I recently finished my studies in Multiplatform Application Development in Spain.
While working on my final project, I kept running into a problem that had nothing to do with writing code: I could not keep my research organized.
The problem
A normal research session would begin with three useful tabs.
A few hours later, I would have twenty tabs spread across several windows:
- Documentation
- Articles
- Similar projects
- Technical discussions
- Tutorials I wanted to revisit
- Sources I might need to cite
Bookmarks preserved the URLs, but they did not preserve the context.
Why did I save this page? Which project was it related to? Had I already read it? Which other sources belonged to the same investigation?
I tried tab groups, bookmark folders and notes, but the research still ended up scattered across different places.
So I started building my own solution.
Building Research Packs
Research Packs is a Chrome extension that turns selected tabs into reusable research sessions.
Instead of saving every page separately, you create a pack containing the sources that belong together.
A pack can include:
- Selected browser tabs
- Notes and tags
- A research project
- Source-specific notes
- Saved metadata
- The context needed to return later
When I need the research again, I can search for the pack and restore the complete session.
Why I chose a local-first approach
Research can contain sensitive or unfinished information.
I did not want users to create another account or upload their saved sources to an unknown server just to organize some tabs.
Research Packs therefore stores its packs and notes locally in Chrome.
This approach has limitations—particularly when thinking about synchronization and collaboration—but it makes the first version simpler and more private.
It also forced me to think carefully about what the extension actually needed to store.
Features that grew from real use
As I continued using the extension, saving tabs was no longer enough.
I added features that solved problems I encountered during my own research:
Projects
Related packs can be grouped into a larger project instead of becoming another flat list.
Search and duplicate detection
Saved sources can be found through their titles, URLs, tags and notes. Duplicate links are detected before they create unnecessary clutter.
Session restoration
A complete pack can be reopened when I want to continue the research.
Citation exports
Saved sources can be converted into APA, MLA, BibTeX or RIS references.
Combined summaries
Several sources can be brought together into a focused summary, making it easier to understand what the collection is actually about.
What I learned
The hardest part was not building the first working version.
The difficult part was turning a tool that made sense to me into something another person could understand without an explanation.
That meant spending a surprising amount of time on:
- Onboarding
- Empty states
- Translations
- Accessibility
- Dark mode
- Clear permission explanations
- Store screenshots
- Privacy documentation
- Free and paid feature boundaries
Publishing a browser extension also made me realize that development is only one part of launching a product.
A finished application with no users provides very little information. Real feedback is what reveals whether the problem, onboarding and value proposition actually make sense.
Research Packs is now public
Research Packs is now available on the Chrome Web Store.
The core save-and-organize workflow is free. There are optional Pro features for more advanced research workflows, but no purchase is required to create and use research packs.
You can try it here:
Research Packs on the Chrome Web Store
This is my first public launch, and I would genuinely appreciate feedback from other developers.
I am particularly interested in two questions:
- What do you currently
Top comments (1)
If you try Research Packs, I’d love to hear how it went. Please leave your honest feedback here—what worked, what felt confusing and what you would improve. I’m still learning, and your experience would really help me make it better. Thank you! 😋