How to Build a Chrome Extension for Video Playback Speed Control

This blog walks you through creating a Chrome extension that allows users to adjust the playback speed of videos on any webpage. By the end, you’ll have a fully functional Chrome extension that adjusts video speed with ease — even with third-party cookies blocked.

Step 1: Setting Up the Project

Create a new project folder, VideoSpeedAdjuster, with the following structure:

VideoSpeedAdjuster/
    ├── manifest.json
    ├── popup.html
    ├── popup.js
    ├── background.js
    ├── content.js
    └── icon.png

Step 2: Defining the Extension in manifest.json

The manifest.json file provides essential information about the extension, such as name, permissions, and background service worker. Here’s the content:

{
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "name": "Video Speed Adjuster",
  "version": "1.0",
  "description": "Adjust playback speed of videos on the current page",
  "action": {
    "default_popup": "popup.html",
    "default_icon": {
      "16": "icon.png",
      "48": "icon.png",
      "128": "icon.png"
    }
  },
  "permissions": ["activeTab", "scripting"],
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js"
  }
}

• Permissions: We use activeTab to interact with the current tab and scripting to inject code.
• Background Service Worker: This listens for messages from the popup and…