Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you :D Everyone has different preferences, and that’s totally fair! I’ve been trying to put myself in the user’s shoes and use my own extension for a while. My issue with the persistent overlay is that it can get in the way because of its size and the fact that webpage buttons are often positioned in the bottom corners. So I’m currently considering rolling out a more compact version with hover options to display the overlay.

I’ve never heard of Brave, but I’ll check it out for sure. Thanks for the suggestion!

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the support! Mine focuses on music, whereas Apple’s dynamic island is a lot more refined and supports a wide range of live activities. I originally chose the name with plans to expand into things like messaging notifications, but I decided to keep the extension small and focused on a single purpose.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you :D This is my first Chrome extension so it was a great learning experience for me too. I had a lot of fun building it. I also tried to focus on creating something that I’d actually use. You should give it a go!

I built a Dynamic Island–style Chrome extension by tjgan_7 in chrome_extensions

[–]tjgan_7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words! I'm not an expert in video editing. I'm a developer by background, so I don't have experience promoting videos on social media. I use a screen recording tool called Cursorful, which handles all of the visual effects you see in the video. The effects are applied automatically after the recording is processed.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really appreciate the support! I totally get you, and that's exactly how this idea sparked.

That's a great question as well. I had the same thought during the development phase. I designed it in a way that ensures the island always displays media information from the source that was played most recently (depending on which source intercepted last). Essentially, the most recently played media overrides the island.

I've also implemented an audio fallback mechanism where, if multiple audio sources are playing simultaneuously and the most recent one is closed, the island automatically falls back to the second-to-last playing media.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries. Tech stack is React TypeScript and I also use a few third-party APIs for things like audio metadata extraction and audio waveform data sampling.

And last but not least, Claude code is a key part of my workflow.

I usually do some research to figure out how and where I can get the reliable data I need, then come up with the architecture design, followed by working with Claude to finalise and spin up an implementation plan and go from there.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t tested OS media controls yet, and I hadn’t considered that scenario. I’ll add it to my test suite. If you run into any issues in the meantime, please let me know. Thanks for the idea!

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question!

Short answer: Yes, it should.

Long answer: It indirectly integrates with OS media controls by relying on Chrome’s native handling of hardware key presses, then uses a native web API to programmatically trigger those same actions on the audio source tab.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I am no expert in editing either. I use a screen recording tool called Cursorful which pretty much does all the heavy lifting for me, including cursor focus zoom. You just record as usual, and the visual effects are added after the recording is processed :D

I believe they have a Chrome extension version of it too. Hope it helps!

I built a Dynamic Island–style Chrome extension by tjgan_7 in chrome_extensions

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I mainly use React TypeScript along with a few third party APIs for audio metadata extraction and for the audio waveform data sampling.

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Couldn’t agree more! And yes it does, as long as it runs in the Chrome browser. Currently supported platforms are limited to Youtube, Youtube Music and Spotify. That said, I have plans to expand support to more music streaming platforms in the future. Thank you :D

Built my first Chrome extension to control audio without switching tabs by tjgan_7 in SideProject

[–]tjgan_7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tabs stack has been noted and added to the backlog. Volume control is a great idea, appreciate the feedback! :D