A lightweight new tab extension that won’t slow Chrome

A new tab is the one page you open more than any other. If it takes even half a second, you feel it every time. Here’s what makes a new tab extension light, how to check one yourself, and how we built Pax to stay out of the way.

What makes one heavy

• Loading everything up front. A dashboard with weather, news, markets and a calendar doesn’t need all of that code before the clock appears.
• Waiting on the network. If the page waits for a photo or an API before showing anything, a slow connection makes every tab slow.
• Always-on background work. Timers and polling that run even when you’re not looking cost battery.
• Big fonts and images. Unoptimised photos and several font files add up quickly.

How Pax stays light

• The first screen comes from a small cache. The clock, greeting and photo paint from what’s already on your device, and your agenda fills in a moment later.
• Everything else waits. The calendar view, focus timer, sounds, markets and news load the first time you open them, not before.
• Photos are ready ahead of time. The next few are saved on your device, so new tabs work offline.
• Sounds are made in the browser. Rain and brown noise are generated live, with nothing to download.
• Background work is scheduled, not constant. Calendar sync runs every few minutes rather than all the time.

Check any extension in a minute

1. Open a new tab, then Chrome’s Task Manager (Shift + Esc on Windows; on a Mac, Window → Task Manager). Look at the memory and CPU next to the extension.
2. Turn your Wi-Fi off and open a new tab. A good one still appears instantly.
3. Open ten tabs quickly. If any of them flash blank or stutter, you’ll feel it all day.

Light isn’t the same as bare

Minimal extensions like Bonjourr are light partly because they do less. That’s a fine choice if all you want is a clock and a few links. But a page can be full-featured and still light, as long as it only does work when you ask for it. That’s the bar we hold Pax to.