contacts API
The addressBooks API, also including the contacts API and mailingLists API namespaces, first appeared in Thunderbird 64.
Permissions
Read and modify your address books and contacts
Transfer sensitive user data (if access has been granted) to a remote server for further processing
Functions
create(parentId, [id], properties)
Adds a new contact to the address book with the id parentId.
Parameters
parentId
(string)
[id]
(string, optional)
Assigns the contact an id. If an existing contact has this id, an exception is thrown. Note: Deprecated, the card’s id should be specified in the vCard string instead.
The properties object for the new contact. If it includes a vCard member, all specified legacy properties are ignored and the new contact will be based on the provided vCard string. If a UID is specified in the vCard string, which is already used by another contact, an exception is thrown. Note: Using individual properties is deprecated, use the vCard member instead.
Return type (Promise)
string
The ID of the new contact.
Required permissions
delete(id)
Removes a contact from the address book. The contact is also removed from any mailing lists it is a member of.
Parameters
id
(string)
Required permissions
get(id)
Gets a single contact.
Parameters
id
(string)
Return type (Promise)
Required permissions
getPhoto(id)
– [Added in TB 106]
Gets the photo associated with this contact, if any.
Parameters
id
(string)
Required permissions
list(parentId)
Gets all the contacts in the address book with the id parentId.
Parameters
parentId
(string)
Return type (Promise)
array of ContactNode
Required permissions
quickSearch([parentId], queryInfo)
Gets all contacts matching queryInfo in the address book with the id parentId.
Parameters
[parentId]
(string, optional)
The id of the address book to search. If not specified, all address books are searched.
Return type (Promise)
array of ContactNode
Required permissions
setPhoto(id, file)
– [Added in TB 107]
Sets the photo associated with this contact.
Required permissions
update(id, properties)
Updates a contact.
Parameters
id
(string)
An object with properties to update the specified contact. Individual properties are removed, if they are set to null. If the provided object includes a vCard member, all specified legacy properties are ignored and the details of the contact will be replaced by the provided vCard. Changes to the UID will be ignored. Note: Using individual properties is deprecated, use the vCard member instead.
Required permissions
Events
onCreated
Fired when a contact is created.
Parameters for onCreated.addListener(listener)
listener(node)
A function that will be called when this event occurs.
Parameters passed to the listener function
Required permissions
onDeleted
Fired when a contact is removed from an address book.
Parameters for onDeleted.addListener(listener)
listener(parentId, id)
A function that will be called when this event occurs.
Parameters passed to the listener function
parentId
(string)
id
(string)
Required permissions
onUpdated
Fired when a contact is changed.
Parameters for onUpdated.addListener(listener)
listener(node, changedProperties)
A function that will be called when this event occurs.
Parameters passed to the listener function
Required permissions
Types
ContactNode
A node representing a contact in an address book.
object
id
(string)
The unique identifier for the node. IDs are unique within the current profile, and they remain valid even after the program is restarted.
Always set to contact.
[parentId]
(string, optional)
The id of the parent object.
[readOnly]
(boolean, optional)
Indicates if the object is read-only.
[remote]
(boolean, optional)
Indicates if the object came from a remote address book.
ContactProperties
A set of individual properties for a particular contact, and its vCard string. Further information can be found in Working with vCard contacts.
object
<custom properties>
(string)
Custom properties are not saved in the users vCard. Therefore, they are not transferred to the users server, if the contact is stored on a remote CardDAV server. Names of custom properties may include a-z, A-Z, 1-9 and _.
<legacy properties>
(string)
Legacy properties point to certain fields in the contacts vCard string and provide direct read/write access.
vCard
(string)
– [Added in TB 102]
The contacts vCard string.
PropertyChange
– [Added in TB 83]
A dictionary of changed properties. Keys are the property name that changed, values are an object containing oldValue and newValue. Values can be either a string or null.
object
QueryInfo
– [Added in TB 91]
Object defining a query for quickSearch([parentId], queryInfo).
object
[includeLocal]
(boolean, optional)
Whether to include results from local address books. Defaults to true.
[includeReadOnly]
(boolean, optional)
Whether to include results from read-only address books. Defaults to true.
[includeReadWrite]
(boolean, optional)
Whether to include results from read-write address books. Defaults to true.
[includeRemote]
(boolean, optional)
Whether to include results from remote address books. Defaults to true.
[searchString]
(string, optional)
One or more space-separated terms to search for.