coinpeek

CoinPeek - Bitcoin Price Badge & Gas Tracker

A fast, lightweight Chrome extension that shows real-time Bitcoin price on the extension badge, plus ETH prices, gas fees, and a crypto converter.

CoinPeek Screenshot

🚀 Features

Real-time Prices: Monitor Bitcoin and Ethereum prices with 24-hour change indicators
Gas Fee Tracking: View current network fees for both Bitcoin and Ethereum networks
Smart Converter: Convert between BTC, ETH, and USD with live exchange rates
Modern Interface: Clean, responsive design with gradient styling
Background Updates: Automatic price updates every minute via service worker
Badge Display: Bitcoin price shown in extension badge for quick reference
Optimized Performance: Enhanced codebase with reduced memory footprint

📦 Installation

From Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

Install from Chrome Web Store

Manual Installation (Developer Mode)

Download or clone this repository
Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
Enable “Developer mode” in the top right corner
Click “Load unpacked” and select the extension folder
The extension icon will appear in your Chrome toolbar

🎯 Usage

Basic Usage

View Prices: Click the extension icon to see current BTC/ETH prices
Check Gas Fees: Network fees are displayed inline with each currency
Convert Currencies: Use the bottom converter for quick calculations
Manual Refresh: Click the refresh button (↻) for instant updates

Advanced Features

Swap Currencies: Click the ⇄ button to quickly reverse conversion direction
Badge Monitoring: Bitcoin price is always visible in the extension badge
Offline Support: Last known prices cached for offline viewing

🔧 Technical Stack

Architecture

Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+), CSS3 with modern gradients
Backend: Chrome Service Worker (Manifest V3)
Storage: Chrome Storage API for data persistence
Updates: Chrome Alarms API for background synchronization

Performance Optimizations (v1.1.0)

✅ Eliminated code duplication (removed ~25% of codebase)
✅ Centralized configuration management
✅ Optimized DOM element caching
✅ Unified API call architecture
✅ Enhanced error handling with fallbacks

🌐 API Integration

Primary Data Sources

Reliability Features

Multiple Bitcoin gas fee APIs with automatic failover
Graceful degradation to cached data during outages
Default gas values when all APIs are unavailable

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

coinpeek/
├── manifest.json           # Extension configuration
├── background-simple.js    # Optimized service worker
├── popup/                  # User interface
│   ├── popup.html
│   ├── popup.css
│   └── popup.js
├── config/
│   └── constants.js        # Centralized configuration
├── utils/
│   └── formatters.js       # Shared utilities
├── icons/                  # Extension icons (16, 48, 128px)
├── dev-tools/              # Development utilities (optional)
└── docs/
    ├── README.md           # This file
    └── TECHNICAL_DOCS.md   # Developer documentation

Development Setup

Clone the repository
Make your changes
Reload extension in chrome://extensions/
Test functionality in popup and background service

Adding Features

Review TECHNICAL_DOCS.md for architecture guidelines
Use centralized constants in config/constants.js
Follow the established DOM caching patterns
Implement proper error handling

🔒 Privacy & Security

No Data Collection: No user data is collected or transmitted
Local Storage Only: All data stored locally in Chrome storage
Secure APIs: All API calls use HTTPS encryption
Minimal Permissions: Only requests necessary Chrome permissions
Open Source: Full source code available for review

Permissions Explained

This extension requests only two minimal permissions:

Permission	Why It’s Needed	What It Does
`storage`	Cache prices locally	Saves last known prices so you see data instantly when opening the popup. Data never leaves your device.
`alarms`	Background updates	Refreshes prices every minute automatically. Uses Chrome’s efficient alarm system, not a constant background process.

What we DON’T request:

No <all_urls> - we can’t access your browsing
No tabs - we can’t see your open tabs
No history - we can’t see your browsing history
No cookies - we can’t access your cookies

📋 Version History

v1.1.1 (Current)

🔧 Fixed Bitcoin badge not displaying on extension icon
🌐 Improved CoinGecko API reliability with response validation
⚡ Intelligent data refresh (only when data >45s old)
📉 Reduced API calls by ~70% with smart caching
🐛 Enhanced debug system and error handling

v1.1.0

🚀 Performance optimizations
🔧 Code refactoring and deduplication
📱 Enhanced DOM element caching
🎯 Centralized configuration management
🐛 Improved error handling

v1.0.2

Initial release with basic functionality
Real-time price monitoring
Gas fee tracking
Currency conversion

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Prices not updating: Check internet connection and refresh manually
Extension badge not showing: Ensure extension has proper permissions
Gas fees showing dashes: Multiple API failures, data will restore automatically

Getting Help

Check the browser console for error messages
Reload the extension from chrome://extensions/
Clear Chrome storage if data appears corrupted

📞 Support

Issues: Create an issue in the GitHub repository
Feature Requests: Submit suggestions via GitHub Issues
Documentation: See TECHNICAL_DOCS.md for developer information

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guide for details on how to submit pull requests, report bugs, and suggest features.

Support

If you find this extension useful, consider supporting its development:

License

This project is open source under the MIT License.

Privacy

See our Privacy Policy for details on data handling.

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