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Using the Starter Template

rex-starter is a minimal REX extension pre-configured with the four modules most studies need: rex-core, rex-history, rex-lists, and rex-local-download. It is the right starting point for building your own study extension.

Do not clone rex-demo as a starting point. rex-demo is meant for exploration: it includes extra modules and configuration that would require cleanup before a real study. rex-starter is already stripped down and ready to customize.

Step 1: Fork rex-starter on GitHub

Section titled “Step 1: Fork rex-starter on GitHub”

Forking creates your own copy of the repository under your GitHub account or organization. This is how you will track your changes and eventually distribute the extension.

  1. Go to https://github.com/bric-digital/rex-starter.
  2. Click the Fork button in the top-right corner.
  3. Choose the GitHub account or organization you want to fork into.
  4. Give the repository a name that reflects your study: for example, my-study-extension or news-study-2025.
  5. Click Create fork.

Step 2: Clone your fork locally

Section titled “Step 2: Clone your fork locally”

In your terminal, replace YOUR_ORG and my-study-extension with your actual GitHub account/organization and repo name:

Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/my-study-extension.git
cd my-study-extension

Step 3: Build the extension

Section titled “Step 3: Build the extension”
Terminal window
npm install
npm run build

npm install downloads all dependencies, including the REX modules listed in package.json. npm run build compiles the TypeScript source into a Chrome-loadable extension in dist/extension/.

Step 4: Load it in Chrome

Section titled “Step 4: Load it in Chrome”
  1. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions.
  2. Turn on Developer mode in the top-right corner.
  3. Click Load unpacked.
  4. Navigate to your cloned folder and select the dist/extension/ subfolder.

The extension will appear in your list with a green toggle indicating it is active. If you are using Edge, follow the same steps at edge://extensions.

Step 5: Verify it works

Section titled “Step 5: Verify it works”

Pin the extension to your toolbar (click the puzzle piece icon, then the pin next to your extension name). Click the icon, enter a test ID when prompted, and browse for a minute. Then open the extension popup and confirm the download button appears and produces a JSON file. If it does, the build is working correctly.

Optional: Rename the GitHub repo

Section titled “Optional: Rename the GitHub repo”

If you want to change the name after creating the fork, go to your repo on GitHub, click Settings, scroll to the Repository name field, enter a new name, and click Rename. Update your local remote to match:

Terminal window
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/new-name.git

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”