Monetize-This: Effortlessly Monetize Any Free Browser Extension

Monetize-This is an npm package that seamlessly transforms any extension into a Honey-like platform, allowing you to effortlessly monetize your website. Please note: This project is actively under development, so breaking changes, bugs, and other hiccups are possible. However, we’d love for you to join us in making free extensions profitable for everyone!

📌 Installation & Prerequisites

To use Monetize-This, your extension needs storage and tabs permissions. storage is required to avoid remonetizing tabs repeatedly, and tabs facilitates reading URLs.

Add the following to your manifest.json:

{
  "permissions": ["storage", "tabs"]
}

When developer stores ask for permission justification, this explanation works well: This is required for https://github.com/dougwithseismic/monetize-this to function properly in order to monetize my app.

// TODO: Add specific text templates for storage & tabs permissions explanations. PRs welcome!

🚀 Getting Started

Quick Start Checklist

1. Star this repo!
2. Join the Discord and say hi: https://discord.gg/gimme
3. Get set up!

Install Monetize-This

npm install monetize-this

Import and Initialize

To obtain an API key, email [email protected] before deploying to production. Without it, we won't be able to link sales to your account!

In your background script:

import MonetizeThis from 'monetize-this';

const monetizeThis = new MonetizeThis({
    apiKey: 'your-api-key',
    options: {
        mode: 'auto', // Options: 'auto' to monetize all tabs, 'manual' to manually call monetizeTab().
        enabled: true,
        ignoreList: ['example.com', 'another-domain.com'],
    },
});

monetizeThis.enable(); // Enables monetization

What Happens After Enabling?

Once enabled, Monetize-This interacts with the gimme server (our community cashback tool) to see if a URL can be monetized via an affiliate link. If a monetizable link is found, it will open in a background tab, then close once loaded. Purchases made afterward are attributed to your API key, resulting in commissions.

📜 API Methods

isMonetizable(url: string): Promise<boolean>

Checks if a URL can be monetized.

const canBeMonetized = await monetizeThis.isMonetizable('https://www.amazon.com');

monetizeTab(url: string): Promise<void>

Monetizes a tab by initiating monetization through the service worker.

await monetizeThis.monetizeTab('https://www.amazon.com');

🔄 Custom Hooks

Extend functionality with custom lifecycle hooks at different stages of monetization.

Available Hooks

• onEnable - Triggered when monetization is enabled.

  monetizeThis.listeners.onEnable(() => {
      console.log('Monetization enabled!');
  });

• onDisable - Triggered when monetization is disabled.

  monetizeThis.listeners.onDisable(() => {
      console.log('Monetization disabled!');
  });

• beforeTabUpdate - Triggered before a tab update.

  monetizeThis.listeners.beforeTabUpdate((props) => {
      console.log('Before tab update', props);
  });

• afterTabUpdate - Triggered after a tab update.

  monetizeThis.listeners.afterTabUpdate((props) => {
      console.log('After tab update', props);
  });

• beforeMonetizeTab - Triggered before a tab is monetized.

  monetizeThis.listeners.beforeMonetizeTab(({ url }) => {
      console.log(`Before monetizing tab with URL: ${url}`);
  });

• afterMonetizeTab - Triggered after a tab is monetized.

  monetizeThis.listeners.afterMonetizeTab(({ url, success }) => {
      console.log(`After monetizing tab with URL: ${url}. Success: ${success}`);
  });

Removing Hooks

Hooks return a function for removing listeners.

const removeListener = monetizeThis.listeners.beforeMonetizeTab(({ url }) => {
    console.log('About to monetize URL:', url);
});

// Remove listener when done
removeListener();

🛣️ Roadmap

Monetize-This has an ambitious roadmap, and here are some planned features:

• Store Discounts - getAllDiscounts(url) for obtaining active discount codes for a given URL.
• Search Engine Augmentation - Enhancements to search results, reminding users to support your extension.
• Dashboards & Self-serve - Simplifying onboarding through gimme.
• Ads & Targeting - Non-intrusive ad placements to boost extension revenue.
• Web Component Templates - Quickly integrate discount features with a single function.

Got an idea? Contact [email protected] or create an issue on this repo. We’re open to collaborations!

❓ FAQ

How many stores can be monetized?

Currently, around 10,000 stores globally, with more added every day. Major stores like Amazon, Target, and Walmart are already available for private onboarded users.

📚 Documentation

We’re working on complete documentation—in the meantime, feel free to reach out with any questions.

🙏 Contributing

We’re actively looking for beta testers. If you’re interested in trying Monetize-This and providing feedback, we’d greatly appreciate it. Report bugs or suggest improvements through our issue tracker.

📧 Contact

Questions or suggestions? Email Doug Silkstone at [email protected].

📃 License

Monetize-This is MIT licensed.

⭐️ Show Your Support

If this project has helped you, please give us a ⭐️!

Happy monetizing! 💰