TECH_STACK.md

whyEXT Tech Stack

Stack decision

This repository uses a two-phase strategy:

1. Keep the current JavaScript baseline running for fast iteration.
2. Move to a future-proof baseline early in implementation (not at the very end).

Current baseline (implemented)

• Runtime: Manifest V3 (Chrome + Firefox compatible)
• Language: TypeScript
• UI: HTML + CSS + vanilla TS
• Build: Node build orchestrator + TypeScript compiler (scripts/build.js)
• Testing: Vitest (unit) + build smoke checks
• Shared groundwork: packages/shared helpers + extension scaffold template

Next hardening steps

• Build tool standardization with Vite
• Browser API compatibility layer with webextension-polyfill
• Runtime schema validation with zod
• Full quality gates with ESLint + Prettier

Why this stack

• Strong typing reduces breakage as rule models grow.
• Polyfill keeps cross-browser API behavior consistent.
• Runtime validation protects import/export and migrations.
• Vite speeds up local development and future extension scaffolding.

Migration guardrails

• No telemetry libraries.
• No mandatory backend dependency.
• Keep permission surface minimal during migration.
• Migrate incrementally: shared data/rule layer first, UI surfaces second.