This is on Mac 10.8
I have written Google Chrome Extension and a Native Messaging executable which communicates with the Chrome Extension using Native Messaging. All works fine with my Proof of Concept as part of development.
Issue is that now I want to get it deployed. I have my in house installer which by which I need to create a com.my_company.my_product.json manifest file inside of this /Library/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts directory which cannot be accessed unless I ask for the password of the admin user.
I am doing this port as part of migration of NPPlugin to Chrome Extension Native messaging communication which will replace the NPPlugin. NPPlugin can be accessed from both /Library as well as ~/Library which does not require sudo permissions.
Why does the manifest file need to be at root /Library level ad not user ~/library level? If so how can we get this installed on a Mac without bothering the user with admin password which the user will obviously be less likely to share.
If anyone has a solution, the Native Executable is a C++ program that can use Mac API calls.
Your understanding is correct. The Chromium team is investigating user directories as an additional option. Ensuring continuing security is the primary concern. I'll update this answer when there's more to report. (Update 6/1/2014: see Rob W.'s comment to this answer)