Write a chrome extension to console.log the active tab URL whenever a new page is loaded

Question

I want to write a chrome extension which records the current active tab URL every time a new site is loaded and send it to a server for further use. So far I have managed to write the following code: manifest.json

{
    "manifest_version": 2,
    "name": "Currenturl",
    "description": "Fetches current tab url.",
    "version": "0.1",
    "author": "Tarun Khare",
    "browser_action": {
        "default_icon": "icon.png",
        "default_title": "Just observing your current url."
    },
    "permissions": ["tabs", "activeTab"],
    "background": {
        "scripts": ["content.js"],
        "persistent": false
    }
}

content.js

chrome.tabs.query({'active': true, 'lastFocusedWindow': true}, function (tabs) {
    var url = tabs[0].url;
    console.log("hello: "+url);
});

I am using background scripts since chrome.tabs doesn't work in content scripts. But this extension is not printing anything in chrome console. What is the issue?

Answer 1

1. Rename content.js to background.js since this is a background script
2. Use chrome.tabs.onUpdated listener
3. Look at the correct console: Where to read console messages from background.js?

---

chrome.tabs.onUpdated.addListener((tabId, change, tab) => {
  if (change.url) {
    console.log(change.url);
  }
});

It'll report the URL changes in all tabs.
You can also limit the processing to only the active tab by adding a check for tab.active property.