Skip to main content

QuickSift: My First Chrome Extension is Now Live!


I’m thrilled to announce the successful publication of QuickSift, my very first Chrome Extension, now officially available on the Chrome Web Store! 🎉

In my previous post, I shared the exciting (and slightly nerve-wracking) journey of submitting my extension for review. If you’re curious about the submission process or considering publishing your own extension, you can check out that post here.

While the process went smoothly overall, there was one hiccup: I initially requested the activeTab permission without actually using it in my extension. Once I identified the issue, I removed the unnecessary permission and resubmitted my work. Thankfully, QuickSift sailed through the review process on the second attempt! Seeing it live on the Chrome Web Store is a surreal and deeply rewarding experience.

What is QuickSift?

QuickSift was born from my own browsing habits. I’m a Reddit enthusiast—Reddit is my go-to source for everything from life hacks to obscure troubleshooting tips. But let’s face it: Reddit’s built-in search functionality is... less than stellar.

For years, I’ve had a simple workaround: appending the word "reddit" to all my Google searches. It’s a habit I’ve honed to perfection:

  • “how to train a dog reddit”
  • “why did my pasta sauce break reddit”
  • “best Chrome extensions reddit”

It works like a charm, but typing those six extra characters every time started to feel like something I should automate. That’s when inspiration struck.

Enter QuickSift.

QuickSift is a Chrome extension that automates this process for me. When toggled on, it appends "site:reddit.com" to all my Google searches, delivering Reddit-specific results instantly. But I didn’t stop there—I extended the functionality to include toggles for Stack Overflow and YouTube as well.

Not in the mood to limit your searches to these sites? No problem—simply toggle QuickSift off, and your searches go back to normal.

How Does It Work?

QuickSift is lightweight yet effective. Here’s a brief technical rundown of how it functions:

  1. Host Permissions: QuickSift uses the "google.com" host permission to detect and modify Google searches.
  2. Storage API: User preferences (e.g., toggled sites) are saved using Chrome’s storage API, allowing you to set it and forget it - and this functionality extends across chrome accounts so your preferences are stored across multiple devices.
  3. Tabs API: It listens for tab updates to ensure it only modifies searches when appropriate, maintaining a seamless browsing experience.

The extension’s code is simple yet efficient—a reflection of my goal to make something functional and easy to use.

What’s Next?

QuickSift has been incredibly useful for me, and I’m curious—does it resonate with your browsing habits?

  • Do you have a favourite website you always filter results for?
  • Would you find QuickSift helpful in streamlining your searches?

I’m already brainstorming future updates, including a customizable version of QuickSift. Imagine being able to add your own preferred sites or even complex filters! I’d love to hear your ideas. What features would you like to see in QuickSift 2.0?

Try QuickSift Today!

If QuickSift sounds like something you’d use, you can check it out on the Chrome Web Store here. Download it, give it a spin, and let me know what you think!

Thank you for joining me on this exciting journey. Building QuickSift was a fun challenge, and I’m excited to finally share it with the world.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Submitting My First Chrome Extension

 What I learned Along the Way I’m excited to share that I’ve officially submitted my very first Chrome extension for review! It’s a free tool designed to help simplify Google searches. Now, I know what you’re thinking—can Google searches really get any easier? And my answer... well, for me at least, the answer is yes. I have this weird habit when it comes to searching for information, one that involves a repetitive action. I recently realized that noticing repetition is a powerful way to discover new projects. I know I’m being vague here, but trust me—stay tuned! Once the extension is officially live on the Chrome Store, I’ll be sharing the full post detailing what I’ve built; it's a simple yet useful tool! The Process of Publishing an Extension on the Chrome Store Let’s talk about the process of publishing an extension. Honestly, I was surprised at how straightforward it was. Here’s what you’ll need to get started: A compressed file containing your manifest, JavaScript files, and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome to CodeQuest118

My Journey Through 118 Coding Projects What do you do when the job market shifts, opportunities shrink, and the confidence you once had feels miles away? For me, the answer isn’t entirely clear yet. But one thing I do know is that I can keep building, learning, and sharing as I figure it all out. CodeQuest118 is my answer to a challenging job market and a passion I’ve always had for solving puzzles. This is my journey through 118 technology projects—a space where I can grow, experiment, and document everything I learn along the way. Whether anyone else reads this or not, this blog is here to remind me just how far I’ve come. But if you’re here, welcome! I hope it inspires you to build something.
Post a Comment
Read more

Perfection Paralysis

You can't edit a blank page. - Jodi Picoult   So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Truthfully, I’ve hit a bit of a stall in my development. Here’s to hoping that writing this post helps me work through the funk! I’ve been working on a relatively large project. Actually, it’s technically two projects rolled into one. When I finish, I might even claim I’ve completed two separate projects. Is that cheating? Maybe. But who’s counting? If you’ve been following along, you might notice a theme here: just like HIITGenius.com , this project ties back to my part-time job as a gymnastics coach. I promise not all my projects will have a gymnastics connection! But when you think about it, it makes sense. Projects are often born out of your day-to-day life—the things you know, see, and ultimately decide you can improve upon. At my job, we track our hours the old-fashioned way: pen, and paper. It’s not fancy, but it’s been working for over a decade. That said, I know it could be better. So,...
Post a Comment
Read more