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TabPuppet

TabPuppet is a firefox add-on for synchronizing click events across browser instances. It works by establishing a peer-to-peer connection (via a WebRTC Data Channel) and sending the XPATH of any elements clicked at the "host" machine to any number of connected "client" machines (star topology).

Progress

  • Establish a peer-to-peer connection using a signalling server
  • Mirror clicks from one tab to another via the peer-to-peer connection
  • Allow multiple clients to connect to join a room (create a star topology)
  • Automatically re-inject the content scripts (for monitoring and mirroring clicks) on page reload/redirect
    • note: does not work with host and client running in the same browser
  • Deploy signaling server to google cloud
  • Allow for bi-directional synchronization as an option
  • Mirror other actions such as searches in the address bar
  • Handle errors regarding host and clients becoming out of sync
  • Add configuration of the start URL to the popup instead of using the current active tab's URL
  • Allow multiple active sessions to be hosted from a single browser
  • Allow clients to connect mid-session and load up with the same state as the host tab
  • Notify peers when the host exits the room

Installing

The add-on is currently only available by loading it as a temporary add-on in firefox.

First clone the repo.

git clone https://github.com/BlakeASmith/tabpuppet.git

Open firefox and type about:debugging into the address bar.

Next, click the "this firefox" button

Click load temporary add-on and navigate to the manifest.json file for the extension


Usage

Sharing Your Tab / Hosting

Navigate to a website that you would like to start sharing from. Create a room by clicking the Create Room button in the popup.

This will open the current website in a new tab, any clicks within the new tab will be replicated at the connected clients.

The signalling server generates a token/key which others can use to join the session. The token is only used to establish the peer-to-peer connection between your browser and the clients.

Joining a Room

To join an existing room as a client click the Join Room button in the popup and paste in the token/key provided by the host of the room.



After hitting the Join button, a new tab will open in which any clicks made at the Host will be mirrored.