Hi everyone, I'm excited to announce one more release before I take a short break. I have some other stuff starting up, so I won't be pushing out new features as fast, but I'll still be around to manage the project. (more at the end) Links: - [Firefox Add-on](https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/lemmy-instance-assistant) - [Chrome Extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/mbblbalkjcikhpladidpimlfiapdffdh) - [Edge Add-on](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/hnlndgeokcaocdklkbfjbfjplfnedehb) - [GitHub](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant) --- ::: spoiler ❓ What is Instance Assistant? If you're new to Instance Assistant, it is a browser extension with a collection of tools and features to simplify your browsing experience on Lemmy and Kbin. It is available on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge; you can also install it from the releases page on GitHub. For a full list of features, please see the GitHub homepage: https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant ::: --- ## ⭐ What's new in v1.2.5? - **Redirect posts to your home instance!**: Post pages now have a redirect button that will find the same post on your home instance(1). You don't have to hunt it down yourself anymore. - **Posts related to this webpage** buttons in popup & sidebar - **Make a post**: You can now create a post from any webpage! Click the 'Make a Post' button in the extension popup or sidebar to generate a draft post with autofilled `title`, `URL`, and `body` contents. Afterwards, just select a community and hit post. (This currently works for both Lemmy & Kbin, but custom frontends are untested while they develop). Try it here: https://lemmy.ca/post/4478560 - **Open Posts**: This will find any posts about the webpage/article/video that you are looking at. Use it to see if something has already been posted, or to find related discussions about it. When there are multiple posts, it will ask before opening them all. ([see note on risks and why it doesn't count automatically](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/wiki#potential-risks-with-open-posts)) - **Post an image**: You can now right-click on an image, anywhere on the web, and hit "Post this image". It will open a new tab and autofill the `title`, image `link`, and add the `page URL` to the `body` as "Source: `URL`". Try it here: https://lemmy.ca/post/1282303 - Reorganizing popup: - I fixed the issue where the popup would still display a button after removing all instances from the list. - The number of default instances in the popup was reduced to 4 - Added settings: - You can now hide onboardining guides to make the interfaces less wordy - General styling changes, wording improvements, and bugfixes (1) This is an important feature to me because this little annoyance was part of why I set out to create the extension in the first place. Thanks to [some help from @zero_gravitas](https://lemmy.ca/comment/2259794), I was able to use the Lemmy API to grab the post details, and then run a search for it on your home instance. While most posts should only bring one result, there is a chance that there are multiple posts by the same user, in the same community, with the same title. If this is an issue, I'll make this search more specific. --- ## 🗣️ My questions for you: ### Improving 'post to Lemmy' - Right now the 'Post to Lemmy' button does a very basic search in the page meta tags for information. This works for most websites, but it is not perfect. **What websites do you usually post from, and is the extension doing a good job of replicating how you format the post?** Please share both good and bad examples, so we can fix what isn't working and keep what is. ### Improving Post search - Having the extension automatically count the number of posts and display it in the icon would be pretty nice, since then you would know about any posts for the news article / blog / video that you are looking at. However, there are privacy implications with this since it needs to send the URL to your home instance to do the search. - I would like to add the option to whitelist specific websites, so the user can choose what browsing data they want to find posts for. **Is this something you would list to use? What websites would you whitelist?** ### Anything else? Please share any issues that you find. Lemmy and Kbin instances have a lot of variation in how things are structured, so there are bound to be some bugs that I haven't found yet. If you have any ideas for new features, please share them too! I'm always looking for new ideas to add to the project. --- ::: spoiler 🔮 Cool ideas being discussed for the future - Account switcher & ability to save login info to extension - Reddit migrator tools - multireddit input should convert subscriptions to official Threadiverse replacements, or large related communities - embeds on Subreddit sidebars to search for similar community - button on post pages to cross-post to home instance - Prepping for Firefox Mobile app, now that they are [opening mobile up to all extensions](https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/08/10/prepare-your-firefox-desktop-extension-for-the-upcoming-android-release/)! - Keyboard hotkeys, possibly collaborating with someone that already implemented something similar For the most up to date information, see the [issues](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/issues) or the [project road map](https://github.com/users/cynber/projects/1) ::: --- ## 💛 Finally Thank you for all the suggestions and feedback so far! I'm really happy to see that people are using the extension and finding it useful. