Fixing the Blank Screen Issue in Your Ionic v5 React Chrome Extension

Описание: Discover how to resolve the blank screen issue in your Ionic v5 React app running as a Chrome extension with this step-by-step guide.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64048113/ asked by the user 'ppmag' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8338496/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64093411/ provided by the user 'ppmag' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8338496/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Troubleshooting the Blank Screen Issue in Ionic v5 React Chrome Extensions

If you've ever tried to launch an Ionic v5 React application as a Google Chrome extension, you may have encountered a frustrating problem: a blank screen upon loading. In this guide, we'll explore the common causes of this issue and walk you through a straightforward solution. Let's dive in!

Problem Overview

When creating an Ionic v5 React-based application, you might find that while the app performs flawlessly as a regular web app or even as an Angular-based starter app, it fails to render properly when loaded as a Chrome extension. The result is a blank popup screen, with no apparent errors showing in the Developer Tools console.

Here's a quick checklist of what works versus what doesn't:

What Works

The regular web app using the command: serve -s build runs smoothly.

The same starter app, but with Angular, functions as expected.

What Doesn’t Work

The Ionic v5 React app shows a blank screen as a Chrome extension.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

If you're looking to reproduce this problem, follow these steps:

Create a new Ionic app using:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Replace the ./ionic_ext/public/manifest.json with a relaxed extension manifest (as shown in the original question).

Add a specific CSS style snippet to the ./ionic_ext/public/index.html file.

Build the Ionic app with:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Load the unpacked extension into Chrome from the ./ionic_ext/public/build directory.

When you open the popup, expect to see just a blank screen. DevTools may show no console errors, complicating troubleshooting.

Solution: Explicit Route Specification

After studying the issue, the solution becomes clear: an explicit route specification in your app. It seems that Google Chrome's built-in extension webserver behaves differently from regular web servers, particularly around URL routing.

Here's How to Fix It:

Open src/App.tsx in your project.

Modify the routing to replace the path / with /index.html. Use the following code snippet:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Why This Works:

By specifying the route explicitly as /index.html, you're addressing potential redirect issues within Chrome's extension framework. This change ensures that when the extension tries to load the root path, it serves the correct component, resolving the blank screen problem.

Conclusion

Running Ionic v5 React apps as Chrome extensions can pose unique challenges, as highlighted by the common blank screen issue. However, by following the simple fix we discussed—implementing an explicit route specification—you can overcome this hurdle. Now, your app should function as intended, giving you a seamless experience in both web and extension environments.

Happy coding and may your Ionic endeavors be fruitful!