ReplyFirst

A Chrome extension that reverses Gmail conversation thread order to show the newest messages first.

Features

• Reverses Gmail conversation display order using CSS flexbox
• Simple toggle to enable/disable functionality
• Clean, modern user interface
• Works with Gmail's conversation view
• No external dependencies
• Privacy-focused: no tracking or data collection

Installation

From Source

1. Clone this repository
2. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
3. Enable "Developer mode" in the top right
4. Click "Load unpacked"
5. Select the replyfirst directory

Usage

1. Click the ReplyFirst icon in your Chrome toolbar
2. Enable the toggle switch
3. Open or refresh Gmail
4. Ensure "Conversation View" is enabled in Gmail Settings → General

The extension will automatically reverse the order of messages in your Gmail conversations, showing the newest messages first.

How It Works

ReplyFirst uses CSS flexbox's flex-direction: column-reverse property to reverse the visual order of Gmail conversation threads without modifying the DOM structure. This approach is:

• Lightweight and performant
• Non-invasive to Gmail's functionality
• Easy to toggle on/off

Installation Options

Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

Coming soon - Install from the Chrome Web Store for automatic updates.

Manual Installation (Developer Mode)

1. Download the latest replyfirst-VERSION.zip from Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
4. Enable "Developer mode" in the top right
5. Click "Load unpacked"
6. Select the extracted replyfirst directory

Enterprise Deployment

For enterprise environments, download the replyfirst-VERSION.crx file and deploy via Chrome enterprise policies:

{
  "ExtensionSettings": {
    "EXTENSION_ID": {
      "installation_mode": "force_installed",
      "update_url": "https://privatelinkio.github.io/replyfirst/updates.xml"
    }
  }
}

See the Release Notes for the current extension ID.

Development

Project Structure

replyfirst/
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       └── release.yml        # CI/CD pipeline
├── manifest.json              # Extension manifest (v3)
├── images/                    # Icon assets
├── pages/
│   └── popup.html            # Extension popup UI
├── scripts/
│   ├── background.js         # Service worker
│   ├── content.js            # Content script for Gmail
│   └── popup.js              # Popup UI logic
├── styles/
│   └── content-style.css     # Gmail conversation reversal CSS
├── _locales/
│   └── en/
│       └── messages.json     # Localization strings
├── README.md                  # This file
├── RELEASE.md                 # Release process documentation
└── CHANGELOG.md               # Version history

Technologies Used

• Manifest V3
• Chrome Extension APIs
• CSS Flexbox
• Vanilla JavaScript
• GitHub Actions (CI/CD)

Building and Releasing

See RELEASE.md for detailed instructions on:

• Setting up the build environment
• Generating CRX signing keys
• Creating releases
• Deploying to Chrome Web Store
• Enterprise deployment options

Quick start for creating a release:

# Create and push a version tag
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

The CI/CD pipeline will automatically build and publish the release.

Privacy

ReplyFirst:

• Does not collect any user data
• Does not track browsing behavior
• Does not make external network requests
• Only requests storage permission for saving user preferences
• Only runs on Gmail pages

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.

Support

For issues or feature requests, please use the GitHub issue tracker.