Bible Verse New Tab

A beautiful Chrome extension that displays an inspiring Bible verse with stunning background imagery every time you open a new tab.

Features

• Daily Bible Verse: Fresh verse each day from a curated collection of 365 verses
• Multiple Translations: ESV (default) with NKJV offline fallback
• Beautiful Backgrounds: High-quality images from Unsplash across 5 categories:
  • Nature
  • Galaxy/Space
  • Oceans
  • Mountains
  • Underwater
• Custom Backgrounds: Upload your own images
• Offline Support: Works without internet using bundled NKJV verses
• Favorites: Save your favorite verses (up to 20)
• Reading Streak: Track your daily Bible reading
• Interpret with AI: Send verses to ChatGPT for biblical exegesis
• Customizable Settings:
  • Daily or random verse mode
  • Daily or random background mode
  • Light or dark theme
  • Font size options
  • Enable/disable specific image categories
• Privacy-Focused: No tracking, no analytics, no personal data collection

Project Structure

Bible Chrome Extension/
├── bible-newtab-extension/    # Chrome extension (frontend)
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── newtab.html            # New tab page
│   ├── popup.html             # Extension popup
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── shared/            # Shared modules
│   │   │   ├── constants.js   # App constants & defaults
│   │   │   ├── storage.js     # Chrome storage wrapper
│   │   │   ├── verse.js       # Verse fetching (ESV API + NKJV fallback)
│   │   │   └── date-utils.js  # Date formatting helpers
│   │   ├── newtab/
│   │   │   ├── index.js       # New tab entry point
│   │   │   ├── background.js  # Background image logic
│   │   │   └── settings.js    # Settings panel
│   │   ├── popup/
│   │   │   └── popup.js       # Popup functionality
│   │   └── utils/
│   │       └── api-config.js  # API configuration
│   ├── styles/
│   ├── data/
│   │   ├── nkjv-fallback.json # Offline NKJV verses
│   │   └── images.json        # Image metadata
│   └── images/
│
└── backend/                   # Vercel serverless backend
    └── api/
        └── background-image.js # Unsplash API endpoint

Installation

For Users

Install from the Chrome Web Store

For Developers

Prerequisites

• Chrome browser
• ESV API key (free from https://api.esv.org/) - optional, key included
• Unsplash API key (free from https://unsplash.com/developers) - for backend

Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/bible-newtab.git
   cd bible-newtab

2. Load the extension

   • Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable "Developer mode"
   • Click "Load unpacked"
   • Select the bible-newtab-extension folder

3. Open a new tab to see the extension in action!

API Integration

ESV API (Direct)

The extension calls the ESV.org API directly from the client for verse fetching:

• Endpoint: https://api.esv.org/v3/passage/text/
• Rate limited to 3 API calls per day to respect API limits
• Cycles through cached verses when limit reached

Unsplash API (Backend)

Background images are fetched via a Vercel serverless function:

• Endpoint: /api/background-image
• Query parameters:
  • category: nature, galaxy, oceans, mountains, underwater
  • mode: daily, random

Deployment

Backend (Vercel)

cd backend
vercel login
vercel --prod

Add environment variables in Vercel Dashboard:

• UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY

Extension (Chrome Web Store)

1. Create a ZIP of the bible-newtab-extension folder
2. Upload to Chrome Developer Dashboard
3. Pay the one-time $5 developer fee
4. Submit for review

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript (ES6 modules), CSS3, Chrome Extensions API (Manifest V3)
• Backend: Vercel Serverless Functions
• APIs: ESV.org Bible API, Unsplash API
• Storage: Chrome Storage Sync, IndexedDB (for custom images)

Privacy

This extension respects your privacy:

• No personal data collection
• No analytics or tracking
• All settings stored locally via Chrome Storage
• Only network requests are to fetch verses (ESV API) and images (Unsplash)

See PRIVACY.md for details.

Version History

v1.3.0

• Switched to ESV as default translation with NKJV offline fallback
• Refactored codebase with shared modules
• Removed API.Bible dependency
• Added interpretation feature with ChatGPT
• Improved font loading performance

v1.2.0

• Added custom background uploads
• Added favorites system
• Added reading streak tracking

v1.0.0

• Initial release

Credits

• ESV Bible Text: Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible, copyright © 2001 by Crossway
• NKJV Bible Text: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson
• Background Images: Provided by Unsplash

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details