Show HN: Open Headers – Dynamic HTTP header management for developers

1 point

a year ago

I built Open Headers, an open-source browser extension that lets you inject and manage HTTP headers with values sourced dynamically from files, environment variables, and API responses.

*Problem it solves*: During development, we often need to update auth tokens, API keys, and other headers manually. This extension + companion app creates a live bridge between your local development environment and browser requests.

*How it works*: The browser extension intercepts requests to specified domains and injects custom headers. The standalone desktop app (Electron) provides the dynamic values through WebSockets, watching for changes in source files, environment variables, or handling API requests.

*Technical features*: - JSON path filtering to extract specific values from API responses - TOTP generation for time-based auth tokens - File watching across platforms (macOS/Windows/Linux) - Secure WebSocket communication (WSS for Firefox, WS for Chrome/Edge) - Cross-browser support via browser-specific manifest handling

*Stack*: JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Electron, WebSockets

*Repos*: - Browser Extension: https://github.com/OpenHeaders/open-headers-browser-extensio... - Companion App: https://github.com/OpenHeaders/open-headers-app

Browser Stores: - Chrome: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ablaikadpbfblkmhpmb... - Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/open-headers/ - Edge: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/open-heade...

Looking for feedback/contributors. Happy to answer any questions about implementation details.