Chrome Extension Trigger (Start N8N worflows directly from the browser)

Feature Requests
1

The idea is:

The idea is to have a Chrome Extension created that will send a POST request (that’s the first approach I could think of) to a N8N Trigger node and await for an answer. This extension could send some context (like the current URL or additional settings and fields added in the chrome extension) to N8N which will then process the request, and pottentially, respond.

My use case:

If the extension can send the context of the current URL, there’s many use cases:

  1. Save the current URL to Google Sheet
  2. Share the current page in your social media or schedule it
  3. Use the URL of the current Asana / Clickup task and send it over via email

All this with just one click on the browser. Easy and convenient. :slight_smile:

I think it would be beneficial to add this because:

N8N is a super powerful tool, but many of the triggers are kinda technical or bound to the usage of a specific app. This trigger would make it useful for teams who want to automate stuff for non-technical users beyond specific apps; by just clicking on the extension they would be able to trigger very complex worflows and get a basic response (success or failure). Also, it would be super easy to deploy and mantain.

Any resources to support this?

Zapier has a Chrome extension, that’s the inspiration for this request: Zapier - Chrome Web Store
Zapier Chrome extension Integrations | Connect Your Apps with Zapier

Are you willing to work on this?

Sure! I’ve never developed Chrome Extensions before, but let me know how can I help. :slight_smile:

2

@maxT this sounds right up your street :slight_smile:

1 Like
3

You’re talking my language @infinitegroup ! I think the possibilities could be really wild.

Please anyone who agrees, upvote this feature. It helps us prioritize making something like this sooner

4

Great to hear! Let me know if there’s a way to spread the word with the rest of the users or a way to beta test or debug. Looking forward for an amazing addon to this great tool :smiley:

5

We do have a discord server where some of our most active users are hanging out - maybe you could get some kindred spirits in there who would also like to see this built.

I was going to recommend extension.dev (was a low-code chrome extension builder) that I hooked up with n8n. But it seems like the project closed :confused: Maybe you can dig up something similar. As long as that service can make an HTTP request, you can use it to run your flows.

Another option I’ve ID’d could be using Elgato Streamdeck (though not sure it’s browser support), as it does allow to make HTTP Requests and has actions like “Copy clipboard contents” so maybe something there.

1 Like
6

Thanks for posting this. I want this as well. The way I get to a solution is to set up a Zapier zap from their chrome plugin which creates a line item in AirTable. Brutal that I need to go to Zapier, but it does work for now.

7

I started this as a little fun project this weekend.

Source: https://github.com/jpoehnelt/parteux
Video: https://youtu.be/iupY9E20Eqw
Listing: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/parteux/nbjcakldlpgbdidkhepgmlmcmlmbampa (v1.0.0 has a bug and waiting on review for 1.0.1)

It sends the following as of today: selected text, commonAncestor.textContent, commonAncestor.innerHtml, screenshot, URL, title, meta tags, optional comment.

2 Likes
8

Hey @jpoehnelt,

Welcome to the community :cake:

Nice work, I was also going to start on something over the weekend for this but just couldn’t find the time.