I Built the Chrome Extension I Wish I Had as a CS Student

Source: Dev.to

The Problem

As a CS student, opening a new GitHub repository was often overwhelming. Large codebases, unfamiliar structures, missing or outdated documentation, and no clear starting point made it hard to understand how a project actually worked.

The Solution: GitNav

GitNav is a Chrome extension that analyzes any GitHub repository in seconds and helps you understand it before you dive into the code. You open a repository, click Analyze, and GitNav gives you a clear, high‑level view of what you are looking at.

Key Features

• Interactive graph visualizing the entire repository structure
• Instant file search across the codebase
• Technology detection to identify languages, frameworks, and tools used
• Code health evaluation with metrics on complexity, test coverage, etc.
• Security scanning for potential vulnerabilities
• Dependency breakdown showing direct and transitive dependencies
• Key file highlights indicating which files are most important to read first

Goal

Reduce the friction of understanding unfamiliar code and help you move from confusion to clarity as quickly as possible.

Intended Audience

• Students learning from open‑source projects
• Developers reviewing new repositories
• Anyone exploring a codebase for the first time

Privacy‑First Design

• No data collection or user tracking
• No reliance on backend servers; all analysis runs locally in the browser
• Completely free and open source

Installation

You can install GitNav from the Chrome Web Store:

GitNav – Chrome Web Store

Feedback

If you try it, I would genuinely appreciate your feedback.