TabCounter

TabCounter is a Windows‑only Python utility that periodically counts your open Chrome tabs (via the UI‑Automation API) and posts the count to a remote server.

Features

• Non‑invasive: reads Chrome’s window UI tree without injecting or modifying the browser.
• Configurable polling interval.
• Posts JSON payload {api_key, tab_count, timestamp} to your endpoint.
• Headless console app; no GUI required.
• Easy auto‑start via Task Scheduler or NSSM.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or later
• Python 3.8+

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

   python -m venv .venv
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Configuration

Create a JSON config file at ~/.tabcounterconf.json (i.e. %USERPROFILE%\.tabcounterconf.json on Windows) with the following keys:

{
  "server_url": "https://your.server/endpoint",
  "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "interval_sec": 300
}

You can override any setting via command‑line flags:

python main.py [--config PATH] [--server-url URL] [--api-key KEY] [--interval N] [--once]

Usage

• Run once and exit:

  python main.py --once
  

• Run continuously every interval_sec seconds:

  python main.py
  

Auto‑start on Windows

Task Scheduler

Use PowerShell to register a scheduled task that runs at user logon:

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "C:\\path\\to\\python.exe" -Argument "C:\\path\\to\\main.py"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
Register-ScheduledTask -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -TaskName "TabCounter" -Description "Count Chrome tabs and post to server"

NSSM (as a Windows Service)

1. Download NSSM (Non‑Sucking Service Manager) and place nssm.exe in your PATH.
2. Install and start the service:

   nssm install TabCounter "C:\\path\\to\\python.exe" "C:\\path\\to\\main.py"
   nssm set TabCounter Start SERVICE_AUTO_START
   nssm start TabCounter
   

Packaging

To create a standalone tabcounter.exe:

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --onefile --name tabcounter main.py

Then distribute the generated dist/tabcounter.exe.

License

MIT License