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Lee Reilly

Posted on Feb 8 • Edited on Feb 11

I Built a Chrome Extension to hide noisy GitHub Issue timeline events (with Copilot CLI)

#githubcopilot #githubchallenge #cli #devchallenge

GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge Submission

This is a submission for the GitHub Copilot CLI Challenge

What I Built

GitHub Issue Focus is a Chrome extension that hides noisy, automated timeline events on GitHub issues - project shuffles, label churn, assignment ping-pong, and other bot-generated chatter.

If you’ve got lots of automation, projects, and/or overly enthusiastic labeling colleagues ಠ_ಠ, you know exactly what I mean. Here it is in action...

Why I Built It

I like my GitHub issues the way I like my sandwiches: simple.
No mustard. No mayo. No garnish. No oils. No green stuff. I don’t need five pages of updates showing something moving from Done to Complete and back again.

I’m rarely interested in who applied a label, reassigned an issue, or shuffled it between projects. I care far more about vertical real estate and skimability.

The extension trims the fat so the signal stands out - without removing important context like cross-references or closed/reopened events. Everything is configurable - hide what you don’t care about, keep what you do.

It works for me - and hopefully anyone drowning in over-automated issues <3

Demo

🔗 Repo: https://github.com/leereilly/gh-issue-cleaner-upper

The extension runs automatically on GitHub issue pages. Open an issue, toggle what you want hidden in the popup, and watch the timeline instantly calm down.

(Screenshots or a short GIF of before/after would fit perfectly here.)

My Experience with GitHub Copilot CLI

TL;DR: This was built in under five minutes - and worked out of the gate!

I’ve built a few Chrome extensions before, so I roughly know the territory. That said, I essentially asked Copilot CLI to create this, pasted in some HTML with the offending markup, and was explicit about what should be configurable.

I used Copilot CLI to:

Scaffold the Chrome extension structure
Sanity-check manifest.json for MV3 correctness
Generate and refine DOM selectors for GitHub’s issue timeline
Speed up repetitive config and test setup

The biggest win was momentum. Instead of context-switching to docs or Stack Overflow, I stayed in flow - asking Copilot CLI things like "hide GitHub issue timeline events added to project" and iterating from there.

It didn’t replace thinking... but it absolutely replaced yak shaving.

Check it out and give it a ⭐️

leereilly / github-issue-focus

Turn noisy issues into calm conversations. A Chrome extension that filters out noisy automated timeline updates on GitHub issues.

GitHub Issue Focus

GitHub Issue Focus is a Chrome extension that cleans up noisy issue and pull request timelines so you can actually follow the conversation.

Instead of wading through endless "added to project", "labeled", and "status changed" updates, you will see the signal. Real discussion, decisions, and context.

Less noise. More clarity.

Install it Via the Chrome Web Store. Take it for a spin on this issue - see how it compares before and after.

✨ Why you will love it

🧹 Instantly declutter timelines
Hide repetitive, automated updates that do not add value to you.
🎯 Focus on real conversations
Surface the comments and changes that actually matter.
⚡ Works automatically
No setup required. Install and your GitHub issues are instantly cleaner.
🎛️ Fully customizable
Choose exactly which events to hide or show.