make-bookmarklet

Table of Contents

• Use
• Options
• Unmake / Reversal
• Install

Use

To run make-bookmarklet, the recommended approach is via npx (no install required): npx make-bookmarklet inputfile.js.

make-bookmarklet creates a bookmarklet out of the JavaScript in inputfile.js. It outputs the new bookmarklet to the command line and also copies the new bookmarklet to the clipboard.

Additional details

Alternatively you can install globally with npm install -g make-bookmarklet and run make-bookmarklet inputfile.js, or run locally for development: node src/make-bookmarklet inputfile.js. See the Install section at the end of this README for installation details and links to development notes.

Piping and stdout examples:

• Pipe an input script into the CLI: cat script.js | npx make-bookmarklet
• Write output to a file using shell redirection: npx make-bookmarklet inputfile.js > out.txt
• Disable clipboard copying when scripting: npx make-bookmarklet inputfile.js --no-clipboard > out.txt

What would I want to use this for?

For some ideas on what goes into an input file, see the examples folder or see below. I often use an IIFE, but you can see the Shortwave folder for a non-IIFE example. (RIP Shortwave.)

Typically I test the output code in my browser console. Once it works to my liking there, I convert it to a bookmarklet in my browser's most-convenient bookmark folder.

A complete, simple example

So, given inputfile.js in the top directory of this repo

h = window.location.href;
i = h.indexOf('imdb.com');
p = h.indexOf('https://pro.imdb.com');
t = h.indexOf('title');
c = h.indexOf('combined');
f = h.indexOf('fullcredits');
r = h.indexOf('reference');
badword = Math.max(c, f, r);

if (i === -1) {
  window.location = 'https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2825198/'
}
else if (p === 0) {
  window.location = h.replace('https://pro', 'https://www')
}
else if (p === -1) {
  if ((t > 1) && (badword > 1)) {
    h = h.substring(0, badword)
  }
  window.location = h.replace(/https:\/\/[a-z]+/, 'https://pro');
};

then, running node src/make-bookmarklet inputfile.js yields:

javascript:var%20h=window.location.href;%20const%20i=h.indexOf('imdb.com');%20const%20p=h.indexOf('https://pro.imdb.com');%20const%20t=h.indexOf('title');%20const%20c=h.indexOf('combined');%20const%20f=h.indexOf('fullcredits');%20const%20r=h.indexOf('reference');%20const%20badword=Math.max(c,%20f,%20r);%20if%20(i===-1)%7Bwindow.location='https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2825198/';%7Delse%20if%20(p===0)%7Bwindow.location=h.replace('https://pro',%20'https://www');%7Delse%20if%20(p===-1)%7Bif%20((t%3E1)%20&&%20(badword%3E1))%7Bh=h.substring(0,%20badword);%7Dwindow.location=h.replace(/https:%5C/%5C/%5Ba-z%5D+/,%20'https://pro');%20%7D

Options

To keep your bookmarklet a little more readable, use the defaults. But to make more-compact or more-secure bookmarklets, try these options.

-a Agressively remove code

JavaScript engines are very forgiving. So it can be safe to remove some JavaScript aggressively, which will mean relying on JavaScript engines to figure it out correctly, despite not following best coding practices. To remove a little more code before converting your script to a bookmarklet, just use the --aggressive (or -a) flag:

node src/make-bookmarklet inputfile.js --aggressive

The removals here go against best coding practices, but here’s an opinion: it will probably not matter to your bookmarklet. So this is your warning — Not declaring variables will pollute the global scope. The implied use of window may cause rare problems. Perhaps your code truly relies on === not ==. Gasp. Take your chances!

-c Use encodeURIComponent

By default, we encode the reduced script using encodeURI, but if you wish to use encodeURIComponent instead, use the --component (or -c) flag:

node src/make-bookmarklet.js -c inputfile.js

-d Debug Mode (Verbose Output)

To see more of the make process printed to the console, use the --debug (or -d) flag:

node src/make-bookmarklet.js inputfile.js -d

-h Help

To get help for these programs, and to see more examples, run:

node src/make-bookmarklet.js --help

Please note that any options can go before or after filename.

Unmake / Reversal

To convert a bookmarklet back into more-readable code, run the unmake version:

node src/unmake-bookmarklet bookmarklet.js

Please note, this is not a true reversal or re-creation of any JavaScript that went in to creating a bookmarklet, but it does convert a hard-to-read bookmarklet into prettier code.

Install

Quick options for end users:

• Run via npx without installing: npx make-bookmarklet inputfile.js (recommended).
• Install globally: npm install -g make-bookmarklet then run make-bookmarklet inputfile.js.
• For local use from source: clone the repo, run npm i, and run node src/make-bookmarklet inputfile.js.

For contributors

If you're contributing, see DEVELOPMENT.md for setup, testing, linting, and release notes. Please run npm test and npm run lint locally and add tests for public-facing changes before opening a PR.