What Is Get Bookmarklets?

Updated

Get Bookmarklets (getbookmarklets.com) is a browsable collection of bookmarklets and userscripts that you install by dragging a link into your browser's bookmarks bar. It is relevant if you want small, single-purpose browser tools without installing an extension, and it also lets you share scripts and submit your own. The site describes itself as "browser scripts you can trust" and organizes content around a simple "How it works" explanation.

What the site offers

  • A catalog of bookmarklets and userscripts you can browse and install with a single drag.
  • Sharing and submission: you can share scripts and submit your own to the collection.
  • Source visibility: at least some entries expose the underlying script source. The Bandcamp Purchases Export entry, for example, lists a source URL pointing to a GitHub Gist and a "Source code" link.

The catalog is community-oriented rather than a single vendor's product line, so the value depends on whether the specific script you need is listed.

How installation works

A bookmarklet is a bookmark whose address is JavaScript instead of a URL. Dragging the install link to your bookmarks bar saves that script as a bookmark; clicking it later runs the script on the page you are viewing. Userscripts are longer scripts typically run through a userscript manager.

The practical steps:

  1. Make sure your bookmarks bar is visible in your browser.
  2. Open the script's page on Get Bookmarklets.
  3. Drag the install link into the bookmarks bar (or create a bookmark manually and paste the script as its address).
  4. Navigate to a page where the script applies and click the bookmark to run it.
  5. Confirm the expected result — for example, an export file downloads or the page changes in the way the script describes.

Expected result: the script runs only when you click it, and only on the page you have open.

What to check before installing

Because bookmarklets execute code in the context of whatever page you are on, the source matters more than the description.

  • Read the source. Entries like Bandcamp Purchases Export link to their source (a GitHub Gist in that case). Skim it before running it on pages where you are logged in.
  • Match the script to the site. A script written for one service will usually do nothing useful elsewhere.
  • Check what data it touches. Export-style scripts read page data and produce a file; know where that file goes and what it contains.
  • Prefer entries with a visible source link over ones that only show a description.

Who it is for

Get Bookmarklets fits people who want a lightweight tool for a specific task — exporting a purchase history, for instance — and are comfortable dragging a bookmark and reviewing a short script. It is less suitable if you want vetted, maintained software with support, or if you are unwilling to inspect code before running it. The site does not present itself as a store; no pricing or account requirements are described in the available material, so treat access and any login conditions as things to verify on the site itself.

Bottom line

Use Get Bookmarklets as a discovery layer for small browser scripts: browse the catalog, open the entry you need, check its source, and install by dragging. The main decision is not whether the site is useful but whether the specific script's code is something you are willing to run in your browser.