15 Awesome and Useful Safari Extensions

Apple released Safari 5 in June, introducing official support for browser extensions. This move now means that developers have the ability to build add-ons to enhance the overall browsing experience on Safari.

Apple launched its own official Safari Extensions gallery at the end of July, showcasing some of the best developer submissions. The gallery is just getting started, but already there are some fantastic additions that any Safari user can appreciate.

As die-hard extension addicts since the first Safari 5 release, we've scoured the web to find 15 of our favorites. Click through the gallery for our picks.

The official gallery isn't the only place to find new and impressive extensions. Both Safari Extensions on Tumbler and Pimp My Safari feature daily updates and highlight great creations from across the web.

What are some of your favorite Safari web extensions? Let us know!

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10 of 15 Photos

10. Add-to-Reader

This extension will add the page you are currently viewing to Google Reader. Although simple, this can be a great time saver.

• TabLinks is a fantastic extension that creates a listing of the URLs for every tab open in your browser. You can then paste this list into an e-mail or text editor. This is a fantastic way to keep track of sources, which is why writers will especially appreciate the extension. As an added bonus, the text output is Markdown compatible.
• Procrastinate gives you one-click access to Pinboard.in, Instapaper, Delcious and Read it Later. This is great if you use these services and can't remember which "Read It Later" link goes where.
• Safari Duplicate Tab adds a button that, well, duplicates your currently selected tab. Simple, but totally awesome.
• View the weather, the world time, a news RSS ticker and the date all from the toolbar.
• This extension gives Google Reader a completely overhauled look and feel. There are a number of custom stylesheets for Google Reader, including Helvetireader, but we like this particular restyling because it keeps all of Google Reader's features intact while improving the look.
• MeasureIt is an extension that lets you grab pixel measurements of different elements or components of a website. This is very handy for web developers who are trying to figure out the width of an image or graphic.
• If you have ever groused about having to click "next page" when reading an online article, AutoPagerizer is for you. It presents the full text on one page, without the pagination links.
  Pro tip: Use this with something like Instapaper to make saving long articles much less involved.
  
• The creators of Coda for Mac OS X have crafted a new Safari Extension that makes it easy to make annotations to a website. You can add or edit the text on the site, add highlights or other hand drawn notes and make adjustments to the page structure if necessary. You can then send the resulting page to a colleague or friend. For designers and developers who are looking for an easy way to get feedback on live sites, Coda Notes is a slam dunk.
• FastestTube makes it easy to download YouTube videos in whatever formats are available directly from the YouTube page. The extension adds a button to the right of the "embed" element on YouTube video pages and makes it super easy to grab the raw files.
• This extension will add the page you are currently viewing to Google Reader. Although simple, this can be a great time saver.
• Sure, you can view the source of a web page in Safari without this extension, but the results aren't as nice. Better Source opens up the source code in a new tab, uses line numbers and color syntax highlighting. Plus, you can choose to view the original source or the source that has been modified by the browser or other scripts.
• This extension provides one-click access to your Google Apps accounts and tools. This means you can go straight to your Mail, Docs or Calendar from the toolbar. The real killer feature is that it supports multiple Google Apps accounts, which will make those of us who use Google to manage various domains much more productive. The extension also includes the option to access non-Google Apps, mail, Google Reader or Google Voice accounts.
• BuiltWith is an extension that will open up a profile of the site you are currently viewing, as analyzed by the BuiltWith service. This will give you a rundown of the type of web server being used, what scripting language is used to generate content, any JavaScript or Flash modules running on the site, and more.
• Flickr recently redesigned its photo pages and the results are great. Viewing the original size of an image is, however, still an awful lot of effort. The Flickr Original extension lets you view the original (or any of the other set sizes) of an image simply by right-clicking on the image.
• Gmail Counter makes it easy to see how many unread messages are in your Gmail inbox directly from a toolbar button. Clicking on the button takes you straight to your inbox.

1. TabLinks

Tab Links is a fantastic extension that creates a listing of the URLs for every tab open in your browser. You can then paste this list into an e-mail or text editor. This is a fantastic way to keep track of sources, which is why writers will especially appreciate the extension. As an added bonus, the text output is Markdown compatible.

2. Procrastinate

Procrastinate gives you one-click access to Pinboard.in, Instapaper, Delcious and Read it Later. This is great if you use these services and can't remember which "Read It Later" link goes where.

3. Safari Duplicate Tab

Safari Duplicate Tab adds a button that, well, duplicates your currently selected tab. Simple, but totally awesome.

4. Widgets Bar

View the weather, the world time, a news RSS ticker and the date all from the toolbar.

5. Google Reader Snow Leopard

This extension gives Google Reader a completely overhauled look and feel. There are a number of custom style sheets for Google Reader, including Helvetireader, but we like this particular restyling because it keeps all of Google Reader's features intact while improving the look.

6. MeasureIt

Measure It is an extension that lets you grab pixel measurements of different elements or components of a website. This is very handy for web developers who are trying to figure out the width of an image or graphic.

7. AutoPagerizer

If you have ever groused about having to click "next page" when reading an online article, AutoPagerizer is for you. It presents the full text on one page, without the pagination links.
Pro tip: Use this with something like Instapaper to make saving long articles much less involved.

8. Coda Notes

The creators of Coda for Mac OS X have crafted a new Safari Extension that makes it easy to make annotations to a website. You can add or edit the text on the site, add highlights or other hand drawn notes and make adjustments to the page structure if necessary. You can then send the resulting page to a colleague or friend. For designers and developers who are looking for an easy way to get feedback on live sites, Coda Notes is a slam dunk.

9. FastestTube

Fastest Tube makes it easy to download YouTube videos in whatever formats are available directly from the YouTube page. The extension adds a button to the right of the "embed" element on YouTube video pages and makes it super easy to grab the raw files.

10. Add-to-Reader

This extension will add the page you are currently viewing to Google Reader. Although simple, this can be a great time saver.

11. Better Source

Sure, you can view the source of a web page in Safari without this extension, but the results aren't as nice. Better Source opens up the source code in a new tab, uses line numbers and color syntax highlighting. Plus, you can choose to view the original source or the source that has been modified by the browser or other scripts.

12. Google Apps Extension

This extension provides one-click access to your Google Apps accounts and tools. This means you can go straight to your Mail, Docs or Calendar from the toolbar. The real killer feature is that it supports multiple Google Apps accounts, which will make those of us who use Google to manage various domains much more productive. The extension also includes the option to access non-Google Apps, mail, Google Reader or Google Voice accounts.

13. BuiltWith

Built With is an extension that will open up a profile of the site you are currently viewing, as analyzed by the Built With service. This will give you a rundown of the type of web server being used, what scripting language is used to generate content, any JavaScript or Flash modules running on the site, and more.

14. Flickr Original

Flickr recently redesigned its photo pages and the results are great. Viewing the original size of an image is, however, still an awful lot of effort. The Flickr Original extension lets you view the original (or any of the other set sizes) of an image simply by right-clicking on the image.

15. Gmail Counter

Gmail Counter makes it easy to see how many unread messages are in your Gmail inbox directly from a toolbar button. Clicking on the button takes you straight to your inbox.