#userscripts

[yellowafterlife]

Fixing a very certain annoyance

Have you ever noticed that on web, Tumblr shows the number of unread posts in the tab title, but doesn't include Activity in that number?

I made a userscript to fix that. It also has an option to show only the unread notification count in the tab title, which might be useful if you always have unreads in Home anyway:

You can find it on Greasy Fork or GitHub. You'll need a userscript manager (like TamperMonkey) to install userscripts.

[certified-diplodocus]

"hey, diplodocus, why've you been so quiet these past weeks"

oh, you know

stuff

(you know that thing where you're searching for your blorbo, but they're a supporting character so it's just

COOLGUY goes on an adventure. blorbo is there i suppose

star-crossed COOLGUY / BROODING romance. blorbo is there

COOLGUY asks blorbo for advice in chapter 3

COOLGUY and their emotional support blorbo

blorbo-centric

blorbo (mentioned)

(anyway. I might be going to fix that.)

watch this space.

*based on "secondary char&pairing filter" by scriptfairy but a LOT bigger. it has exclusion. it can remember things, you guys. it has a menu. I'm so proud

[uncleasad]

Two Useful Userscripts for AO3

For a long time, I’ve thought it would be nice to have two “features” on AO3 (which AO3 has good reason not to add themselves):

A way to add formatting buttons to the comment box (mostly on mobile, where typing HTML is very awkward)

Some way to “take notes” on a fic/chapter as I’m reading, so I don’t constantly forget things I want to comment on 😂 (just ask @persevereforahappyending)

Writing both of these things are (in theory) within the outer edges of my capabilities, but in practice they’d require so much brushing up and research that they’d be 20+ hour projects each, not an effective use of my limited time 😭 (I did eventually write myself a little HTML tags helper Shortcut a couple years ago that made inserting tags on my phone…less painful…but not painless enough that I’d even use it every time.)

Eventually I remembered userscripts, and I found a "floating comment box" script…that I couldn’t get to even load…and gave up and moved on.

Today, while searching for something else, I discovered a pair of scripts from the same person that added both of these features and worked (to the extent they actually loaded; I’ve yet to submit any comments using them) not only on desktop (Safari with the open-source userscripts extension) and on my phone (with the same combo)!

Obligatory Warning

Userscripts are third-party JavaScripts that have access to anything on a given web page, can load other JavaScripts, steal your information, and so forth. Never install a userscript you don’t trust.

I Understand the Danger; Tell Me What Userscripts You Found!

First, make sure you have a “userscript manager” extension installed in your browser.

The original userscript extension, Greasemonkey, is available for Firefox and derivatives.

Tampermonkey is available for multiple browsers on multiple desktop and mobiles OSes.

userscripts is available for Safari on Mac and iOS.

There are others, too.

After you’ve installed your userscript manager extension, hop on over to greasyfork.org and add these scripts:

AO3: Comment Formatting and Preview

AO3: Sticky Comment Box

Both by escctrl, who has an extensive list of other AO3 scripts you might like (that tag reordering script also caught my eye!).

My JavaScript knowledge is both weak and rusty, but nothing in these two scripts seemed untoward.

I’m not sure how well the floating comment box will end up working on the small screen of the phone—between it and the keyboard it obscures 90% of the screen—but it still might be useful enough.

Happy commenting on all your favorite fics!

[tyote]

attention desktop-using mutuals & followers:

if you don't already know (i didn't) someone made a userscript that reverts the tumblr dash back to the old style.

you'll need a userscript manager add-on (i use violentmonkey) but installation is easy. details on their github page:

[the-sleepy-archivist]

Favorite iOS Safari Extensions

On iOS (iPhones and iPads), Safari is the undisputed leader of the browsers, primarily because Apple puts very tight restrictions on other browser apps that makes it very difficult for them to offer the same features that Safari does.

Thankfully, you can install extensions to tweak Safari's behavior and customize websites, as long as your device is running iOS 15 or higher. Here are the Safari Extensions I use on a daily basis. Many are free (or at least have a free version), and all work on both iPhones and iPads.

