🔥 Colab Keepalive

A professional Chrome extension that prevents Google Colab notebooks from disconnecting due to inactivity.

Features

• ✅ Automatic Activity Simulation - Simulates user activity every 60 seconds
• ✅ Auto-Reconnect - Automatically clicks the connect button if disconnected
• ✅ Auto-Start Option - Optionally start keepalive automatically when you open Colab
• ✅ Clean UI - Modern, intuitive popup interface
• ✅ Lightweight - Minimal resource usage
• ✅ Manifest V3 - Uses the latest Chrome extension architecture

Installation

From Source (Developer Mode)

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
3. Enable Developer mode (toggle in top-right corner)
4. Click Load unpacked
5. Select the colab_keepalive folder
6. The extension icon should appear in your toolbar

Creating Icons (Required)

The extension needs three icon sizes. You can:

Option 1: Use a placeholder

# Create simple colored squares as placeholders
# You'll need image editing software or online tools

Option 2: Generate programmatically

# Run this Python script to generate simple icons
python generate_icons.py

Usage

1. Open Google Colab - Navigate to https://colab.research.google.com/
2. Open a notebook - Create or open any notebook
3. Click the extension icon - The popup will show the current status
4. Start Keepalive - Click "Start Keepalive" button
5. Verify - Status indicator turns green when active

Auto-Start Feature

• Check "Auto-start on page load" in the popup
• Keepalive will automatically activate whenever you open a Colab notebook
• Preference is saved and persists across browser sessions

How It Works

The extension operates in three phases:

1. Activity Simulation - Every 60 seconds, it:

   • Simulates mouse movement on the page
   • Triggers mouseover events on notebook elements
   • Keeps the session active

2. Connection Monitoring - Continuously checks for:

   • Disconnection status
   • Connect button visibility
   • Automatic reconnection when needed

3. State Management - Tracks:

   • Active/inactive status per tab
   • User preferences (auto-start)
   • Extension lifecycle

Project Structure

colab_keepalive/
├── manifest.json       # Extension configuration
├── background.js       # Service worker (background tasks)
├── content.js          # Content script (runs on Colab pages)
├── popup.html          # Popup UI structure
├── popup.js            # Popup UI logic
├── icon16.png          # 16x16 icon
├── icon48.png          # 48x48 icon
├── icon128.png         # 128x128 icon
└── README.md           # This file

Technical Details

• Manifest Version: 3 (latest Chrome standard)
• Permissions:
  • activeTab - Access to current tab
  • scripting - Inject content scripts
  • storage - Save preferences
• Host Permissions: https://colab.research.google.com/*
• Architecture:
  • Service Worker for background tasks
  • Content Script for page interaction
  • Popup for user interface

Development

Building from Scratch

1. Setup

   # No build process needed - pure vanilla JS
   # Just ensure all files are present

2. Testing

   • Load extension in developer mode
   • Open Chrome DevTools
   • Check Console for debug messages
   • Test on actual Colab notebooks

3. Debugging

   • Background Script: chrome://extensions/ → Click "service worker"
   • Content Script: Open DevTools on Colab page
   • Popup: Right-click extension icon → Inspect popup

Code Quality

• ✅ Comprehensive error handling
• ✅ JSDoc comments throughout
• ✅ Proper async/await usage
• ✅ Clean separation of concerns
• ✅ No external dependencies

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Working

1. Refresh the Colab page after installing/enabling
2. Check permissions - Ensure all required permissions are granted
3. Verify you're on Colab - Extension only works on colab.research.google.com
4. Check console - Look for error messages in DevTools

Status Shows "Not on Colab"

• Make sure you're on a Google Colab page
• URL should include colab.research.google.com

Icons Not Showing

• Ensure icon16.png, icon48.png, and icon128.png exist in the extension folder
• Use the generate_icons.py script to create them
• Reload the extension after adding icons

Security & Privacy

• ✅ No data collection - Extension doesn't collect or transmit any data
• ✅ Local storage only - Preferences stored locally on your machine
• ✅ Minimal permissions - Only requests necessary permissions
• ✅ Open source - All code is visible and auditable

Future Enhancements

• Configurable interval timing
• Activity log viewer
• Notification on disconnect/reconnect
• Multiple notebook support
• Statistics tracking (uptime, reconnections)

License

MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

Support

For issues or questions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check existing issues for solutions
• Review the troubleshooting section

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Made with ❤️ for Colab users who want uninterrupted runtime