Don’t forget about user scripts, which are between bookmarklets and browser extensions in terms of complexity. Unlike bookmarklets, user scripts run automatically when relevant web pages load without needing to be clicked on. Unlike both bookmarklets and browser extensions, you can create and install a user script in only one minute, and you don’t have to leave the browser. I use the extension Violentmonkey for user scripts.
There are situational convenient alternatives to user scripts. If you only want to fix the look of a site by applying CSS, you can write a user style for the extension Stylus. And if you only want to delete certain elements on a site, you can add custom filters to uBlock Origin.
Be warned that user scripts and user styles will stop working in Google Chrome some time in 2025, due to Chrome’s plans to prevent installation of extensions that depend on Manifest v2 APIs. So only invest in writing user scripts or styles if you’re willing to use a browser that will continue supporting Manifest v2 extensions, such as Firefox. (I think most uBlock Origin custom filters can still be implemented with Manifest v3 APIs, though you’ll have to migrate to a different ad-blocking extension from uBlock Origin, which will continue to depend on Manifest v2.)
I thought about adding user scripts to the post, I didn’t do it because I never really used them and I was mostly documenting my own journey there. But they are awesome and I want to experiment with them too.
Don’t forget about user scripts, which are between bookmarklets and browser extensions in terms of complexity. Unlike bookmarklets, user scripts run automatically when relevant web pages load without needing to be clicked on. Unlike both bookmarklets and browser extensions, you can create and install a user script in only one minute, and you don’t have to leave the browser. I use the extension Violentmonkey for user scripts.
There are situational convenient alternatives to user scripts. If you only want to fix the look of a site by applying CSS, you can write a user style for the extension Stylus. And if you only want to delete certain elements on a site, you can add custom filters to uBlock Origin.
Be warned that user scripts and user styles will stop working in Google Chrome some time in 2025, due to Chrome’s plans to prevent installation of extensions that depend on Manifest v2 APIs. So only invest in writing user scripts or styles if you’re willing to use a browser that will continue supporting Manifest v2 extensions, such as Firefox. (I think most uBlock Origin custom filters can still be implemented with Manifest v3 APIs, though you’ll have to migrate to a different ad-blocking extension from uBlock Origin, which will continue to depend on Manifest v2.)
I thought about adding user scripts to the post, I didn’t do it because I never really used them and I was mostly documenting my own journey there. But they are awesome and I want to experiment with them too.
It does appear you can still use userscripts in Chromium with Manifest v3, as long as you enable developer mode. This is, admittedly, rather suboptimal.