URL Receiver Server + Chrome Extension

A two-part tool for sending URLs from the browser with a single click. A Chrome extension captures the current tab's URL and sends it to a local Flask server, which runs a configurable command against that URL and saves the output to a local output/ directory.

How it Works

Browser tab → Chrome Extension → Flask Server (localhost:8000) → command → output/

1. Click the extension icon on any browser tab.
2. The extension POSTs the current tab's URL to http://127.0.0.1:8000/receive_url.
3. The server runs your configured command with that URL as the argument.
4. Output is saved to the output/ directory.

Requirements

• Python 3
• Google Chrome (or any Chromium-based browser)

Setup

1. Install dependencies: python -m venv .venv

2. Activate source .venv/bin/activate

3. pip install flask flask-cors

4. Start the server with a command to run on each received URL:

   The server listens on port 8000 and can save command to ./output/.

   .venv/bin/python server.py -c "echo"

5. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/

6. Enable Developer mode (toggle in the top right)

7. Click Load unpacked

8. Select the chrome-extension/ directory from this repo

9. The extension will appear in your toolbar as "Send URL".

Project Structure

.
├── server.py               # Flask server — receives URLs and runs the download command
├── chrome-extension/
│   ├── manifest.json       # Chrome extension manifest (Manifest V3)
│   └── background.js       # Service worker — sends current tab URL to server on click
└── output/                  # Download output directory (created automatically)

Notes

• The server must be running before you click the extension icon.
• The extension sends no authentication. It is intended for local use only.
• Any CLI tool can be used with -c.