There are now over 137.000 extensions available on the Google Chrome Store. Among those you will find several neat extensions for GitHub that will let you browse repositories faster online. Here are my personal favorites I want to share with you:
1. Explore the file tree structure of repositories
The Gitako extension will boost your productivity when you have to navigate through a deep folder structure of a repository. A column on the left side will provide the file tree structure and allows you to easily expand folders and switch between files. Additionally, you also have a very quick search to find specific files.
It needs to be mentioned that there is a more popular alternative called “Octotree”. However I, and apparently other extension users, prefer Gitako over Octotree since it has a more modern UI and is completely free with all its features.
2. File Icons for GitHub
Are you also missing the file icons on GitHub? There is good news: You can add a Chrome extension for GitHub which provides icons specific to the file format. This addition is especially helpful for me as a visual techie. My personal favorite icon set for the dark mode on GitHub is “Material Icons for GitHub”.
3. Download only selected files
GitHub only allows you to download the complete repository. If it’s a large repo and you only need one or two files, GitZip for GitHub is the extension that is here to help. Quickly select the files you need to download (1) and click the download button on the bottom right (2).
One more: Find all repositories on any web page
Sometimes you find an interesting blog post about a coding project and want to see the repo with the actual code asap instead of reading the whole article. Repo Collector is specifically designed for this purpose. Furthermore, you will be able to check if the repository is maintained and how popular it is on GitHub without leaving the page directly in the extension. Here you will find the Repo Collector in the Chrome Webstore.
P.S.: I have to add, this extension was created by myself since I wanted to have a quick overview of the linked repositories.
Do you have a feature request or would like to give some feedback? I’m happy to hear from you. Send me a message on Linkedin, Twitter, or in the comments below.
Happy Coding! ✌️