For desktop computers and Android phones, you can also check out my recommendations for Firefox addons)

Last updated March 2025 (fixed broken Bypass Paywalls Clean links, added StopTheMadness)

Index:

AdGuard

Noir

uBlacklist

Userscripts

Sink It for Reddit

UnTrap

Vinegar

StopTheMadness

AdGuard

This addon is free if you just want to use the built in adblocking lists. For a small yearly fee, you can pay for "Pro" features, which allows you to add any custom adblocking list to the app, as well as providing DNS-based system-level adblocking that can block ads and trackers inside any app on your phone. Note that it gives you two options for the system-level blocking, local VPN and native DNS; using the VPN option can drain your battery faster than normal in my experience, so I recommend using the native DNS instead. Between AdGuard and the two YouTube-customizing extensions below, I haven’t seen an ad on YouTube in Safari in months.

Recommended custom filter lists (in addition to the built-in default lists):

Bypass Paywalls Clean (you’ll also need to install this userscript using the Userscripts Safari extension mentioned later in this list for maximum paywall blocking)

Huge AI Blocklist (if you don’t want AI art or AI images of nonexistent chimera animals cluttering up your search results)

Fuck FuckAdblock

Noir

Adds a dark mode to any website. It's using heuristics (fancy guessing) to figure out which website colors need to be changed so that it's darkened, so sometimes it can make mistakes. In that case, it has a built in way to send a bug report to the developer, who is pretty responsive in my experience; he updates the app around once a month in my experience. You can also turn off darkening for specific sites right from inside Safari.

uBlacklist

This addon hides search engine results from specific domains. Example: you can hide images results from AI generator sites, OR if you search for tech support advice and one of those stupid auto-generated sites filled with SEO garbage but no actual information keeps popping up, you can use this addon to hide everything from that website, right from the Google/DuckDuckGo/other search results.

Recommended filter subscriptions:

Huge AI Blocklist

Userscripts

Allows you to install userscripts and stylesheets that customize website behavior or appearance. The addon can check for updates of your userscripts and uses iCloud to synchronize them across devices too, which is really nice. The userscripts I use are:

Bypass Paywalls Clean (removes news website paywalls)

Amazon Sponsored Products Removal (self-explanatory)

Redirect Fandom to BreezeWiki (bypasses ad-filled fandom.com domains for indie wikis or an ad-free proxy site. The link documents 2 userscripts with slightly different behavior; use whichever you prefer).

Sink It for Reddit

I switched to only using Reddit in the browser after the whole API/third party apps fiasco. AdGuard blocks the ads in the web interface, but there were still a lot of annoyances because Reddit constantly bombarded you with prompts/popups trying to get you to switch to their app so they could track you and sell you ads. Sink It for Reddit removes all of those popups and lets you customize the behavior of the Reddit website too (tapping a post can open it in a new tab, back to top buttons for long posts, and video downloads, among other things). Constantly being updated too, which is nice to see.

UnTrap (USD $1.99)

This extension cleans up the YouTube interface in the browser. You can hide Shorts, Explore, Trending, and multiple flavors of Suggestions (videos, playlists, etc.). It also stops autoplaying videos, and has a content filter you can use to ensure you never see certain channels or even specific videos by ID, username, or keyword/regex. There are over 50 options you can tweak for the video playback page alone, so if you’re looking to remove an annoyance from YouTube in Safari on iOS, this is the addon for you. Note however that this is the first extension I’ve recommended that does NOT have a free version.

Vinegar and Baking Soda (USD $1.99)

This extension replaces YouTube’s custom video player with a standard HTML5 one. This means that YT videos will play back using the standard iOS video player interface, including all of the accompanying benefits: better interface, Picture in Picture/popout videos work, videos continue playing in the background even if you leave Safari, etc.. I was even able to start a YouTube video in Safari, lock my phone, and then continue playing the video and hear the audio over my car’s speakers via CarPlay. These are all normally locked features reserved for YouTube Premium subscribers. You can also set a default quality that it will use so YouTube won’t use “auto” and set you to 360p just because you’re using a phone.

StopTheMadness Pro (USD $14.99)

This app is really only for techies who use mobile websites a LOT; for me the very high price tag is worth it primarily to stop the following web annoyances:

Stops websites from disabling features like copy and paste, pinch to zoom, context menus, or text replacement/autofill

Adds a warning when you’re exceeding the length of a password field (too many poorly coded websites just chopping off the extra characters without telling me and then the password I recorded is wrong)

Stops autoplaying video (looking at you, YouTube and news websites)

I’ll be honest, this app has a LOT of features and the number of options can be overwhelming. It has dozens of things I did not mention, and some of them even overlap with other items in this list. For example, if you have this you probably don’t need Baking Soda or Vinegar because this app has options for enabling native Safari controls on all videos, setting default YouTube quality and subtitles, etc.

