# External Application Button (WebExtension)

> A highly customizable external application button and context-menu items

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/external-application](https://chrome-stats.com/d/external-application)

## Overview

- **ID:** `external-application`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Andy Portmen
- **Category:** web-development,download-management,photos-music-videos
- **Daily users:** 1,327
- **Weekly downloads:** 32
- **Rating:** 4.50 / 5 (52 ratings)
- **Version:** 0.6.1
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-23
- **First published:** 2016-12-28
- **Size:** 170 KB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-14
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/external-application/)
- **Website:** [https://webextension.org/listing/external-application-button.html](https://webextension.org/listing/external-application-button.html)

## Description

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.

## Rankings

- #2,871 — Overall
- #258 — Download Management
- #321 — Web Development
- #1 — application
- #8 — extention
- #63 — item

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `activeTab`
- `storage`
- `contextMenus`
- `nativeMessaging`
- `downloads`
- `notifications`
- `declarativeNetRequestWithHostAccess`
- `scripting`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** Low risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Moderate risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- Facilitates communication between extensions and native applications, usually low risk if managed correctly.
- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

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.

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/external-application)