Transforming your web tool into a chrome app

Like many researchers, I use several websites that provide amazing services, most of them for free. I present here a quick way to build a chrome extension, using the open science framework as example.

The desktop application

Some places like github have already many browser extensions and, super useful, a desktop application. These are handy because whatever is on your drive is synchronised with the application server - often using a git version control system.

The on-line application

Almost all on-line project / code / literature management systems have these nice dashboards and file management systems. These are very nice but you always have to connect to them, check changes from colleagues etc ..

The chrome extension, a desktop link to your on-line app

And now comes https://applicationize.me/now. This is the simplest thing in the world
- go on there, input the URL of your on-line service, add a logo, allows pop up and notification, et voila, the chrome extension is build
- drag the downloaded app to your extension menu (setting - extensions) and create a shortcut, job done

You don't believe me ? here what happens with my OSF extension

My OSF on-line

Create the extension

My app on my desktop