How to Develop Browser Extensions with Claude Code

Accelerating Browser Extension Development With Claude Code

Developing a Chrome extension requires knowledge of Manifest V3, content scripts, background service workers, popup UIs, and more. With Claude Code, you can generate all of these simply by describing them in natural language.

Initial Project Setup

> Create a Chrome extension project.
> Use Manifest V3, with a popup and a content script.
> Set it up to build with TypeScript + Vite.

Example manifest.json generated by Claude Code:

{
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "name": "My Extension",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A Chrome extension built with Claude Code",
  "permissions": ["storage", "activeTab"],
  "action": {
    "default_popup": "popup.html",
    "default_icon": {
      "16": "icons/icon16.png",
      "48": "icons/icon48.png",
      "128": "icons/icon128.png"
    }
  },
  "content_scripts": [
    {
      "matches": ["<all_urls>"],
      "js": ["content.js"],
      "css": ["content.css"]
    }
  ],
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js",
    "type": "module"
  }
}

Implementing the Popup UI

The popup is shown when the extension icon is clicked.

// popup.ts
interface Settings {
  enabled: boolean;
  highlightColor: string;
  fontSize: number;
}

const defaultSettings: Settings = {
  enabled: true,
  highlightColor: "#ffeb3b",
  fontSize: 14,
};

async function loadSettings(): Promise<Settings> {
  const result = await chrome.storage.sync.get("settings");
  return { ...defaultSettings, ...result.settings };
}

async function saveSettings(settings: Settings) {
  await chrome.storage.sync.set({ settings });
  // Notify the content script about the settings change
  const [tab] = await chrome.tabs.query({ active: true, currentWindow: true });
  if (tab.id) {
    chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tab.id, { type: "SETTINGS_UPDATED", settings });
  }
}

document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", async () => {
  const settings = await loadSettings();

  const enabledCheckbox = document.getElementById("enabled") as HTMLInputElement;
  const colorInput = document.getElementById("color") as HTMLInputElement;
  const fontSizeInput = document.getElementById("fontSize") as HTMLInputElement;

  enabledCheckbox.checked = settings.enabled;
  colorInput.value = settings.highlightColor;
  fontSizeInput.value = String(settings.fontSize);

  enabledCheckbox.addEventListener("change", () => {
    settings.enabled = enabledCheckbox.checked;
    saveSettings(settings);
  });

  colorInput.addEventListener("input", () => {
    settings.highlightColor = colorInput.value;
    saveSettings(settings);
  });

  fontSizeInput.addEventListener("input", () => {
    settings.fontSize = parseInt(fontSizeInput.value);
    saveSettings(settings);
  });
});

Implementing the Content Script

Content scripts manipulate the contents of a web page. Here we implement a feature that highlights text on the page.

// content.ts
let settings: Settings = {
  enabled: true,
  highlightColor: "#ffeb3b",
  fontSize: 14,
};

function highlightText(searchTerm: string) {
  if (!settings.enabled || !searchTerm) return;

  const walker = document.createTreeWalker(
    document.body,
    NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT,
    null
  );

  const matches: { node: Text; index: number }[] = [];

  while (walker.nextNode()) {
    const node = walker.currentNode as Text;
    const index = node.textContent?.toLowerCase().indexOf(searchTerm.toLowerCase()) ?? -1;
    if (index !== -1) {
      matches.push({ node, index });
    }
  }

  matches.reverse().forEach(({ node, index }) => {
    const range = document.createRange();
    range.setStart(node, index);
    range.setEnd(node, index + searchTerm.length);

    const highlight = document.createElement("mark");
    highlight.style.backgroundColor = settings.highlightColor;
    highlight.className = "ext-highlight";
    range.surroundContents(highlight);
  });
}

function clearHighlights() {
  document.querySelectorAll(".ext-highlight").forEach((el) => {
    const parent = el.parentNode;
    if (parent) {
      parent.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(el.textContent || ""), el);
      parent.normalize();
    }
  });
}

// Message listener
chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((message, _sender, sendResponse) => {
  if (message.type === "HIGHLIGHT") {
    clearHighlights();
    highlightText(message.term);
    sendResponse({ success: true });
  }
  if (message.type === "SETTINGS_UPDATED") {
    settings = message.settings;
  }
});

Implementing the Background Service Worker

// background.ts
chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(() => {
  // Add a context menu item
  chrome.contextMenus.create({
    id: "highlight-selection",
    title: "Highlight selected text",
    contexts: ["selection"],
  });
});

chrome.contextMenus.onClicked.addListener(async (info, tab) => {
  if (info.menuItemId === "highlight-selection" && tab?.id) {
    await chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tab.id, {
      type: "HIGHLIGHT",
      term: info.selectionText,
    });
  }
});

For how this differs from CLI tool development, see CLI tool development. For writing efficient prompts, see 10 productivity tips that 3x your output.

Summary

With Claude Code, you can dramatically speed up Chrome extension development, from Manifest V3 configuration to the UI, content scripts, and background workers. Offload the spec complexity to Claude Code and focus on your product ideas.

For details, see the official Claude Code documentation.