I wanted to read more of DEV.to. So I built it into my New Tab

Sometimes the best article you read is the one you weren't looking for.

You open a new tab to look something up. A headline catches your eye. You take a quick look, save it for later, and go back to what you were doing.

I've always liked that idea behind daily.dev's browser extension. I had it set as my default new-tab page, and the idea stayed with me: discovering something interesting shouldn't always require a deliberate visit to a website.

I wanted that moment with DEV.to.

When I wanted to see what was happening here, I'd open DEV and check the feed. That's a small step, but it means I have to remember to do it. A new tab is already part of my day.

So I built DEV New Tab, an unofficial Chrome extension that puts the DEV community there.

A DEV feed where you already are

Open a new tab and you can browse DEV articles, see who's writing them, and find something worth opening.

The extension has For you, Following, Latest, Top, and Curated feeds. You can use a grid or a list, switch themes, add your own shortcuts, and keep useful articles close with bookmarks or local saves.

Clicking a card opens a preview. The original article is always one click away on DEV, along with its comments and the author's profile.

That was the experience I wanted: a post gets a chance to catch my attention before I start typing another URL.

Hacktoberfest gave me another idea

While building this, Hacktoberfest got me thinking about what else I could try. Google's built-in AI APIs in Chrome were especially interesting.

Could the browser itself help me decide whether a long article was worth opening?

I used Chrome's local Prompt API to generate a short overview from the public article text. On supported setups, the model runs on your device. You don't need to add an AI API key, and the extension doesn't send the article to a publisher-operated AI server.

Browser, hardware, and language support vary. If local AI isn't available, you can still browse the feed and open the original articles.

The overview is there to help you get your bearings. It's AI-generated, so the original is still the place to check the details.

You can prepare a few visible articles ahead of time, wait until you open one, or opt into preparing all the articles already loaded in the feed. Cached overviews are reused. Opening and closing a preview doesn't restart a job that's already running.

Some of the fiddly work was around that last part. A summary finishing shouldn't move neighboring cards around. An author bio arriving shouldn't push the sharing buttons down. Those little things matter when this is a page you'll open repeatedly.

Share the part that caught your attention

I also wanted an easy way to share a useful passage.

Select part of an overview and a small toolbar appears. You can copy just the text, copy it with the article's source, or save it as a snapshot card.

The snapshots include the article title, author, and source link, with readable highlighted text in DEV-inspired colors. You can export the full overview from the menu too.

I want the author and original post to stay attached to the thing being shared. If a passage makes someone curious, they should be able to find the article behind it.

Your existing DEV login is enough

There's no separate extension account or login flow.

If you're already signed into DEV.to in the same browser profile, the extension uses that session for personalized feeds, your DEV reading list, and reactions. Comments stay on the original DEV article.

Without a DEV login, public discovery still works. You can browse public feeds, open articles, use local saves, and use the supported local preview features. Account-backed actions need your DEV session.

I'd love for you to try it

This started with a pretty ordinary wish: I wanted to come across more DEV articles without having to remember to open the site first.

Now there's an extension you can try:

Install DEV New Tab

Use it for a bit and tell me what you'd change. Which feed would you keep open? Is there something you wish a DEV new-tab page could do? If you find a bug, leave a comment with what happened.

If it gets real traction, I'd like to open-source it and work on the next version with the community.

I'd be happy if an article someone might otherwise miss gets another reader, or a quick new-tab visit turns into a good discussion here on DEV.

I hope you like it. I'd love to hear what you think.

DEV New Tab is an independent community project, not an official DEV product.

Comments

[Rian]

Really like the AI overview touch. Generating summaries locally with the Prompt API so the browsing stays private is a smart call, and the snapshot cards that keep the author and source link attached are clever too.

This feels like exactly the kind of independent builder project that deserves more eyes. I run 42Loop.com, a free community-voted homepage for builder apps. If it can pull five votes it lands on the front page, and you can submit it with the button on the homepage.

[Jason Y. (dev_in_the_fog)]

Such a clean explanation of a nuanced problem. Bookmarking this for reference, thanks for sharing!

[Nikoloz Turazashvili (@axrisi)]

thanks. try the extension and let me know :)