MV2 extensions are deprecated and will be unsupported in 2023. MV3 extensions don’t work in Vivaldi … so where to go from here?

I recently got a mail from Google informing me that manifest V2 is deprecated now and will no longer be supported within the next year.

https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/mv3/mv2-sunset/

This means, that developers are forced to use MV3 instead of using MV2 if they want to publish their new extensions and eventually update their existing extensions.

In June 2023 MV2 will be removed from Chrome. I am pretty sure it will be removed from Chromioum oipen source platform.

In the past not supporting MV3 already caused issues.

• https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/66575/manifest-v3-service-worker-inactive
• https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/59868/can-t-get-started-with-developing-an-extension-in-vivaldi
• https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/55016/failed-to-register-a-serviceworker
• https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/76952/support-firefox-extensions/
• etc.

The Vivaldi developers opposed MV3 due to various reasons. But since last month no new MV2 extensions are allowed in Google’s extensions store so Vivaldi will be left behind if no MV3 support is added.

What they said here in the context of AdBlockers is no useful or realistic option.

If the API is removed […] we might look into creating a limited extensions store.

Like it or not: MV3 is inevitable. Extension developers WILL shift to manifest version 3 and extensions WILL stop working in Vivaldi because of this.

Even if the devs are somehow able to hack MV2 support back into the base: there won’t be any MV2 extensions available by mid-2023 and a limited extension store is not a solution because it can only contain outdated or “hacked” (i.e. modified to support MV2) extensions not officially supported by the extension’s creators.