[bittersweetcandyshops]

Thank you so so much for showing me what to avoid so I can watch properly streamed tv shows and movies. I immediately blocked those suggestions on my browsers and I will never ever look at them again. You’re a lifesaver!

Your welcome! Also don't ever install uBlockOrigin extension to stop ads on all websites, and be extra careful to never install https://github.com/TheRealJoelmatic/RemoveAdblockThing since youtube needs its ad money. They even made the instructions on how to install super simple to lure more people in.

[stuartwith2ts]

issue: twitter has it's rate limits in place, so i will use alternate services until they are removed (or forever).

problem: can't get my ass off twitter

solution: make a Tampermonkey script to redirect me to a page asking where i want to go.

[nick-nonya]

sounded simple enough so i made it :3 https://github.com/Nick-Nonya/tumblrmutualhugsvg

to install you need tampermonkey (i think it will work with greasemonkey too? dunno) then just go to the github repo, click on "tumblrmutualiconchanger.user.js" and click on the 'raw' button. you should be redirected to the userscript installation window. (or you can just copy and paste the code but if you know how to do that you don't need to be told install instructions :3)

the mutual icon is pretty small so the images don't quite read well but there's not much i can do about that

the mutuals button should be a hug

[fanly]

Userscripts，为Safari浏览器设计的免费油猴脚本扩展插件 - 泪雪网

[themundanemudperson]

does anyone have an extension for tumblr's dashboard that reverts it to the old layout instead of this new twitter one?

i had one installed before, and it just stopped working for some reason and the second one i have installed doesn't let you see the icons of a poster (like the pfp of the person posting isn't on the side anymore)(i don't know who's putting what on my dash anymore 😭)

[yellowafterlife]

If you use Reddit and aren't fond of how the inbox/notifications are now a separate page, good news - I made a userscript that re-creates the "mini inbox" as it appeared before the March 2025 change

[the-sleepy-archivist]

This is a great guide!

One thing I can help with on iOS; If you want to use userscripts on iOS (like the kudosed and seen history one recommended above), you can install the Userscripts Safari extension!

Once it’s installed, enable it in Settings -> Safari -> Extensions -> toggle Userscripts to “on”. Then anytime you open a userscript in Safari, tap the extensions icon in the safari address bar (looks like a puzzle piece), then tap Userscripts and it will offer to install the userscript for you :) It syncs them via iCloud too so it will work across your tablet and your phone etc. You can check for script updates right from the extension too.

One thing that tripped me up at first is that you have to open the actual .js file for Userscripts to detect it, not just the Greasemonkey/Tampermonkey details page. So on the details page just tap “Install this script”; it will probably prompt you to open it in a userscript manager, so just tap “i understand, open the script anyway” and it should display in Safari as a big text file. THAT’S when you can use Userscripts to install it.

Disclaimer: none of these answers are official, and may not work for your particular use case. If there is a specific feature that an unofficial app had that you don't know how to replicate on the AO3, let me know in the notes and we might can crowdsource a solution.

A lot of people used the Archive Reader app to access stories on Archive of Our Own, and have been upset that the app is now charging to read longer than an hour a day. AO3 (and its parent organization, the OTW) has made it extremely clear in recent days that this app is unofficial and that there *is* no official app. They encourage people to use the website.

However, there are MANY reasons you might want an app, and in a bunch of those cases, there are ways to do those things without having to provide your login information to a random person running an app. Here is a round-up of solutions to the most common reasons I've seen people give for wanting an app instead of the plain AO3 website.

These solutions are based on the following assumptions:

You know what Archive of Our Own is

You often or primarily access it through a mobile device running iOS or Android

You understand what a browser is

You understand what a browser bookmark is

You understand what a site skin is

I need a widget on my phone's homescreen, not just a browser bookmark.

You can do this with any website, not just AO3! Instructions here: https://www.howtogeek.com/196087/how-to-add-websites-to-the-home-screen-on-any-smartphone-or-tablet/

I need Dark Mode.

