When this task was first mentioned, it sounded way more intimidating than it actually turned out to be. In reality, the core development took us about three days. The rest of the week was spent fine-tuning, gathering feedback, and asking the team for their opinions on the tool.

For those who are new here, hi there! We are the Test Data Generator team, and we’ve created a tool made for testers, by testers.

The Test Data Generator is a nifty utility that provides testers with valid, official test data; think IBAN numbers, polis numbers, telephone numbers, and more. This isn’t data you can just randomly invent; it follows specific calculations and rules to ensure correctness.

The story

[21/11/2025]

It all started on a Friday afternoon, when the idea of building a Chrome extension popped into Koen Van Belle’s mind. Since I’m working on the frontend of The Test Data Generator, it only made sense that he’d bring the idea to me.

We both love a good challenge, so we immediately got to work. That Friday, we focused on researching what it actually takes to build a Chrome extension and what tools and concepts we’d need.

[22/11/2025]

After a well-deserved weekend, we jumped straight into implementation. With a few satisfying “AHA!” moments along the way, we suddenly realized—it worked! The hardest part, the research, was already behind us. All that remained was making the extension dynamic. In my excitement, I hurriedly messaged Koen: “Heeey, you know that idea we had on Friday? Well… euhhh… it’s done! ;p”

Naturally, not long after that… I broke it. :0

[23/11/2025]

To understand why I broke it, I took a step back and reimplemented everything from scratch. Once that was stable again, I focused on making the extension fully dynamic—pulling its data directly from the glorious YAML file that the Test Data Generator loves so much!!!

After implementing the right-click functionality, it was time to work on the design of the extension itself. Luckily, we already had a home design to draw inspiration from. Personally, I think it turned out too cute. 🥹 It felt like a baby version of the Test Data Generator and I absolutely loved it. I was genuinely thrilled with the result! :D

What I learned along the way

One interesting thing I discovered during this process is that Chrome extensions don’t always need to be published publicly. You can create and deploy extensions locally for personal or internal use.

For example, imagine building an extension with a tiny pixelated pet dog that runs around every time you open your browser. If you deploy it locally, it’s yours to use no Chrome Web Store required.

That said, updating local extensions can be a bit tedious. Even a small change means rebuilding the extension and re-uploading it manually.

Still, when you see the end result, it’s absolutely worth the effort!

Well that's a little development update!! See you next time! :p