Microsoft/vscode

Blocked popups are not handled in Chrome on Github Codespace

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#165,339 opened on Nov 3, 2022

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 (3 comments) (3 reactions) (1 assignee)TypeScript (74,848 stars) (10,221 forks)batch import
bughelp wantedopenerweb

Description

When using GitHub Codespaces, if an extension tries to spawn a new browser window it's blocked by Chrome:

Screenshot 2022-11-03 at 10 58 41

This issue was discussed in the context of Safari in #118731 and it seems like a fix was applied (that detects the blocking, then prompts the user so that the window can be re-triggered from a user-click which would not trigger the blocking), but from the discussion it's not clear if this was only applied to Safari (@isidorn may be able to confirm - I can't see anything Safari specific in the linked commits I reviewed). I certainly don't see that notification in Chrome.

The API called that triggered this was vscode.env.openExternal. It was tested today on the current live version of GitHub workspaces (and latest stable version of Chrome).

If I allow github.dev to spawn popups in Chrome settings, ofcourse everything works fine - but that only solves the problem for me and not other users.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescriptelectron
Domain
frontenddeveloper experience
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
needs maintainer response
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
basic TypeScriptfamiliarity with VSCode extension APIunderstanding of browser popup blocking
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Investigate the existing fix for Safari in issue #118731. Determine if the fix was Safari specific or generic. Check the relevant commits and code in the VSCode repository handling vscode.env.openExternal. Look for detection of popup blocking and user prompts. Propose a similar detection for Chrome in GitHub Codespaces, possibly by checking for the blocked popup event or by using a different API.