This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by A Google User
Building a Cross-Browser Screenshot Extension: My Journey with Kiro
The Challenge
I’m a student who loves using online lectures but hates messy screenshots—especially when YouTube’s video controls show up, or when I have to painstakingly sort images into folders afterward. That’s why I built YouTube Screenshot Helper for Chrome: it let me capture the perfect lecture slides and kept my schoolwork organized without the hassle.
But then reality struck: not everyone uses Chrome. When I tried to bring the same magic to Microsoft Edge, I quickly learned that browser compatibility isn’t just about copy-pasting code. Edge threw its own set of problems at me—from stubborn storage quirks to security restrictions that seemed designed to make any kind of folder structure impossible.
Here’s a quick summary of my initial obstacles:
- Screenshots sometimes wouldn’t save on Edge due to odd storage API behavior.
- Edge blocked my favorite hack: clever folder structures for organizing screenshots.
- Even small differences in path validation turned once-simple features into a headache.
How Kiro Became My Coding Partner
Fortunately, I didn’t struggle alone. Kiro stepped in as an AI sidekick—a sort of architectural advisor meets bug detective for browser extensions.
Strategic Porting Workflow
Kiro helped me map out every step of the project in plain language before I ever touched the code. For example, its suggested workflow looked like this:
- Start by listing the APIs my Chrome extension depended on, and find Edge’s equivalents for each one.
- Isolate risky areas—like saving files or creating folders—that might trip up Edge’s security model.
- Nail down which fixes Kiro could automate (like manifest conversion and simple API replacements) and which ones I’d need to review by hand (Edge’s folder restrictions, advanced error handling, and real-world user testing).
Building a Cross-Browser Screenshot Extension: My Journey with Kiro
The Challenge
I’m a student who loves using online lectures but hates messy screenshots—especially when YouTube’s video controls show up, or when I have to painstakingly sort images into folders afterward. That’s why I built YouTube Screenshot Helper for Chrome: it let me capture the perfect lecture slides and kept my schoolwork organized without the hassle.
But then reality struck: not everyone uses Chrome. When I tried to bring the same magic to Microsoft Edge, I quickly learned that browser compatibility isn’t just about copy-pasting code. Edge threw its own set of problems at me—from stubborn storage quirks to security restrictions that seemed designed to make any kind of folder structure impossible.
Here’s a quick summary of my initial obstacles:
- Screenshots sometimes wouldn’t save on Edge due to odd storage API behavior.
- Edge blocked my favorite hack: clever folder structures for organizing screenshots.
- Even small differences in path validation turned once-simple features into a headache.
How Kiro Became My Coding Partner
Fortunately, I didn’t struggle alone. Kiro stepped in as an AI sidekick—a sort of architectural advisor meets bug detective for browser extensions.
Strategic Porting Workflow
Kiro helped me map out every step of the project in plain language before I ever touched the code. For example, its suggested workflow looked like this:
- Start by listing the APIs my Chrome extension depended on, and find Edge’s equivalents for each one.
- Isolate risky areas—like saving files or creating folders—that might trip up Edge’s security model.
- Nail down which fixes Kiro could automate (like manifest conversion and simple API replacements) and which ones I’d need to review by hand (Edge’s folder restrictions, advanced error handling, and real-world user testing).
This approach prevented a lot of wasted time chasing down bugs that Kiro could predict—and gave me confidence that every change I made would work across browsers.
You can check out the full project and code here: YouTube Screenshot Helper on GitHubThis approach prevented a lot of wasted time chasing down bugs that Kiro could predict—and gave me confidence that every change I made would work across browsers.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by A Google User