Google Chrome Extensions for People Who Build Websites | Hacker News Reader

Google Chrome Extensions for People Who Build Websites

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118 pointstswicegood30 comments

The Chrome extension gallery has a category for web developer tools: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/featured/web_dev

I don't know how the article missed Speed Tracer. https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ognampngfcbddbfe...

They also missed iMacros for Chrome - great for web regression tests (record & replay). A bit like Selenium, but easier to use for quick testing/performance measurements. https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/deckhobdafgddagl...

No stylebot? For me, it's the biggest innovation in CSS editing since Firebug.

http://stylebot.me/

thank you so much for this - right when I needed it !

I was just looking for this yesterday but couldn't remember what it was called.

Until there's a full version of Firebug available for Chome, I'll be sticking with Firefox for development work.

I agree with you that Chrome dev tools are lacking a bit, but what do you miss specifically?

I find that the JS debugger is far better (or at least since the last time I worked with Firebug). That's enough for me.

- multi-line javascript console

- inline viewing of ajax requests

- go to link that works

- urls that work

- keyboard shortcuts for debugging (go to line, create breakpoint)

- inspector with more options

- easier to edit inline html with highlighting not raw text

- connecting to console via other extensions (chrome API is very small compared to firefox API)

- Better search in scripts

- Better search in DOM tree

- Better search in inspector

- Less clicking when viewing remote content

- Displaying remote content that works (file is loaded, content tab is empty)

Only a matter of time before it's implemented in chrome. But, firebug already has all this stuff and it makes a huge difference when debugging JS

Note: I wrote a couple of chrome extensions. Therefore, I cumulated more frustration than the average JS developer on chrome because switching to firebug is not even an option in my case ;-)

haha, that's a great list. A few of those have bothered me in passing (inline html/css editing, shortcuts, following links without resource tracking).

If you need multiline and you're on a Mac (not sure about Windows), you've got option+return in the console.

i did not recognize this until recently so i sympathize; but the chrome inspector has a javascript environment superior to firebug. i do suppose this is arguable, though.

more objectively, you can definitely review ajax requests in the inspector- and I actually think this feature is superior as well.

interestingly, I actually learned to love the chrome inspector because I was so fed up with using firefox in general (enough so that it's debugging capabilities did not outweigh the cons).

> - keyboard shortcuts for debugging (go to line, create breakpoint)

F1 shows shortcuts. ⌘G: Go to Line

How do you create a breakpoint with shortcut?

In addition to hbt's complaints, the ability to see responses to requests from Flash, and not ripping out get vars from the URL would be incredibly useful (our api all talks to the same endpoint, but the method name is the first get var, making it really easy to find the proper call in Firebug, and a bitch to do the same in Chrome developer tools

Honestly, now that I think about it, my biggest gripe is that Firebug lite on Chrome feels like an add-on. On Firefox, it feels native, and thus more usable (to me).

I've toyed around with various bookmarklet utilities to aid front-end developers. Firebug lite feels like one of those to me. I (maybe wrongly) perceive those as lightweight utilities.

Based on your comment, it sounds like my issue may be more with usability than functionality. I haven't even given the lite version enough of a chance since I didn't realize the JS debugger might be superior.

For the record, most of the time I'll use Firebug to tweak/debug some CSS. I'll also use it to track down JS issues. I've recently started to use it for server-side debugging with a couple php extensions.

Right now, Chrome is my primary browser (OSX). I'd love to use it exclusively, but I still find myself bouncing between the two when developing. (Sometimes I find myself getting lost in a cycle of Safari, Chrome and Firefox windows, but that's a whole 'nother issue.)

Edit: Fixed my use of parentheses.

I wasn't actually talking about Firebug Lite. I use Chrome Developer Tools (cmd+option+I mac, ctrl+shift+I pc). They are very Firebug-like.

For anyone using the "color picker" extension, there is a better option (Windows only, sorry). I use ClipX, which is a utility for having clipboard history (i.e., you can ctrl+c 10 things and have them all available.) It's amazingly useful, and works exactly as you'd expect out of the box.

It has an extension called Color Picker, which gives you a shortcut for popping up a Color Picker/Eye Dropper tool whenever and wherever you want, anywhere inside you Operating System. It's customizable as to what exactly gets copied to your clipboard. It is a much better option than having an extension, IMO, both because it's part of a utility I use anyway, and because it is available anywhere inside Windows, not just your browser.

It's Windows only; which you did mention, but only at the very end of your comment.

For OSX I use 'DigitalColor Meter', comes with all OS X's and isn't browser based. Can do Hex + RGB, install Afloat and you can keep it above all windows on your mac.

i really like agave on ubuntu, using color theory

As much as I liked that list, I stopped from installing all of them, because they scare me. Call me stupid and paranoid, but I dont understand why a friggin "color-picker"-extension would require full access to my browsing history. If anyboy can explain, I d be glad to be informed on why that is.

The title is a little yucky with the "15", but the extensions mentioned are legitimately useful to web devs.

I think it's OK when it's not a top. The title is just stating the fact that 15 extensions are listed.

The color picker module does not do what is stated in this article, did they even try it? The feedback section for color picker is riddled with comments that it doesn't do what people would naturally think it would do (pick out a color on the page using an 'eye dropper' like functionality.

Fortunately, there is both an actual 'eye dropper' extension and the 'color pick' extension. Eye dropper never worked for me on my Linux box, but color pick works like a charm. Here is its extension page: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ohcpnigalekghcmg...

A couple more I find useful:

- Evernote Web Clipper - for saving code snippets and notes about projects - Resize Window - to open a page in a resolution of your choice. Very useful. - Awesome Screenshot - take a screenshot and let people know what you think about a page ... if you're using Safari, Coda Notes is much nicer, though :)

And, of course, the developer tools included in Chrome (first in Safari ... and they still are nicer there) are great, too.

Any more extensions HN users find useful?

Refer to http://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc for formatting options.

Feel free to add a couple of links

About chrome extensions: You might like vimium http://github.com/philc/vimium

If I could upvote you more I would! Vimium in Chrome is the bees knees! The best extension ever made, no discussion.

It needs a bit more work (if you compare it to vimperator on firefox). Especially some essential things like cursor mode, visual mode, bookmarks and keymarks

Take a look at my fork (and others) for more stuff. http://github.com/hbt/vimium

Thanks for the info ... I thought just pressing return once would make a new line, but obviously was wrong.

So, for links:

- Evernote Web Clipper for Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/pioclpoplcdbaefi...

- Window Resizer: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kkelicaakdanhinj...

- Awesome Screenshot: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/alelhddbbhepgpmg...

- GleeBox is another pretty awesome extension for navigating pages via keyboard shortcuts: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/miinkdcjglbkbanp...

And for Safari: Coda Notes - http://www.panic.com/blog/2010/07/coda-notes-for-safari-now-...

Vimium looks nice ... I'll have to give that a try.

Firebug Lite link seems to be broken in the article. This link works:

https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bmagokdooijbeehm...

save

I like cqstyle for editing CSS in Chrome. However, I may be partial since I wrote it.

https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kgjoohfhbbdcbnec...

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