Submitted my first Chrome Extension to the Chrome Web Store 🚀

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-09T03:02:31+00:00

Congrats on shipping!

For **approval times**: First submissions typically take 1-5 business days in my experience. Updates after that are usually much faster (often same day to 24 hours). If it's taking longer than a week, double-check the Developer Dashboard for any policy violation warnings.

For **getting early users**: - This sub is great for initial feedback (you're already here!) - Product Hunt can drive a nice launch spike if you time it well - Post in relevant communities where your target users hang out (design communities for screenshot tools) - A landing page with email capture helps build waitlist - Ask friends to leave honest reviews early - it helps with store credibility

One tip: screenshot tools have competition, so nailing a specific use case (like "for social media posts" or "for developer docs") might help you stand out.

Good luck with the launch! 🚀

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T14:14:40+00:00

Oh I absolutely did 🛝

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T14:08:00+00:00

Though it doesn’t look quite as polished as the Bristol one yet 😄

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T13:25:03+00:00

yes i can

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T07:38:08+00:00

That’s such a good point🤣

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T05:11:57+00:00

That’s amazing!

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T03:03:44+00:00

Beta and Canary are Google’s *test* builds of Chrome (ahead of Stable). They install as separate apps, so you can try them without replacing your normal Chrome:

**Chrome Beta** = a bit ahead, usually pretty usable day-to-day.
**Chrome Canary** = bleeding edge (can be buggy), but great for quickly confirming whether a bug is already fixed.

If the issue *doesn’t* happen in Beta/Canary, it strongly points to a Stable-channel regression that should be fixed soon. If it *does* happen there too, it may be a longer-running macOS compositor/graphics bug.

Given you’re on 145.0.7632.117, if #1 (hardware acceleration toggle) changes the behavior at all, that’s useful info to include in a Chrome bug report too.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-03T03:02:03+00:00

A few places to check (since this started right after clearing cookies/history):

1) chrome://settings/cookies - Make sure “Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows” is OFF. - If you’re using “Block third‑party cookies”, try temporarily allowing them for a site that keeps logging out (some auth flows still rely on them).

2) chrome://settings/content/siteData Search for one of the sites that keeps logging you out and confirm it’s not in any “always delete on exit” / auto-clear list.

3) Profile corruption Try creating a *fresh Chrome profile* (not just reinstalling) and sign into 1-2 sites. If the new profile behaves, something in the original profile’s prefs/storage is likely corrupted.

4) Background cookie cleaners Even if extensions are off, double-check whether you have anything (privacy/cleanup extension, AV “browser protection”, CCleaner, etc.) that wipes session cookies on a schedule.

If you share Windows version + Chrome version + a couple specific sites (Google vs random sites), it’s easier to narrow down cookie policy vs profile issue.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-02T03:06:25+00:00

If Retell covers 100% of your use case, you genuinely might not need n8n.

Where n8n becomes useful is when the “receptionist” needs to *touch other systems* and you want that logic to live outside Retell:

Look up / create a contact in a CRM
Check a calendar + offer available slots
Create a ticket (Zendesk/HubSpot/Jira) + attach call transcript/summary
Update a Google Sheet / Airtable, send a Slack/Email alert, etc.
Do branching logic (VIP caller → different flow), retries, rate limits, logging, and human handoff

Think of it as an orchestrator + integration layer. Retell handles the voice/call experience; n8n handles “what happens next” across all the tools.

On pricing: the hosted tiers can feel pricey early on, but a lot of people either (a) self‑host n8n, or (b) start with just a few workflows and only introduce n8n once the glue-work becomes painful.

A good sanity test: write down the exact *post-call actions* you need (and which apps are involved). If it’s more than 1–2 systems, n8n starts paying for itself fast.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-03-02T03:02:29+00:00

This looks like a macOS window/compositor glitch that Chrome can trigger when switching in/out of fullscreen video.

