transformers_ExtensionStation

Inspiration

We spend hours every day on the web — overspending because we don't know there's a better price somewhere else, getting distracted on YouTube, and drowning in long articles. We wanted one tool that quietly fixes all three without switching apps or installing multiple extensions.

What it does

ExtensionHub is a unified Chrome extension pack with three tools — SaveMate compares prices across Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Superstore in real time, LockInTube filters your YouTube feed to only topics you allow and blocks distraction searches and Summarize, uses a local AI model to summarize any webpage or answer questions about it.

How we built it

We built it with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS using Chrome Extensions Manifest. Each tool has its own content script injected into relevant pages, a shared background service worker handles API calls & caching, and a single popup shell routes between all three sections with maintaining the useState.

Challenges we ran into

SaveMate: Search results were returning wrong products like accessories instead of the actual item, so we built a relevance scorer and accessory detector to filter them out.

LockInTube: YouTube lazy-loads videos as you scroll, so a one-time filter on page load wasn't enough so, we had to use a MutationObserver to catch and filter new cards in real time.

Summarize: Finding a model fast enough to feel responsive inside a popup was difficult and most were too large or too slow for practical use. Running Ollama locally adds setup steps for the user, which creates friction we're still working to remove.

Accomplishments we're proud of

Successfully when combining three independent extensions into one clean, product with a shared design system. Also, the scoring that filters bad search results was something we're genuinely proud of because it actually made the price comparison trustworthy rather than just fast.

What we learned

Building a browser extension taught us how much hidden complexity lives in things that actually sound simple. We learned how Chrome's content scripts, service workers, and popup all communicate through a strict messaging system

What's next for transformers_ExtensionStation

We want to expand each tool: more retailers for SaveMate, cloud AI for Summarize so local setup isn't required, and more filtering options for LockInTube. The bigger vision is making ExtensionHub a platform where users can toggle and configure each tool from one unified settings page.