Can I send message from popup.js to content script without having a background script?

Question

Up till now I am sending message from popup.js to background.js then to content.js in Chrome Extension. I am using background script as a intermediate.

I simply want to know if I can send message directly to content script without having a background script

Answer 1

Yes you can. The only difference between the popup and background pages is that the popup is only loaded while the popup is open. All the api's that you can use in the background page you can also use in the popup. So for example if you want to send a message to the content script in the current tab:

chrome.tabs.query({active:true,currentWindow:true},function(tabs){
  //tabs is an array even if there is only one result
  var message = "stuff goes here";
  chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tabs[0].id,message,function(response){
    //in case you want a response
  });
});