FlashDoc — Instant documents from any selection

FlashDoc is a Chrome/Edge (Manifest V3) extension that turns highlighted text into perfectly named downloads in the format you need. It auto-detects code, data and prose, lets you override the target format from the context menu, shortcuts or popup, and ships a label-ready PDF generator for shipping stickers.

Why FlashDoc?

• Instant capture from anywhere: Right-click, tap the floating button or press a shortcut to turn the current selection into a file without copying or switching tabs.
• Auto-detects the right type: YAML, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, JSON, CSV, Markdown, HTML, CSS, SQL and more are recognised automatically when Smart Save is used. 【F:service-worker.js†L241-L247】【F:service-worker.js†L591-L629】
• Consistent naming and folders: Files default to FlashDocs/<format>/flashdoc_YYYY-MM-DD_hh-mm.ext and can switch to first-line or custom patterns. Conflicts are uniquified automatically. 【F:service-worker.js†L249-L344】
• Label workflow built in: Convert up to four short lines into an 89×28 mm PDF label with automatic centering and scaling. 【F:service-worker.js†L373-L588】
• Progress you can see: Notifications, popup counters and last-file details keep you informed. 【F:service-worker.js†L269-L305】【F:popup.js†L38-L132】

How it works

• Service worker (service-worker.js): Boots the extension, registers context menus and keyboard commands, applies format detection, builds filenames/paths, generates blobs (including PDF/label layouts) and triggers downloads while updating stats. 【F:service-worker.js†L1-L340】【F:service-worker.js†L344-L640】
• Content script (content.js): Injects a floating action button, enforces the minimum selection length and relays selected text to the worker. 【F:content.js†L4-L199】
• Popup (popup.html + popup.js): Displays totals and recent saves, exposes Smart/TXT/MD/PDF/Label actions and links to options/help. 【F:popup.js†L38-L272】
• Options page (options.html + options.js): Persists settings, pings the worker to refresh context menus and lets users reset to defaults. 【F:options.js†L1-L170】
• Manifest (manifest.json): Declares permissions, commands and entrypoints for Chrome Web Store compliance. 【F:manifest.json†L1-L63】

Permissions & data use

• Permissions: contextMenus, downloads, storage, notifications, scripting, activeTab, tabs. Host access is <all_urls> so the extension can read the current selection on any page when you invoke it. 【F:manifest.json†L7-L24】
• Data handling: Selections are processed locally; no network requests are made. Settings live in chrome.storage.sync and stats in chrome.storage.local to keep them on-device. 【F:service-worker.js†L35-L77】【F:service-worker.js†L78-L119】
• User trust: Notifications are optional and filenames are sanitised to avoid unsafe characters. 【F:service-worker.js†L194-L237】【F:service-worker.js†L312-L344】

Install for development or review

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Open Chrome and visit chrome://extensions.
3. Enable Developer mode (top right).
4. Click Load unpacked and choose this folder.
5. Optional: run a quick smoke load without the extensions page: google-chrome --disable-extensions-file-access-check --load-extension=$(pwd). 【F:AGENTS.md†L11-L15】

Using FlashDoc

1. Select text (default minimum: 10 characters). If the selection is shorter, the floating button stays hidden and commands are ignored. 【F:content.js†L44-L97】
2. Trigger a save:
   • Right-click → ⚡ FlashDoc → pick Auto, TXT, MD, YAML, Python, Label, etc. 【F:service-worker.js†L4-L69】【F:service-worker.js†L124-L167】
   • Keyboard: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S (Smart), Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+T (TXT), Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+M (MD), Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P (PDF). 【F:manifest.json†L27-L52】
   • Floating button in the page or the popup actions for one-tap saves. 【F:content.js†L83-L199】【F:popup.js†L200-L272】
3. Review the download: Files save to your configured folder, with optional per-format subfolders and notifications. Stats update in the popup automatically. 【F:service-worker.js†L201-L272】【F:popup.js†L38-L132】

Customisation

Open the options page (chrome://extensions → extension details → Options or ⚙️ in the popup) to:

• Change folder paths, naming pattern and whether to group by format. 【F:options.js†L1-L59】
• Toggle notifications, sounds, badge counters and format usage tracking. 【F:options.js†L60-L133】
• Control the context menu, floating button, auto-hide behaviour and button position. 【F:options.js†L60-L133】
• Adjust minimum selection length, smart detection and recommended formats. 【F:options.js†L1-L107】
• Restore defaults in one click. 【F:options.js†L134-L170】

Packaging for the Chrome Web Store

1. Bump the version in manifest.json if needed. 【F:manifest.json†L3-L6】
2. Run a clean build of assets if you maintain compiled artifacts (not required for the shipped scripts).
3. Create an upload zip excluding dev/output artefacts:

   zip -r out/flashdoc.zip . -x 'out/*' '.git/*'

4. Upload the zip in the Chrome Web Store dashboard, provide screenshots of the popup/options, and paste this README’s feature summary into the listing description.

QA before submission

• Exercise context menus, keyboard shortcuts, popup buttons and the label flow on test-flashdoc.html. 【F:SMOKE-TESTS.md†L1-L35】
• Validate smart detection with YAML, Python, JSON and Markdown snippets and confirm naming patterns. 【F:TESTING.md†L1-L36】
• Ensure notifications behave as configured and that stats reset when the date changes. 【F:service-worker.js†L274-L304】
• Repackage and install in a fresh profile to confirm permissions prompts and downloads work as expected.

Technical stack

• Manifest V3 service worker for background logic and downloads.
• Vanilla JavaScript + DOM for popup, options and content UI—no external bundles or remote assets.
• Chrome APIs: context menus, downloads, storage, notifications, scripting, tabs/activeTab. 【F:manifest.json†L7-L24】

Support & licensing

• Issues and feature requests: open a GitHub issue on the repo homepage. 【F:manifest.json†L61-L62】
• License: MIT. Contributions are welcome—follow the commit/PR guidance in AGENTS.md. 【F:AGENTS.md†L26-L33】