Ladder
Rethinking browser tab management through spatial organization and contextual grouping.
SvelteChrome Extensions APITypeScriptTailwindCSS
About Ladder
Browser tabs have become our primary interface with information, but managing them remains a challenge. Ladder is a Chrome extension that reimagines tab management through spatial organization and context preservation.
Core Features
- Spatial Organization: Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for arranging tabs within and between windows
- Window Groups: Preserve context by managing related tabs together
- Smart Archiving: Save and restore entire windows or individual tabs with their metadata
- Resource Management: “Discard” tabs to free up memory while maintaining quick access
- Full-Text Search: Quickly find tabs across both active and archived states
Technical Highlights
- Built with Svelte for performant reactivity
- Chrome Extensions API for deep browser integration
- TypeScript for type safety and better developer experience
- Virtual scrolling for handling large numbers of tabs
- Efficient local storage for archiving functionality
Design Philosophy
Ladder’s design is guided by three core principles:
Spatial Intuition
Organization should feel as natural as arranging items on a desk
Context Preservation
Windows as workspaces, maintaining task and project context
Lightweight Persistence
Archive and restore with minimal cognitive overhead
Future Development
The next phase of Ladder’s development will focus on:
- Cross-device synchronization capabilities
- Enhanced tab relationship visualization
- Integration with popular productivity tools
- Performance optimizations for very large tab sets
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts and gestures
Learning Outcomes
Building Ladder provided valuable experience in:
- Chrome Extension development and its constraints
- Complex state management in Svelte
- Building intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces
- Optimizing performance for large datasets
- Designing for user privacy and data persistence