# Improving websites with a personal browser extension

Published: 2025-07-14T00:00:00.000Z
Updated: 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wow.pjh.is/journal/ph-mods

Perhaps my favourite vibe-coding project: a personal browser extension that tailors websites to my needs.

Over the past year or so, I've accumulated features like the following:

## 1. Summarise articles

I press `ALT + S` to get a summary of the current web page, right in my web browser.

It uses progressive summarisation, with prompts tailored to my taste.

The tl;dr is generated by a very fast model, so it comes back within a second. The more detailed summaries use slower models, but still load within 5 seconds.

![Summariser screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/summariser-gwern.jpg)

## 2. Speed dial for my web apps

I press `CMD + Shift + .`, then `1` for GPT-5, `4` for Gemini, or `c` to make a calendar event. Etc.

![New thing screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/new-thing.jpeg)

## 3. Google Meet: sound check

Plays a 2 second test sound when I open a Google Meet link. This stops me joining calls with the audio output muted, then going to another tab while I wait for attendees, then not hearing when they join.

![Google Meet sound-check screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/sound-check.jpg)

## 4. Google search: shortcuts for search results

Press `CTRL + 1` to go to the first result, `CTRL + 2` for the second result, etc.

![Google search shortcuts screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/ph-mods-google-search-results.jpeg)

## 5. Keyboard shortcuts for ChatGPT & Claude

Somehow, ChatGPT and Claude still don't have good keyboard shortcuts. Well, now they do. My favourite: `CTRL+G` to add Google Docs to conversations.

![ChatGPT and Claude keyboard shortcuts screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/better-chat-screenshot.webp)

Want to use this? It's [here](https://hartreeworks.org/better-chat).

## 6. Google Docs: hide the "you're currently signed in as" message

Some of my docs are shared to several of my Google accounts. When I open them, I always get this message:

![Google Docs disable signed in as message screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/ph-mods-currently-signed-in-as.jpeg)

It's never useful. Now it's gone.

## 7. Google Docs: show tab outlines

Normally, if you want to see the tab outline, you need to click to view the tab, then wait half a second, then click again to show the outline.

Now I just click the tab once.

![Google Meet sound-check screenshot](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/google-docs-show-tab-outline.gif)

## 8. Google Docs: bulk download docs & comments as markdown

To get Google Docs and comments into my LLMs, I [sometimes](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/google-doc-comments) need to bulk-download them.

![Screenshot of PH Mods managing Google Doc tabs](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/ph-mods-manage-google-doc-tabs.jpeg)

## 9. Google Meet: find the right account

I have several Google accounts. Often, only one can join a given call. For some reason, Google Meet doesn't automatically switch to the account that has access. Now it does.

Want to use this? It's [here](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/join-now-for-google-meet/mljmbebllfeknfjemhnfdmeaadeiclmk).

## 10. AirBnB & Booking.com: show me the pictures, and the prices!

Shows price information above the fold, and adds a keyboard shortcut to view pictures.

## 11. Xero and Crunch: don't make me click

Accounting software makes me do so much repetitive clicking, especially during bank reconciliation. Now, much less.

## 12. Clean URLs

Common decency says you should always remove `utm` tracking parameters from links before sharing them. My extension does this automatically.

## 13. Be less distracted by your email

I made this one back in 2015. [Inbox When Ready](https://inboxwhenready.org/) hides your Gmail inbox by default, so you can write new messages and search your archive without getting distracted.

***

## Would you like to use these?

I've made some of these public:

* [BetterChat - keyboard shortcuts for ChatGPT](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/betterchat-keyboard-short/kifkmdocmmaghngfoklkgfbfkdjiihik).
* [Join Now for Google Meet](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/join-now-for-google-meet/mljmbebllfeknfjemhnfdmeaadeiclmk)
* [Inbox When Ready](https://inboxwhenready.org/)

Would you like some of the others? [Email me](mailto:wow@pjh.is), and I may be able to share you a private copy.

***

## Want to make your own?

[It's easy to get started](https://chatgpt.com/share/6877fcf2-f7a4-8008-8527-7920841d3aed).

![ChatGPT with doge as the background image](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/doge-gpt.jpeg)

Warning: browser extensions are sometimes tricky to vibe-code. The issue is that you're hacking on top of the code of third-party websites that you can't control. If you get unlucky, this could be a frustrating project.

If you're just starting out, be sure to "go meta" and ask the LLM to teach you the best workflow for extension development. And feel free to [email me](mailto:wow@pjh.is) if you get stuck.

*If you're a developer planning a more ambitious project, maybe start with a [boilerplate](https://github.com/abhijithvijayan/web-extension-starter).*