[Bug - Edge Addons] Sidepanel API reloads app on every tab

[bjohnsonfrontsteps]

In edge, an angular app is re-initialized each time the user switches tabs while the global sidepanel is open. In chrome, the app is not re-initialized (expected behavior)

To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:

• Clone the repository at https://github.com/bjohnsonfrontsteps/extension-issue
• npm install
• run ng build
• load unpacked the www output folder in both chrome and edge
• click the extension to open the sidepanel. (this displays the reload count in the UI)
• In edge, with the sidepanel open, switch between tabs and notice the reload count increment.
• In chrome, with the sidepanel open, switch between tabs and notice the reload count remain at 1.

OS: [MacOS, Windows 11] Browser [Edge] Version [Version 130.0.2849.68 (Official build) (arm64)]

[ManikanthMSFT]

Hi @bjohnsonfrontsteps, thank you for reporting this. We are looking into this and will let you know as soon as we have an update.

[shoopapa]

We are also running into this issue on mac and windows, specifically these versions of Edge

Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/131.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Edg/131.0.0.0
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/131.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Edg/131.0.0.0

[ManikanthMSFT]

Hi @shoopapa, thank you for reporting this. We have forwarded this to our team and once we get an update we will write back to you.

[shoopapa]

Hi @ManikanthMSFT, bringing this up again. Sidepanel extensions are highly hindered on edge, we are having to store nearly every state value into local storage to persist state when users switch tabs, very untenable. (our use case has a form and its common for users to change tabs to find the values they need) Also happy to contribute if you can point me in the right direction

[nporchis]

Hello, We have the same issue on our side. Extension is reload each time a user move from a tab to another one.

Any update on this issue ?

Thank you !

[shoopapa]

@ManikanthMSFT Any news on this? I thought that the bug was solved but it seems to have reappeared

[JoeyVasconcelos]

does anyone have a solution for this issue? we are experiencing the same thing now

[Rahul-Bauri]

Hi @JoeyVasconcelos

I am Rahul from the Microsoft Edge Extensions Developer Support team.

Quick update from the internal team: resolving side panel-related issues is part of our future roadmap. We're currently re-evaluating the overall side panel strategy, which may lead to changes in the API design or behavior.

We're still waiting on further input from the concerned team. I’ll post updates here as soon as they’re available. In the meantime, if you have any technical insights, workarounds, or related observations, please share them in this thread to help inform the discussion.

[sszczep]

Hi @Rahul-Bauri, thanks for your support. Is there any ETA on that issue? It's blocking our development. Thanks

[Rahul-Bauri]

Hi @sszczep, I understand this bug is currently blocking your development process. At the moment, we don’t have a confirmed ETA to share. However, I’ll reach out to the internal team to check if they can provide a timeline and will make sure they’re aware of the urgency due to the impact on your development. I’ll keep you updated as soon as I hear back.

[augustVino]

I have also encountered this problem. In my project, I used react-router routing (createHashRouter). If createHashRouter is changed to createMemoryRouter, the side-panel page will no longer refresh after switching tabs. 😂😂 @sszczep You can also try it out~ But I haven't used createMemoryRouter before, and I don't know if there will be other issues when using it in a browser plugin. I hope the official team can fix this problem as soon as possible.

[xiaojunGitHub]

I have encountered the same issue and urgently need a solution. Please provide one as soon as possible. Thank you.

[lukaszch]

Is there any chance to speed up the resolution of this issue? Due to this behavior with extensions, many of our users will have to switch to an alternative browser. E.g., in Chrome, it works correctly. Only Edge is broken.

[Rahul-Bauri]

Hi @lukaszch @xiaojunGitHub

Our engineering team is actively working to resolve the side panel issue. At this time, I’m unable to provide a timeline for the fix, but please be assured that the team is aware and prioritising a solution as quickly as possible