GitHub Link Opener: Born from Developer Frustration

You know that feeling when you're browsing GitHub and need to check some external documentation or related project? You click a link, and suddenly you're taken away from your GitHub context. That's exactly what kept happening to me and Theo (t3.gg).

One day, after getting tired of manually managing tabs and losing our place on GitHub, I thought: "There has to be a better way." And that's how GitHub Link Opener was born.

The Problem We Were Facing

• Context Loss: Clicking external links would take us away from GitHub
• Tab Management: Manually opening new tabs for every external link
• Workflow Disruption: Breaking our focus while browsing documentation
• Repetitive Actions: We were doing this multiple times every day

The Solution

I built a simple Chrome extension that does exactly what we needed:

• Automatic New Tabs: External links open in new tabs automatically
• Stay on GitHub: Keep your GitHub context while accessing external resources
• Zero Configuration: Works right out of the box
• Privacy Focused: No data collection, no tracking, just pure functionality

How to Get It

Just visit the Chrome Web Store and click "Add to Chrome". That's it! No complicated setup, no configuration needed.

Real-World Impact

Since building this extension, I have been using it daily. It's one of those small utilities that you don't realize you need until you have it. The time saved might seem small per use, but it adds up significantly over time.

Technical Details

The extension is built with vanilla JavaScript and only requires minimal permissions:

• Only runs on GitHub.com pages
• No data collection or tracking
• No external connections

You can check out the code on GitHub - it's open source and contributions are welcome!