BrainSoap

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A Browser extension to help you avoid extended scrolling by blocking your screen or redirecting you to a more productive site.

Note

This project was created as a learning Project for DHBW Stuttgart.

Features

• tracking how much time you spend on different sites
• actions when a limit is exceeded     - sending you a message     - creating a popup     - showing an image with the popup     - redirecting you to a different URL     - also in arbitrary combinations

planned Features

Note

aka TO-DO list

• custom image popup

Related repositories

Much thanks to MDN and fnya for providing examples. this was a great help in understanding how to create an extension and what you can do with them.

Installation

via release

1. head over to the releases
2. select one you like (we recommend the latest)
3. select the .xpi file
4. allow firefox to install the addon
5. you are ready to use the extension

via .xpi file

1. get a zip file from a release
2. open Firefox and go to about:addons
3. select the gear (tools for add-ons)
4. select install add-on from file
5. you are ready to use the extension

via temporary addon (firefox)

Note

This will be gone when you restart your browser

1. type in your url bar about:debugging
2. go to This Firefox
3. click load temporary Add-on
4. choose the manifest.json file from this repo. or the .xpi file from the release
5. that should be it. you can now try the extension.

installing from source

Note

this is not the way Firefox intended extensions to be installed

you can only install from source if you have a Firefox build which supports not certified extensions. This is for example a Firefox Developer build. This section will roughly describe how to install an unsigned extension on such a Build.

1. type in about:config in your URL bar.
2. disable the setting xpinstall.signatures.required. This will allow you to install unsigned extensions.

Caution

changing these settings can mess up your browser pretty bad. don't go changing things if you don't know what it does.

3. download the extension files from this repository
4. create a zip file of the folders assets, src and the file manifest.json
5. follow the instructions from installing via zip file

Folder structure:

BrainSoap
├───assets
│   ├───icons
│   ├───misc
│   ├───nav
│   └───visuals
├───docs
├───src
│   ├───background
│   ├───browser
│   ├───config
│   ├───content
│   ├───services
│   ├───ui
│   │   ├───dashboard
│   │   │   ├───nav
│   │   │   ├───rules
│   │   │   ├───settings
│   │   │   ├───stats
│   │   │   └───vendor
│   │   └───popup
│   └───utils
└───tests

Testing process

web-ext and unit tests are performed on any commit to the main or dev Branch

web-ext

all code is verified with web-ext. web-ext is a command line tool that allows you to test your extension locally. it also provides warnings for unsafe code like improperly sanitized variables.

unit tests

unit tests are applied to important central functionality, like the storage manager. for browser dependent components a mock system is created to simulate actual browser behavior. This allows testing the components without installing the extension in an actual browser.

stress tests

are performed on an installed installation to test how much it can handle without slowing down. the Results can strongly depend on the machine.

Manual Tests

manual tests ensure all systems work together as a whole. They are performed regularly during development and before release.