Vitesse WebExt is a Vite-powered starter template for building WebExtensions that run on Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers.
The template addresses the friction of setting up a modern development environment for browser extensions. It combines Vite's instant hot module replacement with Vue 3, eliminating the need to manually refresh during development. The setup includes pre-configured tooling for TypeScript support, automatic component and icon importing, and effortless communication between extension contexts using webext-bridge and VueUse storage utilities. The manifest.json is generated dynamically with full type safety, and Vue can be used even in content scripts, which is uncommon in extension development.
Teams building extensions should choose this template if they want to leverage Vue 3's Composition API and modern JavaScript tooling without spending time on build configuration. It suits projects targeting multiple browsers simultaneously, as the isomorphic setup handles Chrome, Firefox, and others from a single codebase. The template comes with UnoCSS for atomic CSS styling and integrates Iconify for icon access across any icon set. Developers comfortable with Vue and TypeScript will find the setup familiar; those preferring other frameworks or a lighter approach may want to evaluate alternatives.
Development activity shows consistent maintenance with regular updates to dependencies and tooling. The project incorporates modern Vite plugins and Vue ecosystem libraries, staying current with framework conventions. The codebase demonstrates attention to developer experience through sensible defaults like ESLint configuration and pnpm as the package manager.
