Idea to Market in a Week — Creating a Browser Extension with Windsurf AI Coding Agent
Shipping at the speed of thought
I am using a number of "agentic IDEs" — coding tools that integrate with AI agents to generate code and execute commands to help with the development process. From Windsurf, CLINE, Cursor, to Replit, these tools have brought back joy to making digital products where I can come up with an idea, create a working prototype quickly, and iterate fast to get a product released.
Idea - Gaming Deals in a New Tab
I had an idea to create a browser extension that shows the latest gaming giveaways, discounts from major stores (Steam, itch.io, Epic Games Store, GOG, Humble Store), and gaming news from notable gaming websites. Inspired by OperaGX's original GX Corner (before they added too many sections that cluttered the UI), I wanted this to be in the new tab, giving users a quick glance at newly available free games and great gaming deals.
You can check it out here: PixelDrop
Why
There are a few reasons why I wanted to do this idea:
I like browsing gaming deals and claiming free games, especially from Epic Games or Steam. Epic is consistently making great games free to claim for a short period of time, and Steam constantly has sales on. But I often forget to check these platforms.
I like to read industry news, but have not found RSS readers or following social accounts of gaming news sources to be a great experience.. I like the "Recommended stories" section in Firefox's new tab, which shows me interesting stories whenever I open up a new tab - it's an invitation to read without commitment or interruption
I also want this to become a space where gamers can discover new games that they might like. While the majority of gaming attention is on Fornite, Roblox, Minecraft, and massive F2P games like Marvel Rivals and CoD, a gaming hub where people can discover new games can help diversify what people play — having discounts is a great way to get attention.
If this becomes useful to enough people, I want to introduce a submission and voting mechanism for people to add games and vote on the deals.
And add a section for people to discover upcoming new indie titles
Choosing the Right AI Tools
I decided to use Windsurf for this project. I’ve been using it for the past couple of months, and the results have been solid, especially when paired with Claude 3.5 Sonnet. I also have a set of custom instructions from previous projects that make the process smoother.
Planning with AI
Before diving into implementation, I needed a reasoning model (something like ChatGPT-o1 or DeepSeek-R1) to think through the requirements and generate an architecture, file structure, tech stack, and general setup. Windsurf doesn’t yet have a "plan" and "act" mode—where one model handles planning while another handles execution—so I did this manually. I used ChatGPT's o1 model as my "architect." With just one simple prompt, I generated a structured project plan:
"I'd like to create a new tab browser extension for Chrome. The extension will show gaming deals at the top section and gaming news in the second section. Create an architecture and plan for this project. Include technology frameworks to use and break down the folder and file structures that I can pass onto a junior developer to implement."
With the project plan ready, I passed it on to Windsurf for implementation. The plan was detailed and specific, and Windsurf quickly set up the development environment, created the files as outlined, and even recommended APIs to use for the deals. (I ended up using different data sources, but this was still very cool.)
Overcoming Development Challenges
One issue I ran into was with Manifest v3, where the tool assumed I had icon images in place. It was an easy fix, but dealing with Manifest v3 was a constant source of frustration throughout the process. Having built browser extensions before, I knew that wrestling with Manifest files is just part of the journey.
Despite these small roadblocks, within a few steps, I had a working prototype. It had the three sections (giveaways, deals, and news) and was pulling in real-time data. However, just like every project I’ve worked on, even with AI, the last 20% of refinement, polishing, and tweaking still takes 80% of the total development time.
At least for now, humans are still needed to decide what feels right. As a product person, I appreciate this human-in-the-loop process where I can experiment with different UI/UX ideas, have AI implement them within minutes, and then review and make final design decisions. Taste is something AI hasn’t fully mastered yet, and I believe this will continue to be a key differentiator for software.
Publishing on the Chrome Web Store
Once the product was ready, it was time to publish it on the Chrome Web Store. The process of creating screenshots and graphic assets for the store is still manual. I’m sure AI tools exist for this, but I haven’t explored them yet.
As part of the submission process, Chrome Web Store requires developers to explain why certain permissions (cookies, storage, etc.) are needed. Since Windsurf knew the code, I asked it to fill this out for me. It provided solid answers, but it was also overly zealous—justifying permissions I didn’t actually need. This led to my extension being rejected on the first attempt.
You can check out the release here: PixelDrop
Key Takeaways
Agentic IDEs can dramatically accelerate development – Going from idea to working product in a few days, even without deep familiarity with the underlying tech stack, is now possible.
Using AI models for planning and execution is a game-changer – A reasoning model as an architect and an AI capable of tool calling for coding makes rapid prototyping seamless. I had a functional MVP within 30 minutes.
Human taste and iteration still matter – AI can generate code and implement features, but defining how a product should feel and work still requires human judgment.
Notably, this is also one of the most time-consuming parts of development.
Bringing a product to market still involves manual work – Publishing on the Chrome Web Store required filling out forms, setting up accounts, and verifying company details—things future AI “operator” tools might help with.
Image generation tools are powerful, but gaps remain – While there are great AI tools for App Store and Google Play mockups, I couldn’t find one tailored for Chrome Web Store asset creation. Maybe that’s my next project?
Expect hidden time costs – The actual build time is often only half the effort. Refinements, debugging, and market-readiness tasks (screenshots, descriptions, approvals) take at least as long as the core development. If estimating a project timeline, double your initial build estimate to be realistic.
This experience reinforced that while AI is a powerful tool, human creativity, taste, and decision-making are still critical for crafting great products. And for now, the AI + human hybrid workflow remains the best approach to shipping high-quality software fast.