Chrome Extensions to Make Your Programming Life Easier In 2022

We’re used to the concept of tools that make our lives easier. For instance, in our busy work lives, we often use tools like highlighters and sticky notes to organize our thoughts, or we might use a calculator to add up figures faster than we could add them in our heads.

Even within this context, programmers are constantly using tools to make their working lives more manageable. Some of these are built-in to the programming language itself — a for loop is just one example of a tool that makes specific tasks easier. Others are external applications that help streamline a process, perhaps you use a tool like Notepad++ to write code more efficiently.

Tools can be even further specialized depending on your preferences or style of work. For instance, if you prefer Google Chrome as your browser of choice over Firefox or Internet Explorer, you can install extensions to customize its functionality in ways that fit your coding needs perfectly. Here are ten extensions that will make your programming life easier and more efficient:

1. Stylus

The stylus is an extension for Chrome, available on the Chrome Web Store. It adds a new hotkey combination to your computer, which, when activated, lets you write code just like you would write text.

This is the most accurate form of writing code in that it removes all the cruft attached to traditional coding environments built on top of text-based languages. In addition, the extension has tools built right into it, such as autocompletion, that help you write semantic and clean CSS and HTML with ease.

The extension also allows you to save a webpage to your account and edit it from any computer in seconds. You can even write code for it.

2. ColorZilla

ColorZilla is an extension that lets you read the color of any pixel on your screen. This can be useful when creating websites and apps, especially if you’re working with dynamic colors or gradients.

ColorZilla has some other valuable features, including a CSS gradient generator and a color picker.

3. JSON Formatter

JSON Formatter is a simple, easy-to-use JSON formatter. It highlights syntax errors and helps to format JSON code. With this extension, you can validate your JSON document online before publishing it on your site. This helps in keeping your website safe from malicious attacks while using the AJAX functions in JavaScript.

The JSON Formatter is an excellent tool for beginners and experts alike as it allows them to learn quickly about different aspects of JSON without difficulty understanding its structure or syntax.

With this extension, you can easily convert any formatted text into JSON data or vice versa by clicking on the icon above every formatting option available within this extension’s interface.

4. WhatFont

WhatFont is one of the most valuable extensions for designers and developers alike. The extension allows you to find out what fonts are used on any website or in any image, which is excellent for discovering new typefaces and styles that you can use in your projects.

WhatFont will do its best to find the font name and style if possible (e.g., bold, italic), but there are times when it may not be able to get a correct answer. In this case, WhatFont will give you an “unknown” label along with other options such as “close match,” “similar match,” or “no match”.

5. Window Resizer

Window Resizer is another extension that allows you to resize the browser window. It’s useful for testing responsive design and inspecting how elements of your UI are displayed at different sizes.

You can also use Window Resizer to test how different UI elements are displayed on different screen resolutions or pixel densities. This can be done by selecting a specific resolution from the dropdown menu in the top left corner of the window resizer bar.

6. BrowserStack

BrowserStack is an extension that allows you to test your website on different browsers, devices, operating systems, and resolutions. It also allows you to choose different connection speeds to see how your site looks for users with high-speed internet versus those with slow connections.

With BrowserStack, you can do this without installing anything or making any changes to your computer system.

7. JavaScript Beautifier

You can use the JavaScript Beautifier extension to format your JavaScript code and ensure that it’s all adequately indented and includes curly braces, semicolons, and other necessary characters. This extension will also add missing curly braces, quotes, and parentheses. It even fixes up spacing, so your code is easier to read.

This is an excellent way to ensure that all syntax errors are caught before you submit any work for review or publication (especially if someone else will be reviewing).

8. Usersnap

Usersnap is a tool for website and mobile app developers who want to get feedback and bug reports from their users without resorting to e-mail or phone calls. It’s a Chrome extension that creates a snapshot of a webpage when the user hits the “Usersnap” button. It’s quick, easy, and saves you time because you don’t have to go through other steps (like creating an account or uploading files).

The screenshot is automatically sent to your Usersnap dashboard, where you can annotate it using drawing tools, add your text comments, and share it with anyone you like. You can also add screenshots of native mobile apps directly via the Usersnap extension, which sends them to your dashboard immediately.

9. F19N Obtrusive Live Test

The f19N Obtrusive Live Test Chrome extension for programmers enables the developer to run tests in the browser without the need for a source code repository. The developer or user interacts with their local test runner file, and tests are executed in a headless browser; this provides greater flexibility in where and how tests are performed.

In addition, this extension allows you to select any HTML element on the page and run your test against it; this is invaluable for testing interactions between elements on the page. You can even use this capability to test whether specific CSS properties work as expected by checking them in a headless browser first.

10. Wappalyzer

This is a bonus extension that I use a lot. It’s called Wappalyzer and shows you the technology behind any website. It can help you understand how a website works and what kind of features it has, which is helpful for developers and designers.

It also helps you decide whether to use a particular service — because some companies keep their technology under wraps — or at least know where to start looking for information about its technology.

Conclusion

I hope you find this list helpful. Use it to quickly get through your next code project or improve your day-to-day life as a developer.

Article originally published on Medium: https://medium.com/illumination/top-10-chrome-extensions-to-make-your-programming-life-easier-in-2022-281ee9435f61