Randall

A Chrome extension that records any browser tab. Click to start, click to stop.

What it does

• Record any tab — capture video and audio from the tab you're on
• Switch tabs freely — the recording keeps going in the background
• Pick your quality — Low, Mid, or High
• Choose where to save — pick a folder, or let it download automatically
• Never lose a recording — if Chrome crashes, Randall recovers your footage on restart
• Clean filenames — files are named after the tab title with a timestamp

Install

git clone https://github.com/datdao/randall.git
cd randall

1. Open chrome://extensions in Chrome
2. Enable Developer mode (top-right toggle)
3. Click Load unpacked → select the extension/ folder
4. Pin Randall from the puzzle-piece menu

Usage

1. Go to the tab you want to record
2. Click the Randall icon → pick quality → hit Record this tab
3. A red REC badge appears — browse normally, switch tabs, do your thing
4. Click Randall again → Stop & Save
5. Your .webm file is saved

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Development

Everything runs in Docker — no local Node.js needed.

make dev        # launch Chrome with extension in isolated profile
make test       # run tests in Docker
make test-watch # tests in watch mode
make lint       # ESLint in Docker
make clean      # remove temp Chrome profile

How it works

1. The popup sends start/stop messages to a background service worker
2. The service worker gets a tabCapture stream and spins up an offscreen document
3. The offscreen document runs a MediaRecorder, buffering chunks to IndexedDB every second
4. On stop, chunks become a WebM file — saved to your chosen folder or downloaded
5. On crash/restart, unsaved chunks are recovered automatically

Project structure

extension/
├── manifest.json        Chrome Manifest V3 config
├── service-worker.js    Recording orchestration + state
├── offscreen.html/js    MediaRecorder + crash-safe buffering
├── popup.html/js/css    UI controls
└── choose-folder.*      Folder picker

test/
└── service-worker.test.js

Dockerfile / docker-compose.yml / Makefile

License

MIT