🔓 Open with Freedium - Chrome Extension

A Chrome extension that allows you to open Medium articles with Freedium to bypass paywalls and read restrictions.

Features

• Right-click Context Menu: Right-click on any Medium link and select "Open with Freedium"
• Works on Multiple Contexts:
  • Right-click on links pointing to Medium
  • Right-click on the page itself when browsing Medium
  • Select a Medium URL and right-click to open it
• Popup Interface: Click the extension icon to open the current Medium page with Freedium
• Smart Detection: Automatically detects Medium URLs (including subdomains like towardsdatascience.medium.com)
• Edge Case Handling:
  • Prevents double conversion of already-converted Freedium URLs
  • Validates URLs before conversion
  • Works with all Medium domains and subdomains

Installation

Method 1: Load Unpacked Extension (Development)

1. Download or clone this repository

2. Generate Icon Files:

   • Open create_icons.html in your browser
   • Click each download button to save icon16.png, icon48.png, and icon128.png
   • Save all icon files in the extension directory (same folder as manifest.json)

3. Open Chrome Extensions Page:

   • Navigate to chrome://extensions/
   • Or click the three dots menu → More Tools → Extensions

4. Enable Developer Mode:

   • Toggle the "Developer mode" switch in the top right corner

5. Load the Extension:

   • Click "Load unpacked"
   • Select the folder containing the extension files
   • The extension should now appear in your extensions list

Method 2: Install from Chrome Web Store (Coming Soon)

This extension will be published to the Chrome Web Store in the future.

Usage

Method 1: Context Menu (Right-click)

1. On a Medium Link:

   • Right-click on any link pointing to a Medium article
   • Select "Open with Freedium" from the context menu
   • The article opens in a new tab via Freedium

2. On a Medium Page:

   • While browsing a Medium article, right-click anywhere on the page
   • Select "Open with Freedium"
   • The current page opens in a new tab via Freedium

3. On Selected Text:

   • Select a Medium URL in any text
   • Right-click on the selection
   • Select "Open with Freedium"

Method 2: Extension Popup

1. Click the extension icon in your Chrome toolbar
2. If you're on a Medium page, click "Open Current Page with Freedium"
3. The page opens in a new tab via Freedium

How It Works

The extension converts Medium URLs to Freedium URLs in the following format:

Original: https://medium.com/article-url
Converted: https://freedium-mirror.cfd/https://medium.com/article-url

Supported Medium Domains

• medium.com
• *.medium.com (e.g., towardsdatascience.medium.com, blog.medium.com)
• All Medium subdomain publications

Edge Cases Handled

1. Already Converted URLs: If you try to convert a URL that's already a Freedium URL, it won't double-convert
2. Invalid URLs: Non-Medium URLs are detected and won't be converted
3. URL Encoding: Special characters in URLs are preserved correctly
4. Different Contexts: Works with links, page context, and selected text

File Structure

freedium-extension/
├── manifest.json          # Extension configuration
├── background.js          # Background service worker (handles context menu)
├── popup.html            # Extension popup UI
├── popup.js              # Popup functionality
├── create_icons.html     # Icon generator tool
├── icon16.png           # Extension icon (16x16)
├── icon48.png           # Extension icon (48x48)
├── icon128.png          # Extension icon (128x128)
└── README.md            # This file

Permissions

The extension requires the following permissions:

• contextMenus: To add the "Open with Freedium" option to the right-click menu
• activeTab: To access the current tab's URL
• tabs: To open new tabs with Freedium URLs
• host_permissions: To detect Medium URLs on various domains

Privacy

• This extension does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data
• All URL processing happens locally in your browser
• No analytics or tracking
• No external API calls except opening Freedium URLs

Troubleshooting

Extension not showing in context menu

1. Make sure Developer Mode is enabled
2. Try reloading the extension from chrome://extensions/
3. Check that you're right-clicking on a Medium link or page

Icons not displaying

1. Make sure you've generated and saved all three icon files (icon16.png, icon48.png, icon128.png)
2. Ensure the icon files are in the same directory as manifest.json
3. Reload the extension

"This is not a Medium URL" message

• The extension only works with Medium.com and *.medium.com domains
• Custom domains hosted on Medium but with different URLs are not currently supported
• Make sure the URL is a valid Medium article link

Development

Making Changes

1. Edit the source files as needed
2. Go to chrome://extensions/
3. Click the refresh icon on the extension card
4. Test your changes

Testing

Test the extension with various scenarios:

• Different Medium domains (medium.com, towardsdatascience.medium.com, etc.)
• Right-clicking on links vs. pages
• Already-converted Freedium URLs
• Non-Medium URLs
• Selected text containing URLs

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.

Disclaimer

This extension is provided as-is for educational purposes. Please respect content creators and consider supporting them when possible.

Credits

• Freedium service: https://freedium-mirror.cfd/
• Medium: https://medium.com/

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Note: This is an unofficial extension and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Medium or Freedium.