drift.
v1.0.0A SMALL TOOL FOR THE OPEN WEB

A good find.
A new conversation.

Drift is a free, open-source Chrome extension for sharing articles and highlighted passages to Mastodon. Add your thoughts and make a good find part of the conversation.

Available in the Chrome Web Store — install Drift

Your server. Your words. Your final say.

Available now in the Chrome Web Store.

d.Something worth sharingFrom your browser, with a little context.
“Sometimes the most useful thing you can do with a good idea is share it.”

The web is better when we pass things along.

example.com/a-good-find

Your highlight, the title, and the link.
Let it drift.

01 / A SMALL TOOL FOR YOUR BROWSER

Take a good find with you.

Highlight a passage, click Drift, and add your own thoughts. Your selected text comes first, followed by the article title and link.

Save your Mastodon servers, switch between them, clean tracking tags from links, or copy the whole draft. Your account and final post stay in Mastodon’s hands.

CHROME WEB STORE · V1.0.0

Make room in your toolbar.

Install Drift from the Chrome Web Store, add your Mastodon server, and you’re ready to share your next good find.

Available in the Chrome Web Store — install DriftRelease notes

Free and open source. No Mastodon password or account connection required.

Get started

  1. Choose Add to Chrome on the store listing and confirm the installation.
  2. Add the HTTPS address of your Mastodon server on Drift’s welcome page.
  3. Pin Drift from Chrome’s puzzle-piece Extensions menu.
  4. Highlight a passage in an article, click Drift, and make the draft your own.

Prefer to load it yourself? Download the v1.0.0 ZIP, extract it, and use Load unpacked at chrome://extensions with Developer mode enabled.

02 / A FEW SECONDS, START TO FINISH

From your tab to your people.

Pin Drift for easy access.
  1. 01

    Find your passage.

    Highlight text in an article, or leave it unselected to share just the page title and link.

  2. 02

    Click the Drift icon.

    Your highlight, title, and URL appear together in an editable draft. Add your thoughts and choose a saved server.

  3. 03

    Give it your final say.

    Select Continue to Mastodon. Check your account, audience, content warning, and character limit, then publish there.

A LITTLE QUICKER

Open Drift with Alt + Shift + M, or right-click a page, link, or selected passage.

Customize it at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Room to grow.

Drift starts small and keeps its changes in the open.

v1.0.0 · Now in the Chrome Web Store

  • Your highlight, title, and link in an editable draft
  • Saved Mastodon servers and optional tracking cleanup
  • Copying, draft recovery, and right-click sharing
Read the changelog on GitHub

A little help.

Something not working, or an idea for what comes next? Start with the quick answers below, or open an issue.

Get help on GitHub
My selected text is missing.

Select text directly in the article before clicking Drift. Browser pages, some PDF viewers, embedded frames, and the Chrome Web Store can block selection access. Try the right-click option or paste the passage into the draft.

How do I pin Drift?

Click Chrome’s puzzle-piece Extensions button, then the pin beside Drift. You can reopen this page from Drift’s Settings & help link.

My server isn’t opening the composer.

Use the HTTPS address where you sign in to Mastodon. Drift targets Mastodon’s /share page. Other Fediverse software and alternative web clients may use a different sharing format.

Small footprint. Clear boundaries.

Drift reads the page you choose to share when you invoke it. Settings stay in your browser. Drafts are temporary, and you review the post on Mastodon before publishing.

No usage analytics inside the extension, advertising, or background browsing collection. Links to Kyle’s website identify Drift as the visit’s source.

This website uses Tinylytics to count visits, referral sources, and clicks on its links and help controls. It loads a MakerMap badge in the footer.

Read the privacy details