Metadata Block
Description
The metadata block is a section of a user script that describes the script. It usually contains the script name, namespace, description, and include and exclude rules. The metadata block appears in JavaScript line comments and may appear anywhere in the top level Greasemonkey code scope of the script, but is usually near the top of the file.
If the metadata block includes a key that Greasemonkey does not understand, it will be ignored.
Syntax
The metadata block must follow the format:
// ==UserScript== // @key value // ==/UserScript==
It must use line comments (//) like above, not block comments (/* */).
Note that the opening // ==UserScript== and closing // ==/UserScript== must be precisely at the beginning of its line.
Some keys may have multiple values.
In all cases the key and value(s) are separated by whitespace.
The closing ==/UserScript== line should be at the end of the metadata block (not at the end of the script).
@description
Example:
// @description This script even does the laundry!
Just a brief summary of what the script does, presented to the user as the script is installed, and in the manage dialog.
As of Greasemonkey 2.2: can be localized for multiple languages; see the #@name documentation for more detail.
@exclude
Examples: see @include
See Include and exclude rules. There can be any number of @exclude rules in a script.
@grant
See dedicated @grant page.
@icon
Example:
// @icon http://www.example.org/icon.png
The icon is, as of Greasemonkey 0.9.0, displayed in the script management interface. Almost any image will work, but a 32x32 pixel size is best. This value may be specified relative to the URL the script itself is downloaded from.
@include
Examples:
// @include http://www.example.com/* // @include http://* // @include *
See Include and exclude rules. There can be any number of @include rules in a script.
@match
Examples:
// @match https://www.example.com/* // @match http://*.example.com/*
The @match metadata imperative is very similar to @include, however it is safer.
It sets more strict rules on what the * character means.
For details, see the documentation on Match Patterns for Google Chrome.
Chrome implemented @match first, and Greasemonkey has been designed to be compatible.
@name
Example:
// @name Example Script
The name of the script. This appears in the monkey menu, and is also the unique identifier of a script (within a namespace). If no name is provided, it will be derived from the file name.
As of Greasemonkey 2.2: can be localized for multiple languages, for example:
// @name Example Script // @name:cs Uživatelské skripty // @name:es-MX Ejemplo Script // @name:ru Пользовательские скрипты
Add a colon and the locale code, which is the ISO 639 language code and optionally a hyphen and ISO 3166 country code, when disambiguation is necessary. When the user's browser is configured with the matching primary language, that value will be displayed instead.
@namespace
Example:
// @namespace http://www.example.com/gmscripts
The combination of namespace and name is the unique identifier for a Greasemonkey script. If a script is being installed, and a script with that same name and namespace already exists, it will be replaced by the new script. Otherwise, the new script is added to the set of installed scripts. A script author will usually put all of their scripts under one common namespace, and then assign each script a unique name.
While the namespace is non-semantic, a URL is often used. Some authors use the common home page for the collection of scripts they have written. But remember, the namespace can be any unique value.
@noframes
Example:
// @noframes
When present, this imperative restricts the execution of the script. The script will run only in the top-level document, never in nested frames. It takes no arguments, it is either present or not present. This is off (scripts run in frames) by default.
@require
Example:
// @require http://www.example.com/example.js
There can be any number of @require keys in a script. Each @require is downloaded once, when the script is installed, and stored on the user's hard drive alongside the script. The URL specified may be relative to the URL the script is being installed from.
Note that since Greasemonkey 0.9.0, if Greasemonkey detects that the @require value(s) have been altered, these new values will be used (thus each @require shall be re-downloaded).
See also:
@resource
Example:
// @resource resourceName http://www.example.com/example.png
There can be any number of @resource keys in a script.
While the resourceName is non-semantic, it should comply with JavaScript identifier restrictions. Each @resource must have a unique name.
Each @resource is downloaded once, when the script is installed, and stored on the user's hard drive alongside the script. The URL specified may be relative to the URL the script is being installed from.
These named resources may be accessed through GM_getResourceText and GM_getResourceURL respectively.
Note that since Greasemonkey 0.9.0, if Greasemonkey detects that the @resource value(s) have been altered, these new values will be used (thus each @resource shall be re-downloaded).
See also:
@run-at
- Compatibility: Limited support in Greasemonkey 4.0.
Example:
// @run-at document-end
This key supports three values:
- document-end
- The default if no value is provided. The script will run after the main page is loaded, but before other resources (images, style sheets, etc.) have loaded. The only guaranteed working value in Greasemonkey 4.x.
- document-start
- The script will run before any document begins loading, thus before any scripts run or images load.
- document-idle
- The script will run after the page and all resources (images, style sheets, etc.) are loaded and page scripts have run.
To detect if you are running at document-start time, check the value of document.readyState.
For example:
if ('loading' == document.readyState) {
alert("This script is running at document-start time.");
} else {
alert("This script is running with document.readyState: " + document.readyState);
}
Scripts running at document-end will have the value interactive here.
@version
Example:
// @version 1
The version is used by the auto-update feature. When `@version` is set and if the auto-update feature is enabled, Greasemonkey will check periodically for new versions of the script by downloading it again (from same location where it was originally installed). If the new downloaded `@version` is higher, the update will be installed. Greasemonkey uses the compare-versions library to determine when a version is higher/greater/newer.
Examples
// ==UserScript== // @name My Script // @namespace http://www.example.com/gmscripts // @description Scripting is fun // @include http://www.example.com/* // @include http://www.example.org/* // @exclude http://www.example.org/foo // @require foo.js // @resource resourceName1 resource1.png // @resource resourceName2 http://www.example.com/resource2.png // @version 1.0 // @icon http://www.example.net/icon.png // ==/UserScript==
Adding Resources
Two metadata imperatives allow downloading files (once, at install time) for efficient reference: First @require, which includes a remote code resource. Second @resource, which makes a remote data resource available.
It is possible to add a new entry for either of these values, while editing a script that is already installed. In either case, simply add the appropriate line and the referenced file will be downloaded and made available the next time the script runs. If you specify a relative URL, then it will be interpreted as relative to the the URL the script was originally downloaded from.
