https://github.com/fyzanshaik/glimpse
Glimpse is a powerful, lightweight Chrome extension that improves browsing efficiency by allowing you to instantly preview any link in a clean, modal overlay without leaving your current page.
https://github.com/fyzanshaik/glimpse
extension-chrome javascript tabs zen
Last synced: 2 months ago
JSON representation
Glimpse is a powerful, lightweight Chrome extension that improves browsing efficiency by allowing you to instantly preview any link in a clean, modal overlay without leaving your current page.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/fyzanshaik/glimpse
- Owner: fyzanshaik
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-07-19T21:05:06.000Z (3 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-07-19T21:21:18.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-07-19T23:52:55.957Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: extension-chrome, javascript, tabs, zen
- Language: JavaScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 37.1 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# 👁️ Glimpse: Instant Link Previews
Glimpse is a powerful, lightweight Chrome extension that fundamentally improves your browsing efficiency. It allows you to preview any link in a clean, modal overlay without ever leaving your current page. Say goodbye to endless context switching and tab management.
[](https://github.com/fyzanshaik/glimpse)
---
## ✨ Core Features
* **🖱️ Instant Previews:** Hold `Ctrl` (or `Cmd` on Mac) and click any link to instantly open it in a Glimpse window.
* **🖼️ Modern Modal UI:** Previews appear in a large, centered overlay with a blurred background, focusing your attention.
* **🚀 Works Everywhere:** Glimpse is designed to work on everything from simple blogs to complex, JavaScript-heavy web apps.
* **🔐 Secure & Private:** Glimpse is built with a "privacy-first" philosophy. It requests minimal permissions, processes everything locally, and collects no user data.
* **UX-Focused:**
* Click anywhere outside the preview or press `Escape` to close it.
* The background page is locked from scrolling while a preview is active.
* Seamlessly open the original link in a new tab with the "Reopen" button.
---
## 🚀 Installation
### Official Version (Coming Soon)
> **Status:** Glimpse is currently under review for publication on the Chrome Web Store.
### From Source (For Developers)
1. **Download or Clone:** Get the code from this repository: `git clone https://github.com/fyzanshaik/glimpse.git`
2. **Open Chrome Extensions:** Navigate to `chrome://extensions/` in your browser.
3. **Enable Developer Mode:** Turn on the "Developer mode" toggle in the top-right corner.
4. **Load the Extension:** Click "Load unpacked" and select the cloned repository folder.
5. **Ready to Go!** Glimpse is now active and ready to use.
---
## 🔧 How It Works: A Technical Deep Dive
Glimpse uses a sophisticated, multi-layered approach to provide a seamless and secure preview experience.
### 1. The Trigger: `mousedown` Event Listener
Instead of listening for a `click` event, Glimpse listens for `mousedown`. This event fires earlier, allowing the extension to reliably intercept a link activation before a website's own scripts can interfere. This is crucial for compatibility with complex, single-page applications.
### 2. The Sandbox: A Secure ``
Previews are loaded into a sandboxed ``. This is a critical security measure that isolates the previewed content from the main page and the extension itself. We use a strict sandbox policy (`allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation`) that prevents the loaded page from executing malicious actions, such as trying to redirect the top-level page.
### 3. The Network Layer: `declarativeNetRequest`
Many websites use security headers like `X-Frame-Options` and `Content-Security-Policy` to prevent themselves from being embedded in other sites. To enable previews for these sites, Glimpse uses the `declarativeNetRequest` API to modify these headers.
This is a powerful permission, and we use it in a highly restricted manner:
* The header modification rule applies **only** to requests with a `resourceType` of `"sub_frame"`.
* This means Glimpse does not and cannot interfere with network requests for your normal, top-level browsing. Its modifications are precisely targeted only at content being loaded into the Glimpse preview frame.
---
## 🛡️ Our Commitment to Privacy & Security
Transparency is a core value of this project. Here is a detailed explanation of the permissions Glimpse requires and why they are absolutely necessary for the extension to function.
| Permission | Justification |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `declarativeNetRequest` | Essential for the core preview functionality. It is used in a narrowly scoped way (see "How It Works" above) to allow websites to be embedded in the preview frame. |
| `host_permissions: ` | This is required for two reasons: **1)** To inject a script into every page to listen for the `Ctrl+Click` action. **2)** To allow `declarativeNetRequest` to function for any potential link destination. Without this, the preview feature would be limited to a small, predefined set of websites. |
### Why Not Use `activeTab`?
The `activeTab` permission is a more secure alternative to ``, but it only grants access to a page after a user clicks the extension's toolbar icon. Glimpse's functionality is triggered by an on-page action (`Ctrl+Click`), which requires a content script to be present and listening *before* the user acts. For this reason, `activeTab` is not a viable alternative for Glimpse's specific interaction model.
### Data Handling
* **No Data Collection:** Glimpse does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data or browsing history.
* **Local Processing:** All logic and data handling (like accessing a clicked URL) happens locally on your machine.
* **No Remote Code:** The extension does not fetch or execute any remote code, ensuring its behavior is fixed and verifiable from the source code in this repository.
---
## 🤝 Contributing
This project is open-source and contributions are welcome. Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.
## 📄 License
Glimpse is licensed under the **MIT License**. See the `LICENSE` file for details.