Developing across multiple browsers and devices is the main issue developers have when building applications. Wouldn’t it be great to debug your app across desktop, Android and iOS with one tool? We believe the Web is powerful enough to offer a Mobile Web development solution that meets these needs!

Enter an experimental Firefox add-on called the Firefox Tools Adaptor that connects the Firefox Developer Tools to other major browser engines. This add-on is taking the awesome tools we’ve built to debug Firefox OS and Firefox on Android to the other major mobile browsers starting with Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS. So far these tools include our Inspector, Debugger and Console.

Nothing can replace on-device testing. But developer tools on devices have been cumbersome and vendor-specific. Cross-platform development involved learning and switching between all the different browsers developer tools.

This add-on allows you to use your desktop environment to work on several small screen devices without using up precious screen space. You simply use the device and find out what is going wrong on your computer – regardless of platform and browser engine on the device.

How the Add-on Works

Now Try it Out

This project is still in the early stages, but we put together a preview for developers who are curious or want to contribute. All it takes is the latest copy of Firefox Nightly and the add-on. Follow the Firefox Tools Adapter instructions to get started.

This preview works with Chrome 37 on Android, currently available as Chrome Beta, and Safari on iOS. Some parts work pretty well, some parts need some work. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

So What’s Under the Hood?

This add-on is a new implementation of the Firefox Developer Tools Protocol. Rather than interfacing directly with content, it speaks to the remote debugging protocol surfaced by Chrome and iOS. This implementation is hosted inside the Firefox process, and used internally by the Firefox Developer Tools.

When Will It Be Ready?

What we’re showing today is an early preview release. We’ll be actively developing it in the coming months, directed in large part by your feedback. We’ll keep you posted on new updates when they happen!

How to Contribute

The GitHub project page has instructions for getting involved with the code. Your feedback is also helpful: Talk to us on Twitter at @FirefoxDevTools, GitHub issues or UserVoice.