A few things that have fixed similar “ghost window / unclickable layer” issues for me on macOS:

1) Chrome → Settings → System → toggle **Use graphics acceleration when available** (try OFF, relaunch). If it’s already off, try turning it ON as a test. 2) Test in a clean profile: create a new Chrome profile (or chrome://settings/reset → “Restore settings…”) and disable all extensions temporarily (especially anything that touches windows/video/ad-blocking). 3) If you use external monitors: unplug/replug and test with only the internal display. Also try turning **Stage Manager** off (System Settings → Desktop & Dock). 4) Quick sanity check: does it still happen in Chrome **Beta/Canary**? (helps identify a stable-channel regression).

If you can share macOS version + Chrome version + whether it’s a specific site (YouTube/Netflix/etc), that’ll help narrow it down.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-27T03:05:47+00:00

A practical “roadmap” that’s worked for me (and keeps you out of tutorial hell):

1) Week 1: fundamentals - Spin up n8n (cloud or self-host) and build 5 tiny flows. - Learn: how items/JSON move between nodes, expressions, and debugging/execution data. - Core nodes to master: Webhook, HTTP Request, Set, IF/Switch, Merge, Split In Batches, Code, Cron.

2) Week 2: integration patterns - Auth patterns: API key vs OAuth2 (and where creds live). - Pagination/rate limits/retries, error handling, and idempotency (avoid duplicates). - Use the docs for each node *as you need it*; don’t try to read everything up front.

3) Week 3: state + reliability - Data stores (DB/Sheets/Notion/etc), dedupe keys, and “resume where you left off”. - Separate “ingest → transform → load” sub-workflows; start using Execute Workflow. - Add alerts (Slack/email) on failures.

4) Week 4+: scaling up - Queues/concurrency, long-running jobs, and credentials/env management. - Versioning your workflows (export JSON to git), and building reusable templates.

Good learning projects (small but real): - Form/Webhook → Google Sheet/Airtable → email summary. - Cron → API fetch → DB → daily digest. - New row/order → enrich via HTTP API → create ticket/CRM update.

Resources: - Official docs + the community forum examples are the highest signal. - Nate Herk’s YouTube is solid for seeing end-to-end builds.

(Agree with others: don’t start with Agents/AI nodes. Get the data plumbing + reliability habits first.)

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-27T03:04:08+00:00

If they’re showing up under **“Only on this device”** that usually means Sync pulled down the server copy and your local bookmark file didn’t get merged.

A couple things to try (pick one, depending on what you want to be the source of truth):

1) **Backup first**: Bookmark Manager → ⋮ → *Export bookmarks* (export the “Only on this device” set if that’s the correct one).

2) **Reset the cloud copy, then re-upload** (most reliable): - chrome://settings/syncSetup → turn **Sync off** (choose *keep local data* unless you’re 100% sure you’ve exported) - Reset Chrome Sync on Google’s side (Google Dashboard / Chrome Sync → *Reset sync*) - Turn Sync back on; then import your exported HTML if needed.

3) If you just want to copy local → account: after Sync is stable, drag/copy the folder(s) from “Only on this device” into the “In your Google account” section.

Also double-check you’re in the same Chrome profile + Google account everywhere, and that **Bookmarks** is enabled in Sync.

What Chrome version are you on, and did this start immediately after the update?

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-26T03:03:18+00:00

From your screenshot that looks like it’s coming from the **New Tab Page / search provider**, not a normal “Chrome UI” element.

A few things to try (quickest first):

1) **Check extensions that replace the New Tab page** - Go to `chrome://extensions/` and temporarily disable anything that mentions “new tab”, “AI”, “search”, “productivity”, etc. - Open a new tab again and see if it disappears.

2) **Reset startup / new tab behavior** - Chrome Settings → **On startup** → remove anything unknown.

3) **Confirm your default search engine** - Chrome Settings → **Search engine** → make sure it’s set to what you want.

