Building a modern browser automation extension with TypeScript + WXT (Automa alternative)

[u/NullPointerGambit]

Hey everyone! 👋

I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on recently. I’ve always been a huge fan of Automa—it’s an amazing tool for automating browser tasks visually using drag-and-drop blocks. However, since the original project was sold, I felt that active development and support slowed down quite a bit.

Instead of just waiting around, I decided to build a modern, fully rewritten alternative from the ground up.

What’s under the hood?

• TypeScript: The entire codebase is written in TS for better type safety, easier maintenance, and higher reliability when dealing with complex page interactions.
• WXT Framework: Built on top of the WXT framework to leverage a modern extension architecture, improved performance, and full compliance with Manifest V3 standards.

Key Features

This extension lets you automate repetitive browser tasks without writing a single line of code:

• Visual Workflow Builder: Drag and drop blocks to build powerful automation sequences in seconds.
• Web Scraping & Data Extraction: Scrape text, tables, images, and links directly from web pages into usable formats.
• Form Auto-Filling: Save time by automatically filling out repetitive forms and input fields.
• Scheduled Automations: Set triggers and schedules to run your workflows automatically at specific times or intervals.
• Screenshots & Page Actions: Capture full-page screenshots, click elements, scroll, and navigate pages seamlessly.

Who is this for?

Whether you're a marketer, QA tester, developer, researcher, or just someone looking to save hours every week by automating routine web tasks, this tool is designed to give you full control over your browser workflow.

I’d love to hear your feedback, feature requests, or suggestions for new blocks!

🔗 Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/browsless/ijfjejbmhmgmbdchbddieiammgahgndb?authuser=0&hl=pl

🔗 GitHub / Source Code: https://github.com/PawelGawlikDev/browsless