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do with it in the future. Like I said above, I won't be as active over the next few months in terms of getting new features out. The extension is now in good shape, and it covers most of the important use cases. There's still lots of cool stuff we can do with it, so please contribute ideas and expertise! When I get a chance, I'll pop in and grab a few more issues. Cheers :)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/3232301 --- ### Status & Download Links: | [Firefox v1.2.4](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/lemmy-instance-assistant/) | [Chrome v1.2.4](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/mbblbalkjcikhpladidpimlfiapdffdh) | [Edge v1.2.3](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/hnlndgeokcaocdklkbfjbfjplfnedehb) | | ---------|---------|-------| Download from source: [release v1.2.4 (github.com)](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/releases/tag/v1.2.4) * While Edge and Opera are awaiting approval, you can install v1.2.4 from here, or through the Chrome store ---  Hi everyone! On the surface, this update brings a handful of features integrating the extension with other tools and services. We have the first of many features from the LemmyTools userscript, as well as the support for Alexandrite and Photon frontends. You can also directly search for communities through Lemmyverse.net and for posts through search-lemmy.com, among other small changes. The biggest change was behind the scenes. I've completely refactored the code throughout the extension. Now that we have a clearer plan for the extension, I simplified all around, such as consolidating most functions to a central `utils.js` file. I also reworked the settings, and **unfortunately this means you may have to add your home instance again**. Moving forwards, it should be a lot easier to maintain the extension and for people to collaborate, which brings me to: #### Want to help? ::: spoiler Get started: I've put together [some notes on how the extension is structured](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/wiki/Development-Process) for those that want to help. The extension itself is fairly simple, and it doesn't use any particular framework or anything. It should a great first project to work on, even if you are just learning or new to web development. Having more people add to one place would make it easier for users that are juggling many extensions and userscripts. That's why I've been focussed on having a more intuitive structure for the project and leaving detailed notes and comments. I'm also likely not going to have as much time starting next month so I'm trying to do what I can now to get everything rolling. If you don't know where to start or just have an idea, let me know and I'll see what I can do :) As always, you can add new ideas and issues here: https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/issues ::: --- ### All new improvements with v1.2.4 ::: spoiler New Changes - search for communities through Lemmyverse.net or for posts through lemmy-search directly from the popup or sidebar - You now have the option to hide the default Lemmy sidebar (more LemmyTools features to come!) - Replaced non-functional 'subscribe' button on foreign `/communities` pages (only when no account is signed in, so not to replace something functional) - Support for Alexandrite & Photon frontends. Test them here: - Alexandrite: https://a.lemdro.id/c/lemdroid - Photon: https://nu.lemdro.id/c/lemdroid - New 'communityNotFound' button to account for alternate frontends: https://lemmy.ca/c/[email protected] - Fix for generated link on CommunityNotFound pages - Completely refactored the code to move repetitive functions to a utils.js file ::: ::: spoiler Future Plans: - Exploring a 'Reddit migrator' tool, similar to the mobile tool in Voyager, powered by lemmyverse.net - Adding more features from [LemmyTools Userscript](https://github.com/howdy-tsc/LemmyTools), with help from /u/[email protected] - Prepping for Firefox Mobile app, now that they are [opening mobile up to all extensions](https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/08/10/prepare-your-firefox-desktop-extension-for-the-upcoming-android-release/)! - Keyboard hotkeys, possibly collaborating with someone that already implemented something similar - Adding icons and simplifying the design, as the menus are getting very wordy - settings to limit onboarding / help instructions - Ability to have multiple 'home instances' - Finishing the setup so that people can contribute translations / other languages to the extension. :::

