Extension
The browser extension is plain JavaScript — no bundler, no transpilation. Edit, build, reload, repeat.
Prerequisites
- Node 18+ (the build script uses it to generate translation bundles).
- Python 3 — only if regenerating icons.
First build
git clone https://github.com/phonlab-tcd/web_reader_extension.git
cd web_reader_extension
./build.sh
This outputs an unpacked extension for each browser. Load it the usual way:
| Browser | How |
|---|---|
| Chrome / Edge / Brave | chrome://extensions/ → Developer mode → Load unpacked |
| Firefox | about:debugging → Load Temporary Add-on |
Edit loop
After source edits: re-run ./build.sh and click the extension's reload button.
Firefox has an auto-reload option:
npm install -g web-ext
cd dist/firefox
web-ext run
Debugging
| Surface | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Chrome service worker | Extensions page → service worker link |
| Firefox background | about:debugging → Inspect |
| Content scripts | Page DevTools (F12), filter the console by WebReader |
Ready to ship? See Production → Extension.