Customizing web content with Tampermonkey

Monkey Business

© Photo by Jamie Haughton on Unsplash

© Photo by Jamie Haughton on Unsplash

Article from Issue 289/2024
Author(s):

Even small changes in a web page can improve the browsing experience. Your preferred web browser provides all the tools you need to inject JavaScript to adapt the page. You just need a browser with its debugging tools, some knowledge of scripting, and the browser extension Tampermonkey.

The browser has become a very important component for interacting with the Internet. In recent years, browsers have evolved from being just a tool for interacting with static HTML to a comprehensive part of the infrastructure. The modern browser is a kind of operating system within the operating system, with a complete SDK for JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, along with features such as a visual debugger, a code inspector, options for network and performance monitoring, and much more. One interesting features is that you can modify pages already loaded into the browser with your own scripts. The ability to customize web pages is useful for:

  • quick bug fixes for intranet applications,
  • fixing annoying behaviors of websites or web applications,
  • implementing security features for users in the enterprise,
  • adding convenient new features to publicly available websites, such as automation tools or similar functionalities, and
  • providing easy access to AI-based tools.

This flexibility and power push the browser far beyond its original role of simply rendering HTML.

[...]

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