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/2012318 > Instance Assistant v1.2.3 is now available on Chrome & Firefox + New Features > > Links: > * [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/lemmy-instance-assistant/) > * [Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/mbblbalkjcikhpladidpimlfiapdffdh) > * [Edge](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/hnlndgeokcaocdklkbfjbfjplfnedehb) - v1.2.3 is still being approved, you can grab the release from Github if you are eager > * Opera: Still under review, please download from Chrome webstore or Github release. > > For questions / support: [email protected] > > ### What's new? > ([read on the wiki](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/wiki#recent-updates)) > - You can now customize the instance list to match which instances you actually use. This should be helpful for those that have accounts on different instances. > - Added a settings page so that you can turn off features that you don't want active > - Added buttons for helpful tools that let you explore Lemmy/Kbin communities (with lemmyverse.net), and search across Lemmy sites (with search-lemmy.com). > - Added a sidebar for those that prefer it (works on Firefox, Chrome & Opera; Edge doesn't have sidebars yet but the code is there) > - Fix for issues with the search trigger on the community not found page (thank-you to [whqwert](https://github.com/whqwert)!) > - Various bugfixes, small theme changes, and improved wording > > ### What's coming up? > ([read on the wiki](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/wiki#recent-updates)) > - Working with the amazing /u/[email protected] to bring over features from the LemmyTools Userscript^1^ > - Integrating lemmyverse.net and search-lemmy.com so you can do everything right on your community page^2^ > - Adding icons and simplifying the design, as the UI is getting wordy > - Adding support for alternative home instances (ex. Alexandrite - [Issue 14](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant/issues/14)) > - Ability to have multiple 'home instances', so you can open it in any without having to change your home instance each time. > - Finishing the setup so that people can contribute translations / other languages to the extension. > - Getting the extension on Opera (no immediate plans, but this would be good to have) > > More details: > 1) /u/[email protected] has created a really useful userscript that you can find here: [email protected]. We're going to be working together to bring those features into Instance Assistant, so that you can have all the features in one place. > > 2) Right now there are buttons to explore Lemmy/Kbin communities (with lemmyverse.net), and search across Lemmy sites (with search-lemmy.com). Both of these take you to the respective webpages. Instead, it might be nicer to have a lightweight version right on the Lemmy/Kbin community page (or in the extension popup/sidebar). This should be possible using their APIs/data access, and I have a little working proof of concept already (see GitHub) > > # I'm new, what is this? > > Instance Assistant is a browser extension that started out as a way to quickly jump from one community to the version on your home instance, so that you could subscribe/participate immediately. Since then, a few other features have been implemented: > > ### Features > > * **Redirect to your home instance:** > * Buttons will be added to the sidebar of any Lemmy or Kbin community you visit, which will let you open the same community on your home instance. > * **Open links in home instance:** > * Right click context menu will allow you to open any links in your home instance > * **Improved Error Pages:** > * 'Community not found' pages now have better information, a button to trigger a fetch, a button to open a community in the source instance, and more. > * **Customizable popup & sidebar menus:** > * Customizable list of instances to let you quickly switch home instances. This is great for if you have multiple accounts on different instances. > * There are also buttons for helpful tools that let you search for communities (with lemmyverse.net), and search across Lemmy sites (with search-lemmy.com). > * **Settings:** > * You can change the default behaviour of the extension, customize the popup & sidebar menus, and turn off features you don't want to use.