tldr - Browser Extension

A minimal browser extension that summarizes web page text into a single sentence using OpenAI's API. Works on Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, and Firefox.

Features

• Summarize entire page or selected text
• Clean, minimal overlay display
• Persistent or session-only API key storage
• Customizable prompt
• Model selection (gpt-3.5-turbo, gpt-4, etc.)
• Right-click context menu support

Installation

Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera (one build)

Use the same unpacked folder; only the store you publish to differs.

1. Open the browser’s extensions page:
   • Chrome: chrome://extensions/
   • Edge: edge://extensions/
   • Brave: brave://extensions/
2. Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top right)
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select this project folder (the one containing manifest.json)
5. The extension icon will appear in your toolbar

Firefox

Firefox uses Manifest V2 and a separate manifest. Build a Firefox package, then load it as a temporary add-on:

1. Run the build script:

   ./prepare-firefox.sh

2. Open Firefox and go to about:debugging
3. Click "This Firefox" → "Load Temporary Add-on"
4. Choose tldr-firefox.xpi (created in the project root)

For signed distribution, submit tldr-firefox.xpi (or the unpacked folder built from manifest.firefox.json) to addons.mozilla.org.

Setup

1. Click the tldr extension icon in your browser toolbar
2. Enter your OpenAI API key
3. Choose whether to save it persistently (default) or session-only
4. Optionally customize the prompt and select a different model
5. Click "Save Settings"

Usage

Method 1: Extension Icon

• Click the tldr icon in the toolbar to summarize the entire page
• Or select text first, then click the icon to summarize only the selection

Method 2: Right-Click Menu

• Right-click anywhere on the page
• Select "Summarize with tldr"
• If text is selected, it will summarize the selection; otherwise, it summarizes the entire page

Icons

You'll need to add icon files (16x16, 48x48, 128x128 PNG) to the icons/ directory:

• icons/icon16.png
• icons/icon48.png
• icons/icon128.png

For now, you can use placeholder icons or create simple text-based icons.

Permissions

• activeTab: Required to read text from the current tab
• storage: Required to store API key and settings
• contextMenus: Required for right-click menu functionality