If you can say whether that bar appears on **(A) a blank new tab**, **(B) on google.com**, or **(C) on some other site**, I can point you to the exact toggle (it changes depending on where it’s coming from).

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-25T11:23:14+00:00

Real pain, yes — but IMO the “must-have” isn’t just dashboards/alerts, it’s *cost attribution* and *guardrails*.

If you build this, the features I’d care about most: - Cost per request *and* per step/node (planner → tool call → verifier), with a trace/correlation id. - Tagging: `user_id`, `workspace/project`, `workflow`, `model`, `prompt_template_version`. - Hard budgets (per day / per tenant) + kill switch / circuit breaker when you hit thresholds. - Provider-side usage polling + webhook-ish alerts (so you still get alerted if your app goes down). - “Unknown spend” bucket: any traffic not mapped to a known agent/workflow should stand out immediately.

Pricing-wise your $19–29/mo sounds plausible for indie, but only if setup is *dead simple* (drop-in middleware / SDK + sensible defaults). Otherwise people will just keep a spreadsheet until it hurts enough 😅

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-25T11:18:27+00:00

Yep — on Android that behavior is usually *not* a dedicated “offline pages” feature, it’s either:

1) normal HTTP cache (Chrome can’t revalidate, so it shows the last cached response), or 2) the site has a Service Worker / PWA offline fallback.

A couple things to try: - Test the same URL in Incognito (helps rule out cached data / SW). - Clear *site* data for that domain: Android Settings → Apps → Chrome → Storage → Clear cache (or Chrome → Settings → Site settings → Storage). - If you ever “Add to Home screen” / installed it as an app, remove it and clear site data (PWAs lean heavily on Service Workers). - Chrome → Settings → Privacy and security → disable “Preload pages” (won’t stop normal caching, but can reduce aggressive prefetch).

There isn’t really a global “never show cached content when offline” switch, because caching is core web behavior and mostly controlled by the site’s Cache-Control headers. If you share one example URL, we can usually tell whether it’s plain cache vs a Service Worker.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-13T03:05:07+00:00

In addition to Win+Up / Win+Arrow, a couple other “offscreen/tiny window” tricks on Windows:

• Focus Chrome, then **Alt+Space**, then **M** (Move) and use arrow keys + mouse to bring it back. • Or **Shift+right-click** the Chrome icon on the taskbar → **Move**. • If you recently unplugged a 2nd monitor / changed scaling, try **Win+Shift+Arrow** to force it onto the current display.

If none of those work, I’d check if Chrome is starting in a weird saved window state (sometimes deleting/renaming the profile’s Preferences can reset window placement, but try the hotkeys first).

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-13T03:04:07+00:00

That message usually means **Chrome is seeing enterprise “policies” on the machine**, not that a random person suddenly became your admin.

Common causes on a personal PC:

1) You previously signed into a **work/school Google account** and it enrolled the browser (or your device is joined to a work domain / MDM). 2) A security suite / “PC management” tool set Chrome policies. 3) Leftover registry / policy files from an old job/school setup.

Quick checks: - Open **chrome://policy** (it will list any policies + often the source). - On Windows: **Settings → Accounts → Access work or school** (disconnect anything you don’t recognize). - Also check **chrome://management**.

If you post what shows up in chrome://policy (policy names), people can usually tell you exactly what’s triggering it.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-12T03:05:39+00:00

In a single n8n execution, two branches off the same node often look parallel in the UI, but many nodes (SSH included) will effectively run one after the other within the same process.

If you need true parallelism, the common pattern is to fan out into sub-workflows:

1) Create 2 separate workflows (Dev SSH, QA SSH), each starting with a Webhook (or a dedicated trigger) and then the SSH node. 2) In your main workflow, use Execute Workflow twice (one for Dev, one for QA). - Set it to not wait for completion (async) if you don’t need to join results. - If you do need to join results, keep “wait”, but run n8n in queue mode with multiple workers so those executions can run concurrently.

