Fold by Nimble Links

A browser extension by Nimble Links that opens the Nimble Links shortener with the current page's URL prefilled as the destination — so you can skip the copy-paste step.

Build instructions

Environment requirements

• OS: Any (tested on macOS and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)
• Node.js: v18 or later (download)
• npm: v9 or later (included with Node.js)

Exact versions used in development: Node v24.13.0, npm 11.6.2. A package-lock.json is included to ensure reproducible dependency installation.

Steps to build from source

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install

2. Build the extension:

   npm run build

   The built extension files are output to dist/.

3. Or, to produce browser-specific zip packages:

   npm run package

   This runs the build and creates zip files in dist/packages/:

   • fold-chrome-v{version}.zip — for Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium browsers
   • fold-firefox-v{version}.zip — for Firefox (includes browser_specific_settings)
   • fold-source-v{version}.zip — source code archive for store review

Development

Start a watch build that rebuilds on save:

npm run dev

Then load the dist/ directory as an unpacked extension in chrome://extensions (with Developer Mode enabled). After changes, click the reload icon on the extension card to pick up the new build.

Note: Unlike Unfold, Fold runs entirely from a Manifest V3 service worker. Vite's HMR dev server cannot be used for service workers — Chrome blocks the cross-origin fetches it injects. vite build --watch is used instead.

Project structure

src/
  background.ts   Service worker — handles icon click, opens short link page
scripts/
  package.js      Multi-browser build and packaging script
images/           Extension icons (16, 32, 48, 128)
manifest.json     Extension manifest (Manifest V3)

License

MIT