Dev Tools · 2h ago
Developer ships AI side panel Chrome extension in two weekends
A developer built a Chrome extension that lets users highlight text and get AI responses in a side panel, integrating OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek. The MVP took 14 hours in the first weekend, with another 16 hours for API integration and polishing. After 5 weeks, the extension has only 15 users, highlighting the challenge of distribution.
Meridian48 take
The story underscores that building is the easy part; distribution and user acquisition remain the harder challenge for indie developers.
chrome-extensionai-side-panel