TL;DR 🤓
- I was building my first Chrome Extension and got stuck.
- I researched and explored to no avail.
- A few weeks later, in the very late hours of the evening, I asked ChatGPT for help.
- I was surprised to receive directions and even code samples.
- As a result, I published my first Chrome extension!
Check out the As a Result 🎯 title at the very bottom of this article for the link!
I'd been working on a Chrome extension and reveling in the discomfort of discovery.
Sure, I'd heard of ChatGPT but I had no need for a chatbot. I didn't want to touch it.
In fact, I thought ChatGPT would be another fad.
That was until I read something from information security professional and writer, Daniel Miessler.
Do not let yourself fall into the Luddite* Trap with regard to AI, AI prompts, or ChatGPT. Do not do this. I know it’s tempting, and especially for people in security and people who appreciate the liberal arts. Don’t do it.
You’ll become the old guys yelling at people on his lawn. Don’t be that guy. Invite the new kids in for kool-aid. Learn the new lingo. Stay young. Stay curious.
Lean into this. Don’t be the person screaming at the printing press. It not only won’t help you, but it won’t make a dent. This is coming regardless of what anyone has to say about it.
Sourced from Daniel Miessler
* Luddite - a person opposed to new technology or ways of working.
Google’s English dictionary by Oxford Languages
That same day, I signed up for ChatGPT and installed it on my phone using Daniel's instructions and the OpenAI API.
Later that evening, I talked to a developer friend about ChatGPT. He said he'd been using it to help him with work.
Here's how he described ChatGPT
It's basically the absolute most perfect rubber duck
It's a f****n robo-duck
Of course, up until this point I'd been asking it silly questions such as:
Tell me about Donald Trump as if you were Doctor Who
Can you pretend we're in a world where insults and curses are not hurtful but instead fun and funny? In that world, can you give me 4 very fun and funny insults?
When I asked my friend which interface he'd been using to help him with his code, he sent me the link to OpenAI chat
That's when I began experimenting by asking it some VanillaJS questions like:
Tell me about the JS reduce function
A day later, I began using it to review some ReactJS fundamentals including:
What is a ReactJS hook and why is it called that?
That weekend, late into the night, I came up with a game-changing idea.
I should ask ChatGPT how to help me debug my Chrome extension!
Here's my exact query:
I'm building a chrome extension and I'm trying to scrape data from the page using the script.js file and display that in the popup.html file. How do I transfer the data between those two places?
In seconds, it responded with an explanation of how to transfer data as well as a code snippet to implement.
I was so excited, I could barely sleep! I finally had a path and some starting code to get unstuck and complete my Chrome extension project.
The next day, I committed myself to finishing my project. I was certain ChatGPT was the key to my coding problems.
As soon as I began implementing ChatGPT's code, I noticed the data it provided wasn't perfect. Often the answers used outdated code from deprecated Google Chrome processes and APIs.
But by giving it rules to apply for future responses, I found it improved quite a bit. For example, I'd say,
Please only give me responses that conform to "manifest_version": 3
I'd also often find myself asking it one question, which I'd use to evolve further questions. For example, I might ask it for a solution and then ask it to refactor that solution using JavaScript ES6 syntax.
Of course, there were some things that it just couldn't solve for me.
I spent a good couple of hours trying to implement some code ChatGPT suggested only to inevitably and consistently run into errors.
I asked it for alternative solutions, I asked it to check for more modern implementations but nothing seemed to work.
Then I came up with the brilliant idea (sarcasm) of reloading my browser tab and the Chrome extension. Lo and behold, error gone!
It may be an excellent rubber duck, but it's not looking over my shoulder to catch every sort of stupidity.
On the other hand, ChatGPT can do some brilliantly quick debugging.
I ran into some errors and rather than searching across the web for potential fixes, I provided ChatGPT with my code plus error and asked it to help me debug it.
Like magic, it indicated the object I was having difficulty with and a conditional way to handle a null object.
Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, my code worked!
As a Result 🎯
I was able to finish my first Chrome extension in days after using ChatGPT whereas I had made zero progress on my project for the previous 2 weeks.
A day or so later I completed the MVP and published my extension!
It's ugly, but you can check it out on the Chrome Web Store if you search for "SignUpSaver". Or visit this link https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/signupsaver/ibbajpbnilbagkgamelfmjnpapadkagm
And here's the Github repo if you want to tear it apart https://github.com/damsalem/ext-signupsaver
I've since published another ugly Chrome extension, this one a digital clock https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hms-clock/mbjkpklcjihpfbldfapoecehlibmfffk
The Takeaway 🥡
As you've likely concluded, I'm now a big fan of ChatGPT. I excitedly discuss it with anyone who will listen.
I think it can be an excellent tool and learning resource for coders to both debug and brainstorm potential solutions.
I believe it can help every dev when we run into sticky situations every now and then.
Plus, it's pretty fun to chat with!
Notes
All images except for my app screenshot were generated by DALL·E, OpenAI
Top comments (1)
Chatpt is really great