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Show HN: Blocky: Code Snippets in Gmail

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2 points by greenbeans12 a year ago · 1 comment · 1 min read

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Hey HN, I was searching for the code snippet button in Gmail one day and turns out it just didn't exist! So I built it with this Chrome extension.

One of the underrated features of Slack or Discord is the code snippet button, which quickly formats code using strong styling.

These features never made their way over to mainstream email clients. As email is still used heavily for external communications, this is an obvious blind spot.

Blocky is ideal for customer success teams, help desks, students, and engineers who need to send small code snippets over email. Usually stuff that wouldn't bother with a Github commit.

Get it on the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/blocky-code-blocks-...

greenbeans12OP a year ago

This was a relatively quick project, taking a few weeknights. Tools: - Claude - Cursor (IDE) - Cursorful (for screen recording) - Chrome browser, obviously

Chrome extensions are simpler than I thought to package but require more scrutiny than I thought. Google stopped allowing paid extensions in 2020 and brandishes an "untrusted" message upon install for newer developers' extensions.

They also go through a thorough security review by Google's team, so allocate a few days to your release cycle if you're thinking of doing an extension.

All in all though I'd recommend, also to brush up on your JS skills.

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