ExtensionKit
Starter templates and utility scripts for Chrome Extensions
Over the last few years of building ExtensionKit, I've received a lot of questions from the community around various areas of extension development. With that, I set out to build an entire full-stack Chrome Extension development course...effectively everything I wish I knew when I first started out in the space.
The course is now live! The goal of the course is to master the art of building production-ready, full-stack Chrome Extensions using modern web technologies and best practices. Learn how to build a powerful, feature-rich extension that seamlessly integrates with a separate React UI and communicates with a shared Node.js API. It also covers a number of critical topics in the space like extension authentication, injecting SPA (React in this case) into web pages using content scripts, and much more.
Would love to hear any feedback on the overall structure of the course or the course landing page!
ChromeExtensionKit is now ExtensionKit. With the rebranding also comes a range of new enhancements and future plans to make extension development even easier for everyone. This post will go over why the change occurred, what exactly has changed, and briefly discuss some future plans with the platform as a whole.
Motivation
Previously, ChromeExtensionKit was a single download that contained both the ebook and all the extension starter templates. This worked initially, but as the number of starter and example templates grew, so did the overall size of the download. In addition to that, if a bug appeared or a small change was needed in a single template, you were forced to redownload the entire kit to get the latest version.
Changes
ExtensionKit is still a series of starter templates, however instead of a single zip file containing all of them, there is now a platform where you can individually download and manage templates as you see fit. Each starter or example template now has it's own page that explains what it is, how it can be used, and information around when it was last updated so you can decide if you need to download a newer version.
In addition to the new template pages, the following was also changed or added:
- Various new templates were added
- TypeScript variants of all React templates were added so you no longer need to manually convert React starters to TypeScript
- Ground up rewrite of development scripts to simplify and increase performance
- A variety of minor bug fixes throughout the templates
In addition to those highlighted changes, a dedicated documentation page was added where you can find more information on how various portions of each template work and how the development scripts function. Moreover, when you're signed into the dashboard, you will have access to a support page through the user menu where you can create support tickets about anything you may come across while using the templates or if you'd like to request new templates as well.
The overall goal with this move was to make it easier for everyone to find the templates they need and to keep them up to date, as well as to ensure you can get the support you need through your extension development journey.
Future Plans
While a lot has changed, there are a lot more new things planned that will slowly be added in the coming months, including:
- A community for all ExtensionKit members
- A public showcase where extensions built from ExtensionKit starters will be displayed on the main site
- Ability to opt into notifications for specific templates so you can find out right away if a change was made
- Many new starter and example templates planned
- Vue.js template support
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Amazing product, I bought access for a new extension Im working on!
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Thank you, I appreciate the support and all the best on your extension! If you ever have any feedback or suggestions for the product, I've love to hear them.
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Just wrapped up my first extension using your kit! Have you thought about extending the kit to support other browsers?
Side note I would love to get your feedback on it if interested?
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Congratulations, that's huge! I'd love to take a look at it. Regarding the other browser support, that is definitely a roadmap item (I'll double check its on the official roadmap for visibility); I'm thinking at the moment of a conversion script that can be run, but haven't fully settled on an approach just yet.
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Awesome definitely keep me posted. My goal is to start targeting some of the other browsers (i.e. firefox) pretty soon.
The webpage is eventspotter dot app (apparently I can't post links yet haha)
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I will for sure! Also, I took a look at the extension and it looks great, awesome job with it. It's super clear what it is based off the screenshots alone but the writeup on the Chrome Web store makes it that much more clear as well.
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Chrome Extension Kit was launched today on Product Hunt after version 2.0 was complete. This version includes a number of new starters and example, but most importantly, it upgrades everything in the kit to support Chrome's new Manifest V3 for the extension platform.
A week or so ago I applied to the AppSumo Marketplace and was accepted a couple days back. The entire process was pretty straightforward and I got the email today saying the deal page was live. It's the first time I've had a product on AppSumo, so I'm curious to see how it will go.
Also, in case anyone is interested, the AppSumo listing for ChromeExtensionKit is a bit cheaper than the current launch price on our main site.
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hey, awesome job with this project! would love to hear how your distribution channels have worked out and how you've continued to grow!
Just crossed the $2000 mark today! That translates to roughly 160 kits sold. To date, HackerNews is still my biggest source of sales (highest conversion as well). Previously, I wrote about where my first 100 sales came from and that has roughly stayed the same. Once I hit 200 sales, I will most likely determine the breakdown again.
ChromeExtensionKit was just featured on BetaList. I actually submitted the kit to BetaList a couple months back, but I'm excited to see it go live! I know the review process can sometimes be lengthy there, but I usually always get some constructive feedback from the community.
Today ChromeExtensionKit officially hit 100 sales. This translates to roughly $1500 sold in a little over a month since launching on August 3, 2020 and the bulk of that has come from here, Product Hunt, and HackerNews.
I'm excited for the next steps and finding ways to continue to grow the kit post-launch.
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It looks like a great product and should save people a bunch of time. I have a few suggestions:
- include actual screenshots or cropped pictures of the result of templates.
- show case the templates, rather than hide it away in a FAQ.
Extremely excited to finally have Chrome Extension Kit launch on Product Hunt!
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/chrome-extension-kit
This marks the first product I've officially launched on Product Hunt and I can't wait to see where it goes.
I would love to hear any feedback or comments on the launch!
Just passed the $500 mark today for ChromeExtensionKit! I've been getting a pretty steady flow of customers trickling in, however I'm hoping to increase that with some other techniques like blogging and implementing a "Showcase" that features a bunch of extensions created using the starters in the kit.
Just had my 30th sale for ChromeExtensionKit. I'm pretty excited with the growth so far and the landing page seems to converting well. I've also had some great initial feedback from customers and even some ideas for additional elements that are currently in the works.
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