Linkaloop

About

# Linkaloop

Extension that lets you create timed YouTube clip playlists and loop them directly in your browser.

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## What the extension does

YouTube doesn't let you loop a specific segment of a video, or chain several excerpts together. Linkaloop adds this functionality via a control bar at the bottom of the page and a management sidebar.

A **clip** is an excerpt of a YouTube video defined by a video ID, a start time (in seconds), and a duration (in seconds). A **playlist** is an ordered list of clips that play one after another.

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## Installation

The extension installs like any Firefox or Chrome extension. Once installed, it's only active on YouTube pages. The first time you click the toolbar icon, a popup asks for confirmation before injecting the controls onto the page.

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## Interface

### The control bar

A fixed bar appears at the bottom of the YouTube page. It contains:

- **Playback** — prev / play-pause / stop / next to navigate the current playlist
- **Loop** — enables or disables looping back to the start of the playlist at the end
- **Sleep timer** — stops playback after a delay in minutes
- **Sidebar** — opens and closes the management panel
- **Quit** — disables the extension on the page (the bar disappears)

### The sidebar

A right-hand side panel, opened via the sidebar button on the bar or via the icon in the browser toolbar.

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## Managing playlists

The selector at the top of the sidebar shows the active playlist. This is the one that will play when you press play.

Three buttons accompany the selector:

- **Rename** — edits the name and description of the selected playlist
- **New playlist** — creates an empty playlist
- **Delete** — deletes the playlist and all its clips (not possible if it's the only one left)

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## Adding a clip

The green block at the top of the sidebar captures the context of the current video:

1. Navigate to the YouTube video and position yourself where you want
2. Enter a name in the field (the badge shows the current timestamp)
3. Set the duration in seconds
4. Click **Add to playlist**

The clip is added to the end of the active playlist.

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## Editing a clip

Clicking a clip's name in the list opens the edit view. The available fields are:

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifier shown in the list and in the bar |
| Description | Internal note, not visible during playback |
| Video ID | YouTube video identifier (e.g. `dQw4w9WgXcQ`) |
| Start (s) | Starting position in seconds |
| Duration (s) | Length of the excerpt in seconds |
| Overlay text | Text displayed on the video during clip playback |
| Overlay position | Position of the text on screen (3×3 grid) |

The **Save** button saves the changes. The **Delete** button removes the clip after confirmation.

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## Reordering clips

Two methods are available:

- **↑ ↓ arrows** — appear on hover over each clip, move it one position
- **Drag & drop** — grab the ⠿ handle to the left of the clip and drop it at the desired position

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## Copy-pasting a clip

The copy button (clipboard icon) visible on hover over a clip places that clip in an internal clipboard. A **Paste** button then appears at the bottom of the list.

Pasting inserts a copy of the clip after the currently selected clip, or at the end of the list if no clip is selected. Switching playlists before pasting moves the clip to the new active playlist. The clipboard stays active until the sidebar is closed.

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## Sleep timer

Clicking the moon icon in the bar opens a field to enter a delay in minutes. Once confirmed, a countdown is displayed. Playback stops automatically when the time is up, at the end of the current clip. Clicking the moon icon again cancels the timer.

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## Sharing

The box at the bottom of the sidebar generates a link to [linkaloop.com](https://linkaloop.com) containing the playlist encoded in the URL. This link lets you listen to the playlist without the extension, from any device, without creating an account. The playlist is entirely contained in the link — no data is sent to a server.

The link is updated automatically with every change to the playlist.

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## Import / Export

The two buttons at the bottom of the sidebar let you exchange data in JSON format.

**Export** produces a `.json` file containing the active playlist, downloadable directly.

**Export database** produces a file containing all playlists.

**Import** accepts a `.json` file produced by the export feature. If the file contains a full database, a confirmation dialog asks you to choose between replacing the existing database or merging (playlists whose ID already exists are skipped).

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## Data and privacy

All data (playlists, clips, settings) is stored locally in the browser via the `browser.storage.local` API. Nothing is sent to an external server. The extension does not collect any browsing data.

The only network communication is the share link to linkaloop.com, generated locally and opened only if the user clicks it.

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## Known limitations

- The extension only works on `youtube.com` pages. It's not active on YouTube Music or the YouTube app.
- Private or geo-blocked videos cannot be played, even if a clip was created on them — YouTube blocks access independently of the extension.
- On very long playlists (more than about 50 clips), the share link may exceed the 2,000-character limit. In that case, the encoding progressively strips optional fields (description, overlay, clip names) to fit within the limit. The clips themselves (video, start, duration) are always preserved.
- Playback resumes automatically after navigating between YouTube videos (SPA behavior), but there may be a delay of a few seconds while the video loads.
- On Firefox for Android, the mobile version of YouTube (m.youtube.com) may block or mute autoplay of playlists, depending on the browser's autoplay settings. Switch to "Desktop site" or allow audio autoplay for m.youtube.com in Firefox's site settings for the full experience.