YT Search Helper

THANK YOU TO MY FRIEND CRY-ABOUT-IT FOR HELPING ME WITH THIS PROJECT. I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT HE HELPED ME WITH SOME ISSUES I WAS FACING WITH THE CODE TO MAKE THIS EXTENSION BETTER THAN IT WAS BEFORE. MANY SLEEPLESS MINUTES HAVE GONE INTO MAKING THIS EXTENSION ONG ON ZAZA.

YT Search Helper is an independent browser extension that normalizes YouTube search navigation in Safari/Chromium browsers and reduces redirect noise.

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube or Google.

Core behavior

• Detects YouTube search-related surfaces (/results, /shorts).
• Parses URL state with a dedicated parser.
• Produces redirect/no-op decisions through a pure correction engine.
• Prevents redirect loops with a session-scoped navigation gate.
• Stores user preferences using extension sync storage.

Tech stack

• Manifest V3
• TypeScript
• Vite + React
• ESLint + Prettier
• Vitest

Project layout

• src/worker/serviceWorkerEntry.ts - service worker entry
• src/inject/contentEntry.ts - content script entry (must stay distinct from the worker filename for CRXJS)
• src/inject/pageObserver.ts - page-level controller
• src/inject/urlState.ts - URL parsing/normalization input
• src/inject/correctionEngine.ts - pure decision engine
• src/inject/navigationGate.ts - loop prevention
• src/shared/contracts.ts - shared types/contracts
• src/shared/storage.ts - storage adapter
• src/options/* - settings UI
• src/popup/* - popup UI

Development

npm install
npm run build

Other commands:

• npm run dev - watch build
• npm run typecheck
• npm run test
• npm run lint
• npm run format

Privacy posture

• No telemetry is collected.
• Settings are stored locally via browser extension sync storage.