (e.g., bash scripts, Photoshop).
Highly praised and regarded as one of the best Firefox extensions for this purpose.

Cons

May require some technical knowledge and fiddling to set up.
Perceived as geeky and not beginner-friendly.

Recent reviews

by Te*****, 2026-03-26

External Application Button is an excellent Firefox extension; it would be useful to be able to have multiple buttons or instances of this extension.

by Ro*****, 2026-01-23

This is the best one out there right now. Works

by zi*****, 2025-12-12

View all user reviews ›

Is External Application Button (WebExtension) Safe?

Risk impact

Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

External Application Button (WebExtension) requires very minimum permissions.

Risk impact analysis details

Medium Facilitates communication between extensions and native applications, usually low risk if managed correctly.
Medium ****** ********** ** ******** ********** *** ********* ******* ******** ****** ******** ****** ********
Medium ******* ******* ************* ***** *** ** ******* *** **** ******* ****** ******** *******

Risk likelihood

Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Firefox add-on may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Firefox add-on reputation on Firefox Add-ons Store, the amount of time the Firefox add-on has been around, and other signals about the Firefox add-on. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Firefox add-on.

External Application Button (WebExtension) is probably trust-worthy. Prefer other publishers if available. Exercise caution when installing this add-on.

Risk likelihood analysis details

High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
Low **** ********* *** ******* **** **** * ****** **** ***** ******** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
Low **** ********* *** ***** **** **** * ****** **** ***** ********** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
Good **** ********* *** **** **** *******