Extensionizr: Chrome extension boilerplate generator
extensionizr.com
extensionizr.com
Firefox equivalent. Probably not as detailed, but still.
while the actual work of the extension may be done in a web app, extensions get more access to the interface of a browser than a normal web app
example: the Buffer extension could probably just be a button that simply loads a JS file from their servers that does all the real work. WIthout being an extension, you wouldn't have the convenience of having the button on every page you view.
One comment though, I would try to avoid building a whole JSON structure in the URL of GET, as in:
http://extensionizr.com/!#{"modules":["hidden-mode","with-bg",
"with-persistent-bg","with-custom-options","no-override","inject-css",
"inject-js","omnibox","jquerymin","angular"],"boolean_perms":
["bookmarks","chrome://favicon/","clipboardRead","clipboardWrite",
"contentSettings","contextMenus","cookies","fileBrowserHandler",
"tts","ttsEngine","history","idle","management","notifications",
"tabs","geolocation"],"match_ptrns":[]}
Also, when sending in post body, converting it to Base64 before sending on the wire, e.g.:
btoa(JSON.stringify($Object))Great way to get started on an extension. Would love to see this go cross-browser.