AO3 has a default site skin for Dark Mode, it's just called Reversi. Find it here, or at the bottom of any page on the website. https://archiveofourown.org/skins/929/

I need to be able to read stories when I don't have internet.

Every work on the AO3 has a download button, so you can click on that and download the story for offline reading in the ereader app of your choice. More info on how to do that is in the AO3 FAQs: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/downloading-fanworks?language_id=en#accesslater

I need to be able to change the text size of the website itself.

You can do this with a site skin! There is a simple tutorial here: https://www.tumblr.com/ao3skin/667284237718798336/i-have-a-request-if-you-dont-mind-could-you

I need to be able to change the text size in downloaded stories.

My personal recommendation: Don't download in PDF format. All the other formats you can download in can scale the text size up and down, assuming you open the work in the correct app. For me, I download works in EPUB format and read them on the built-in Books app on my iPhone. I hear good things about Moon Reader on Android as well.

I need to be able to replace Y/N in fics with an actual name.

ElectricAlice has a bookmarklet for that here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34796935

I need to be able to save specific tags and not have to search them up every time.

If you have an AO3 account (which you definitely should) then you can favorite up to 20 tags which will appear on the landing page. The AO3 FAQ explains how that works: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/tags?language_id=en#favtag

I need to be able to save specific filters and be able to apply them to any tag.

Reisling's beautiful bookmarklet has you covered: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33825019

I need to be able to permanently hide certain tags.

The best option is adding this to your site skin. Instructions here: https://www.tumblr.com/ao3css/719667033634160640/how-to-permanently-filter-out-certain-tags-on-ao3

I also hear things about the AO3 Enhancements extension (just for Android/desktop, sorry iOS folks): https://www.tumblr.com/emotionalsupportrats/686787582579851265/browser-extension-everyone-on-ao3-should-know

I need it to save my place on the page and not reload.

This is really mostly a browser error--Firefox on iOS does this to me A LOT. Your best bet is to download the work and read it in an ereader app. A lot of people also will make an ao3 bookmark and write in the notes section which part they were at, but that assumes you aren't falling asleep while reading. (Which is the main reason I have this issue, lol.) For more info on bookmarks, see the FAQ: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/bookmarks?language_id=en#whatisbookmark

I need it to keep track of which stories I've already read/opened/kudos'd.

If you have an account (which you should) then the "My History" page keeps track of every fic you've ever clicked on. No, it isn't searchable or sortable, but it does exist. For fics you've kudos'd, I have yet to find a solution for iOS. For desktop or Android, you can use this excellent userscript: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/5835-ao3-kudosed-and-seen-history

I need an app because the website's search is terrible.

(I genuinely don't understand this one but I have seen it multiple times so on the list it goes!!) The search bar at the top of the screen is a keyword search. If you'd rather search within a specific field (like title or tag) then you'll want to click on the word "search" at the top of the screen and select Work Search or Tag Search. To search users, use People Search. To search Bookmarks, use Bookmark Search. (If this is you, please tell me what the heck you mean by "search is bad" and how an app helped with this.)

I need to be able to sort stories by date posted/number of bookmarks/alphabetical/etc.

You can do this using the filters sidebar. Pick a tag you want to filter on (like a fandom, character, or relationship) and then click on the "Filters" button. The sidebar will pop out and you can sort and filter on a boggling array of specifics. A good filtering guide: https://www.tumblr.com/saurons-pr-department/718665516093472768/if-there-is-something-you-dont-want-to-see-in

I need to be able to mark stories to read later.

AO3 has this feature built in! If you have an account (which you should) there is a "Mark for Later" option on every work.

I need to be able to listen to stories using text-to-speech.

Microsoft Edge web browser has a built in text to speech function. Supposedly it works on both iOS and Android, but I have not personally tested that. iOS also has a native accessibility feature in settings for text to speech that will work on the Books app, so I assume Android has a similar functionality.

I need an app because <other reason>.

The AO3 Unofficial Browser Tools FAQ might cover your use case: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/unofficial-browser-tools?language_id=en If not, give a shout and we'll see what other tumblr users suggest!

[certified-diplodocus]

AO3 userscript: Just my languages 𒈾

Finding fic in the right language can be frustrating, so I spent the past couple of weeks writing and polishing a script to simplify AO3's language search and filtering options, as well as language selection for new works (useful if, e.g., you only ever write in English).