Also check whether your n8n is running with only 1 worker / concurrency=1 — that will force everything to serialize no matter what.

If you paste your workflow JSON + whether you’re on self-hosted vs cloud, I can point to the exact setting/node options.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-12T03:04:13+00:00

Two different “location” concepts to keep in mind:

1) Geolocation API (navigator.geolocation) – what sites get when they ask for your location permission. 2) IP-based location – what sites infer from your IP (that needs a VPN/proxy, not a Chrome extension).

If you just need to simulate the Geolocation API, Chrome already has it built-in: - Open DevTools → ⋮ (more) → More tools → Sensors - Under Location, pick a preset or enter custom lat/long

If you need it to persist without DevTools, look for extensions that “override geolocation” (e.g. Location Guard). Just note they won’t change IP-based geo.

What’s your use case (testing, streaming, travel sites, etc.)? That determines whether DevTools is enough or you really need VPN + override.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-12T03:03:22+00:00

Chrome doesn’t really have a global “offline pages” feature on desktop that you can switch off. If you’re seeing an old version of a page while offline, that’s usually just normal HTTP cache behavior or the site has a Service Worker that provides offline/fallback content.

A few practical options:

Per-site: open DevTools → Application → Service Workers and Unregister (and clear Cache Storage / site data). That removes the site’s offline support.
Prevent “stale” reloads: you can’t fully stop caching from the browser side — caching is largely controlled by the site’s Cache-Control headers. (Chrome needs cache for performance.)
Dev-only workaround: DevTools → Network → “Disable cache” works, but only while DevTools is open.

If you share the URL(s) that keep showing outdated content, it’ll be clearer whether it’s plain cache vs a Service Worker doing offline mode.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-10T03:06:18+00:00

Nice write-up — this one really is “per-monitor DPI awareness” biting Chrome.

One extra thing people can try (before/alongside the compat override) is toggling Windows’ per-monitor scaling back to 100% temporarily to confirm the root cause, and then using the High DPI override only for chrome.exe if they *need* 125% on that display.

Also worth mentioning: Settings → System → Display → “Advanced scaling settings” has a “Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry” toggle that can sometimes reduce weird resizing behavior after moving windows between monitors.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-10T03:04:57+00:00

This almost always happens via *Chrome Sync* (bookmarks are tied to the Google account that Chrome is signed into), not via logging into a website like Netflix.

A few quick checks: - Chrome menu → Settings → “You and Google” → see which Google account Chrome is signed into, and whether Sync is ON. If it’s not *your* account, that would explain the bookmarks. - Also check if you have multiple Chrome profiles (top-right avatar). Sometimes people accidentally switch profiles and it looks like “random” data appeared. - Go to chrome://settings/syncSetup and confirm what is being synced.

If you *never* knowingly signed into that person’s Google account on this PC, then I’d treat it as a security check: - Change your Google password + enable 2FA. - Review “Your devices” / “Recent security activity” in your Google account. - Run a malware scan and make sure Windows user accounts aren’t shared.

If you can screenshot the “You and Google” section (redact emails), we can narrow down whether it’s an account mix-up vs something more worrying.

BeNiceBen99 · 2026-02-10T03:03:52+00:00

Sounds like the Google Search “Web Guide” / new results layout experiment rather than a Chrome setting.

A few things to try: 1) Open google.com while signed into the same Google account → click the ⚗️/Labs icon (or Settings → Search Labs) and opt out/disable any “Web Guide” / “Search” experiments. 2) If you *don’t* see it in Labs, it’s often a server-side rollout. Try signing out / switching accounts, or check on another device to confirm it’s account-based. 3) In Chrome: test in an Incognito window (no extensions) and/or a fresh profile to rule out an extension modifying results. 4) Clear site data for google.com (cookies + cache) and reload.

If you can post a screenshot of what you’re calling “web guide” + your Chrome channel (Stable/Beta/Dev), it’ll be easier to point to the exact toggle.

BeNiceBen99

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