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/1418762 > I've made a number of improvements since the last time I was posting about my extension. The update is now available on both [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/lemmy-instance-assistant/) and [Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/instance-assistant-for-le/mbblbalkjcikhpladidpimlfiapdffdh) web stores. > > For questions / support: [email protected] > > **TLDR:** See the respective download pages on Firefox & Chrome. The screenshots and features list are mostly self-explanatory. > > Note on versions: > * Firefox has a more recent 1.2.1 version, because my build script missed some files while uploading v1.2.0. It doesn't look like Chrome had this issue. > * I'm uploading v1.2.2 to both stores today, which will bring the two missing features to Chrome as well. After 1.2.2, all browsers should have the same features. See below for details. > > --- > > ## So how is this different from other similar extensions? > > You may have noticed the extension's name changed to be more generic (and include Kbin 🥳). I'm trying to make this a more well-rounded extension, and that means I've incorporated some features from the other extensions, in my own way. > > ### Lemmy Links, Kbin Links, and the other forks: > This is a great extension that replaces links on your page with versions that go to your home instance. However, in order for this to work, it needs to recursively check every element on your page whenever DOM content (the stuff the browser is reading) changes. This is somewhat resource intensive, and while testing I ran into lag and freezing issues. As such, I decided to not include this functionality in the same way. > > Instead, I've added a right click context menu that does the same thing. This way the user can pick which links they want the extension to convert, and it's a lot more efficient resource wise. While it's an extra click, I felt this was a reasonable compromise. However, I'm open to feedback! > > NOTE: The context menu is available on Firefox, and it will be available in Chrome in about a week, depending on when they approve my update. > > ### Lemmy Home Instance Helper > > This is another extension which checks if you are logged in to an instance, and it creates a button to the search page if you are not. As my extension creates a button on any foreign instance, the search page is only helpful when a community hasn't been loaded into your home instance yet (ex. because you're the first one to try accessing it). > > To deal with this, my extension modifies the "Community not found" pages with more instructions, as well as buttons to trigger the fetch process or to open the community elsewhere. [See this screenshot for an example](https://addons.mozilla.org/user-media/previews/full/284/284716.png). Again, open to feedback! > > --- > > As always, I'd love to collaborate with other people while building this. I'm still cleaning up my code, but feel free to look at the [GitHub](https://github.com/cynber/lemmy-instance-assistant). If this extension gets popular, I will definitely need help for translations and for things like getting the extension on Safari (I don't have a recent Apple device to sign the extension with). > > --- > > ## Note on permissions: > > * The current versions request "Access to all sites". This is because the extension needs access to any page that contains "/c/", "/m/", or "/post/" in order to create the sidebar buttons. While the extension only looks for those pages, it will show up as "Access to all sites" when installing. Once I have a proper welcome message and settings page, I plan on making this permission optional so you can just use the popup menu if you would like. > > --- > > ## Summary of Recent Changes: > - Added support for Kbin > - Fixed issue where button wouldn't load when navigating to a community within Lemmy (available on Firefox, should be on Chrome in a week). > - (NEW) Right-click context menu on Lemmy/Kbin community links to let you open them directly. You can test them out here: https://lemmy.ca/post/1282303 (available on Firefox, should be on Chrome in a week) > - (NEW) Information and buttons added to "Community Not Found" error pages to let you fetch the community or open it elsewhere. > - Updates to sidebar button to state the current selected instance and provide more detailed instructions as a dropdownList > - Refactored the code to remove more unnecessary permissions. > - Another pile of bugfixes, UI improvements, and better wording for instructions. > > > ## Future Plans: > - This is complete and will be in v1.2.2. ~~Bringing over the new changes to Google Chrome. Since chrome requires Manifest 3, I still need to iron out some issues with the service workers. The missing features are all related to the background processes that are running on the Firefox version~~ > - Pushing to other browsers: Microsoft Edge & Opera are still reviewing v1.2.0. Unfortunately, I don't have any immediate plans for Safari, as I don't have a device that can sign the extension. I am looking into getting help for that. > - Setting up a proper Welcome page, Settings page, and Options menu to allow users to turn off features that they don't like. This will also let me make "access to all sites" optional. > - Finishing the translations' setup so that people can contribute other languages to the extension. > - Adding an option to save your own instances to the popup, for those that have multiple home instances.