[mhalachev]

Summary

This PR addresses apache/netbeans#6601, which tracks the legacy Chrome connector becoming unavailable in current versions of the browser.

I used OpenAI Codex to implement the port and run automated checks.

• Ported the Chrome NetBeans Connector to Manifest V3;
• Replaced the persistent background page with a service worker;
• Used runtime messages for the popup, preset editor, and DevTools panel.

The port preserves the IDE protocol, auto-refresh, Browser DOM, Inspect in NetBeans Mode, Debug in NetBeans, and editable window-size presets.

Validation

• Loaded the unpacked extension in a disposable Chrome profile and tested it against NetBeans 31 with an HTML project. Verified reload, Browser DOM, inspection, debugging, preset editing, and DevTools write-back.
• Checked JavaScript syntax and exercised tab registration, debugger commands, preset saving.

Thanks to @mpizeli for sharing Netbeans ReConnector and renewing interest in the migration.

Try it locally

Check out this PR branch. In Chrome, open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, and select webcommon/extbrowser.chrome/plugins/chrome with Load unpacked. Run an HTML project from NetBeans with Chrome and NetBeans integration enabled.

Using a test Chrome profile is recommended. If either the Original NetBeans Connector or ReConnector by @mpizeli is loaded in that profile, remove it first because the two extensions share the connector ID. DevTools write-back can be enabled in the NetBeans panel in Chrome DevTools.