floccusaddon / floccusaddon/floccus

Feature Request: Add Browser Extension Sync

Open
#2,249 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
enhancement
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
8.5k
Forks
327
Avg merge
3d 14h
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

### Describe the feature you'd like to request

Add extension syncing to Floccus, similar to bookmark sync.

**Problem:**

Privacy-focused browsers (Helium, Ungoogled Chromium) don't have built-in sync. Manually installing 10-20 extensions on each browser is tedious.

**Inspiration:**

[Extension Sync](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/kimbiihomiiklblgkdllffbakadjgako) does this via GitHub, but it's limited (2.5★ rating, GitHub-only, no WebDAV/Nextcloud).

**Why Floccus?**

- Already has sync infrastructure (WebDAV/Nextcloud)
- Privacy-focused, open-source
- Cross-browser support exists

### Describe the solution you'd like

**MVP: Extension List Sync**
Sync extension metadata (ID, name, version, enabled state) as JSON:
```json
{
"extensions": [
{
"id": "cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm",
"name": "uBlock Origin",
"version": "1.56.0",
"enabled": true,
"url": "https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm"
}
]
}

User Flow:

1. Enable "Extension Sync" in settings
2. Floccus syncs extension list to WebDAV/Nextcloud
3. On another browser: notification "5 new extensions available"
4. User clicks "Install" → Floccus opens Chrome Web Store tabs
5. User clicks "Add to Chrome" on each tab.

Technical:

- Use chrome.management.getAll() API
- Reuse existing sync infrastructure
- Store as JSON alongside bookmarks

### Describe alternatives you've considered

**Alternatives:**

1. **Extension Sync** - GitHub-only, low rating (2.5★), no WebDAV
2. **Manual install** - Time-consuming, error-prone
3. **Browser sync** - Not available in privacy browsers, requires Google/Mozilla account
4. **Script copying** - Fragile, no cross-device sync

**Why Floccus is better:**
- Self-hosted (WebDAV/Nextcloud)
- Open source
- Already trusted (7,974★)
- No vendor lock-in

**Target users:** Privacy-conscious users, multi-browser users, developers
**Benefit:** Unique feature, no competitor has self-hosted extension sync

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start by locating Floccus's existing bookmark sync flow and its WebDAV/Nextcloud storage path, then review how the browser extension exposes chrome.management.getAll across supported browsers. Define the JSON metadata and user flow alongside bookmarks; done means extension lists can sync and users receive actionable installation prompts without disrupting bookmark sync.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
backend, web-dev
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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