devwatch-github

GitHub Devwatch for Chrome

Track GitHub activity across multiple repos. Get notifications for new PRs, issues, and releases without constantly refreshing.

Key Features

• Guided Setup - 2-minute wizard walks you through token creation and repo selection
• Browser Notifications - Get notified about new PRs, issues, and releases
• Multi-Repo Monitoring - Watch up to 50 repositories from one interface
• Configurable Updates - Check every 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes
• Activity Filtering - Search and filter by repo and activity type
• Badge Counts - Unread count on the extension icon
• Secure & Private - Your token stays local, zero third-party data sharing

Installation

From Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

1. Visit the Chrome Web Store
2. Click “Add to Chrome”
3. Grant permissions when prompted
4. Follow the guided setup wizard on first launch

GitHub Token Permissions: You’ll need a Personal Access Token with repo (for private repos) or public_repo (for public only).

Manual Installation (For Development)

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/jonmartin721/devwatch-github.git
   cd devwatch-github
   

2. Load the extension in Chrome:
   • Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable “Developer mode” (toggle in top right)
   • Click “Load unpacked”
   • Select the extension directory
3. Click the extension icon and follow the setup wizard

Quick Setup

First-Time Setup

An interactive wizard guides you through:

1. Create a GitHub token
2. Add repositories to watch
3. Choose activity types (PRs, Issues, Releases)

Takes about 2 minutes. No configuration knowledge needed.

Ongoing Use

• The extension automatically checks for activity at your configured interval (default: 15 minutes)
• Click the extension icon to view your activity feed
• Get browser notifications for new activity
• Badge count shows unread items at a glance
• Manage repositories and preferences anytime in Settings

How to Use

Popup Interface

Filter by type (All/PRs/Issues/Releases), search activities, refresh manually, or browse the archive. Click any item to open in GitHub.

Settings Page

Manage your GitHub token, watched repositories, activity filters, check interval, notifications, and theme. Export/import settings for backup.

Typical Workflow

Here’s what using the extension looks like day-to-day:

1. You’re working and get a notification: “2 new activities in your-org/api-server”
2. Click the extension icon to see the feed
3. See “Pull Request #145: Add OAuth2 authentication” (3 minutes ago)
4. Click the item to open it in GitHub
5. Review and comment on the PR
6. When you return to the extension, it’s marked as read

The extension keeps up to 2000 items in your local history, so you can always check something you saw earlier. Badge count updates automatically as you read items.

Accessibility

Full WCAG 2.1 Level A compliance with keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and ARIA landmarks.

Keyboard Shortcuts: R (refresh), S (search), A (archive), Escape (close), Arrow keys (navigate tabs)

Tested with NVDA/JAWS screen readers and axe-core. Report accessibility issues.

Privacy & Security

Your GitHub token is encrypted and stays on your machine. The extension only communicates with GitHub’s API - no analytics, no tracking, no third-party services.

• Encrypted Storage - Tokens use AES-GCM encryption in Chrome’s secure storage
• Local Only - All data stays on your machine, never sent to third parties
• GitHub API Only - No external servers or analytics services
• Minimal Permissions - Token used exclusively for fetching repository activity
• Open Source - Review the entire codebase, raise issues, or submit fixes

Data Storage

The extension stores up to 2000 activity items locally in Chrome storage. This limit ensures the extension stays performant while providing plenty of history.

Feed Management

You can optionally configure automatic expiry of old items:

• Auto-removal: Enable time-based expiry to automatically remove items older than a specified time
• Configurable Duration: Set expiry time from 1 to 168 hours (1 week)
• Applies to All Items: When enabled, both feed and archived items older than the threshold are removed
• Manual Control: Clear archive manually anytime with the “Clear Archive” button

Items are automatically removed when they exceed the 2000 item limit (keeping the most recent) or when they’re older than your configured expiry time (if enabled).

Rate Limiting

GitHub gives authenticated users 5,000 API requests per hour. Each repo check uses 1-3 requests, so even checking 50 repos every 15 minutes keeps you well under the limit.

The extension defaults to checking every 15 minutes. You can change this to 5, 30, or 60 minutes in settings. The 50-repo limit is just to keep things reasonable - you won’t hit GitHub’s rate limits even at that level.

Development

Project Structure

/devwatch-github
  /icons                  # Extension icons in various sizes
  /popup                  # Popup interface
    /controllers         # Popup business logic
    /views               # Popup view components
    popup.html
    popup.js
    popup.css
  /options                # Settings page
    /controllers         # Settings business logic
    /views               # Settings view components
    options.html
    options.js
  /shared                 # Shared utilities
    /api                 # GitHub API integration
    /ui                  # Shared UI components
  background.js           # Service worker for background tasks
  manifest.json           # Extension manifest (Manifest V3)

Technologies Used

• Vanilla JavaScript - No frameworks, pure JS for maximum compatibility
• Chrome Extension Manifest V3 - Latest extension standards
• GitHub REST API - Direct integration with GitHub’s API
• Chrome APIs - Storage, Notifications, and Alarms for core functionality

Running Tests

npm test

Local Development

1. Clone the repository
2. Run npm install for dependencies
3. Load as unpacked extension in Chrome
4. Make changes and reload the extension from chrome://extensions/

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Submit issues or pull requests. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

How to Contribute

• Bug Reports: Use GitHub Issues with clear reproduction steps
• Feature Requests: Open an issue describing the feature and use case
• Pull Requests: Fork, branch, and submit with clear commit messages
• Code Style: Follow existing patterns and use ESLint configuration

Documentation

• Privacy Policy - How we handle your data
• Changelog - Version history and release notes
• License - MIT License
• Contributing Guidelines - How to contribute

Roadmap

This is a side project for me, so I work on it when time allows - but I’d love to see contributions! Here are some features I’m considering:

• Comment notifications - Track new comments on issues and PRs
• Mention tracking - Get notified when you’re mentioned
• Multiple GitHub accounts - Switch between different accounts
• GitHub OAuth - Simplified authentication with one-click login
• Internationalization - Support for multiple languages
• Dashboard view - Full-page dashboard for all activity

If any of these sound useful, open an issue or submit a PR!

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Copyright (c) 2025 Jonathan Martin

Support

• Report issues: GitHub Issues
• Feature requests: GitHub Discussions

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[⭐ Star this repo](https://github.com/jonmartin721/devwatch-github) if you find it useful!

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