How to Find a Specific Script on Get Bookmarklets

Updated

Get Bookmarklets (getbookmarklets.com) is a collection of browser bookmarklets and userscripts you install with a single drag, and you can browse, share, and submit your own scripts. To find a specific script such as Bandcamp Purchases Export, browse the collection by purpose, open the script's listing to read its source URL and source code, then drag it to your bookmarks bar to install. The site describes its scripts as "browser scripts you can trust," but that is the site's own framing — you should still review the source before installing anything.

Browsing the Collection to Locate a Script by Purpose

The site is organized as a browsable collection rather than a search-first tool, so the practical approach is to scan listings for the task you have in mind. Each entry is presented with its name and a short description of what it does, which is usually enough to match a script to a job like exporting purchase history, cleaning up a page, or pulling data out of a service.

When you find a candidate, don't install from the browse view alone. Open the listing first — that is where the details you need to judge the script live.

Reading a Script's Listing Details

A listing on Get Bookmarklets gives you three things worth checking before you install:

  • The script name and description — confirms the purpose matches your task.
  • The source URL — where the script actually comes from. For the Bandcamp Purchases Export entry, the source URL points to a GitHub Gist raw file (gist.githubusercontent.com/...), meaning the code is hosted and versioned outside the site itself.
  • The source code — the listing exposes the code so you can read it rather than trusting a black box.

That combination is what makes the site useful for evaluation: you can see both where a script originates and what it contains before it touches your browser.

What the Bandcamp Purchases Export Example Does

The Bandcamp Purchases Export entry is a concrete illustration of how a listing reads. Its source URL resolves to a raw JavaScript file on a GitHub Gist, and the listing links to the source code directly. In practice, a script with this name is meant to pull your Bandcamp purchase records out of your account into a file you can keep — useful if you want a personal archive of what you've bought.

Because the code is hosted on a Gist, you can also open the Gist page itself to see revision history and any comments, which gives you more context than the listing alone.

Installing a Bookmarklet or Userscript

The install model is the same across the collection: bookmarklets are installed by dragging, and userscripts are installed into a userscript manager.

  1. Make sure your bookmarks bar is visible in your browser — bookmarklets live there.
  2. Open the script's listing and locate the install link or the drag target.
  3. Drag the link to your bookmarks bar. The browser saves it as a bookmark whose address is the script itself.
  4. Run it on the right page. Navigate to the site the script targets (for the Bandcamp example, your Bandcamp purchases page) and click the bookmark.
  5. Verify the result. For an export script, confirm a file was produced and that it contains the records you expected.

For userscripts, the equivalent step is installing a userscript manager first, then adding the script from its source URL.

Common Snags

  • Nothing happens on click. Bookmarklets often only work on the matching site and page; running them elsewhere silently does nothing.
  • The browser blocks or strips the script. Some browsers restrict javascript: bookmarks in certain contexts — check that the bookmark was saved intact.
  • The script depends on the page's current layout. Export and scraping scripts break when the target site changes its markup, so a script that worked before may need an update.

Sharing or Submitting Your Own Script

The site accepts community submissions, so if you've written a bookmarklet or userscript, you can submit it to the collection for others to install with a single drag. Sharing works the same way in reverse: point people at the listing, and they get the description, source URL, and code in one place.

Deciding Whether to Trust a Given Script

Trust here comes from reading, not from the site's tagline. Before installing, open the source code and check what it sends where — look for network requests to domains you don't recognize, and confirm the script only does what its description claims. For scripts hosted on a Gist, check the author and revision history. If the code is obfuscated or you can't follow it, that's a reason to skip it. The one-drag install is convenient, but the review step is what actually protects you.