Hot Reloading for Chrome Extensions

What problem does it solve?

This skill provides a zero-dependency hot-reloading system for Manifest V3 (MV3) extensions, enabling automatic extension and tab refreshing whenever source files change, thereby eliminating the need for manual reloads in chrome://extensions.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Zero-dependency watcher server and client script that refreshes extension tabs and reloads the extension on file changes.
• Works during MV3 extension development, refreshing background service workers, options pages, and content scripts as you code.
• Simple setup: copy files from the skill's examples/ into your project, update the background script to import the client, and add necessary manifest permissions.

Quick Start

Copy examples/hot-reload-server.mjs and examples/hot-reload-client.js into your project root. Update your extension background service worker to importScripts('hot-reload-client.js') as the first line. Add permissions to manifest.json: "management" and "tabs". Run the watcher server with node hot-reload-server.mjs.