Functions (choose any combination):

Show only selected languages in the dropdown list

Bold some languages in the dropdown

Autofill for every search (filters can still be changed by hand):

Monolingual: set the dropdown with your preferred language

Multilingual: add a query to show fic in multiple languages at once (e.g. European Portuguese AND Brazilian Portuguese, "language_id:ptPT OR language_id:ptBR")

Add/remove multilingual filters with the button 𒈾 next to "Language" selector. Also works with autofill.

Set a default language for new works (can be different from the language you use for searches).

A call to mutuals and followers especially - give it a shot and let me know if the features match your actual needs? I hope it will be useful for people who browse in multiple languages and for those who only ever read in English.

(If you don't have a script manager, the Greasyfork homepage has a handy list with links by browser. Do not get Greasemonkey: it's old and many newer scripts break on it, including - probably - this one.)

also the script icon is the cuneiform unicode 𒈾 "NA" which, besides belonging to 𒂍𒀀 𒈾𒍢𒅕 aka Ea-nāṣir, also happens to look like a (babel)fish. so. that's cool

[uncleasad]

New Userscript to Work Around AO3 Drafts Date Bug!

I think anyone who has ever used AO3 drafts for a work or chapter (even just to finish posting the next day) has been bitten by the long-standing bug where works/chapters started as drafts keep the draft creation date as the publication date unless you (remember to) manually change it before publication, often resulting in a work or chapter being published several days in the past 😳 (Not great in active fandoms/tags!)

Having stumbled across this bug once again recently, I asked escctrl (the author of the other AO3 userscripts I raved about recently) if it was possible to do anything via userscript to help us avoid falling victim to this bug.

escctrl responded with AO3: Warn for Old Publication Date on Drafts, which places a warning next to the Post button on work/chapter drafts and includes a button to automatically update the old date to today’s date. It feels so slick!

Big thanks to escctrl for making this possible! 🙏

Uncle Asad, this sounds useful, but what’s a userscript?!

More info under the cut if you’re not familiar with userscripts…

Userscripts are third-party JavaScripts (code written not by the author of the web page and not by you) that are run on specified web pages (here, on AO3) to modify the page in some way. The scripts require you to have an userscript extension installed in your browser, and the extension tells the browser to run any scripts you have installed. (You might have heard of “Greasemonkey scripts”—Greasemonkey was the first userscript extension.)

Obligatory Warning

Userscripts are third-party JavaScripts that have access to anything on a given web page, can load other JavaScripts, steal your information, and so forth. Never install a userscript you don’t trust.

I Understand the Danger; Tell Me What I Need to Do!

First, make sure you have a “userscript manager” extension installed in your browser.

The original userscript extension, Greasemonkey, is available for Firefox and derivatives.

Tampermonkey is available for multiple browsers on multiple desktop and mobiles OSes.

userscripts is available for Safari on Mac and iOS.

There are others, too.

After you’ve installed your userscript manager extension, hop on over to greasyfork.org (a website hosting userscripts written by hundreds of different people) and add this script: AO3: Warn for Old Publication Date on Drafts

(Consult the documentation for your userscript extension for help on installing scripts.)

escctrl has an extensive list of other AO3 scripts you might find useful, including the three I mentioned in my prior post.

Happy Never-Again-Accidentally-Posting-A-Fic-In-The-Past to you! 👏

[sandreeen]

Tumblr April Fools Boop with Sung Hyunjae & Han Yoojin, inspired by @transsongtaewon's post

[enigmalea]

There is a userscript for Tampermonkey, etc, which will add all links from your dashboard to the menu for you. The link includes instructions for how to remove links if you don't want them, but you will have to edit the code.

Screenshot of it in action beneath the cut.

Hello, I hope you’re doing well 😊

I was wondering, do you know if there is a way to change which links pop up when you hover over your name in ao3? Like where it says Hi, [username] and it gives My Dashboard, My Subscriptions, etc. Cuz I’d find more use out of having My Inbox and Stats over My Subscriptions and My History and would so put in the effort to change mine if that is actual changeable code.

Even if you can’t help me, thank you for all the help you give your tumblr following 🫶

I'm sure I've heard of people doing that, but it's beyond my capabilities.

Blog? Anyone able to help anon out?