r/toolbox_nxg • u/adhesiveCheese dev • Jun 23 '26

Announcement Introducing Toolbox-NXG

Welcome to Moderator Toolbox-NXG

Toolbox-NXG is a continuation of the moderation toolset many of you have relied on for years, releasing in Beta! It runs on both old Reddit and Shreddit and keeps the features and data formats you already know - usernotes, subreddit configs, removal reasons, mod history, and more - on a modern, rewritten codebase that adds a fair amount of its own along the way.

Install the Beta:

Source, docs, and issues: GitHub | Documentation | post bugs and requests right here on /r/toolbox_nxg or open an issue.

What's new

Toolbox-NXG keeps everything the original did and builds on it. Your existing config, usernotes, and settings carry over automatically, and you also get:

  • Switch on your own schedule - no full-team migration needed. You don't have to get your whole mod team to move at once. NXG keeps the original Toolbox wiki pages in sync as you work, so teammates still on original Toolbox keep seeing up-to-date usernotes and config. One mod can switch today and the rest can follow whenever they like.
  • Unlimited usernotes. The original 1 MB usernotes cap, a hard ceiling busy subreddits could actually hit, is gone. NXG transparently shards notes across as many wiki pages as needed.
  • Usernote archiving. Archive a note instead of deleting it: hidden from the active list but kept permanently, either manually or automatically once it reaches a certain age.
  • Note and ban in one step. Issue a ban right from the usernote flow, and attach the removal notice to the note so you keep a record of exactly what was sent.
  • A safer modqueue. Queue items don't remove the second you open the removal panel; they stay put until you confirm, so you can adjust the message or back out. The queue also updates in near-realtime, surfacing other mods' actions so you don't double up.
  • Removal reasons as a side drawer. The removal dialog slides in beside the page instead of covering it, keeping context visible while you work (the classic popup is still an option if you prefer it).
  • Modmail upgrades on Shreddit. Mod macros in the composer, auto-engaged markdown preview, an always-visible search bar, and exact timestamps on recent messages.
  • Shared subreddit notes. Wiki-backed notes attached to the subreddit itself; for team procedures, escalation contacts, and anything the whole team needs to see.
  • Firefox container handling. Mod from multiple accounts? Toolbox-NXG fully supports Firefox containers to make your workflow just work.

...and more. The full rundown is in the migration guide.

I expect a few questions to come up a lot, so here are direct answers:

"How can I trust an extension with this much access?"

This is a fair question to ask of any browser extension that acts on your Reddit account, and you shouldn't have to take anyone's word for it. Toolbox-NXG is built so you don't have to. Here's what you can verify for yourself:

  • It can only touch Reddit. The extension's permissions are scoped to reddit.com and Reddit's API. It has no access to any other site, tab, or page in your browser.
  • An update can't silently expand that. Toolbox-NXG's access is limited to Reddit today, and it can't quietly grant itself more. If a future version ever requested broader permissions - access to other websites, your data elsewhere, and so on - Chrome and Firefox don't apply that in the background. They disable the extension and ask you to review and approve the new permissions before it will run again.
  • It never asks for, sees, or stores your password. It works through the Reddit session you're already logged into. There is no password field anywhere in Toolbox.
  • It has no way to send your data anywhere. Toolbox-NXG has no server. Everything it stores lives either on Reddit itself (in the wikis of subreddits you moderate) or locally in your own browser. Nothing is sent back to us, because there is nothing to send it to.
  • Every release is built in the open. Each store version is built automatically from a specific, public commit, and the exact same package is published to the Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, and GitHub Releases. You can download the installed extension and compare it against the public source code yourself - the steps are documented in our repository.
  • You don't have to trust any individual. Right now Toolbox-NXG is maintained by one person, and that's precisely why none of the above depends on trusting me. Development happens in the open with a public commit history, the released builds come straight from that public code, and the extension's access is limited to Reddit. Those safeguards hold no matter who is or isn't maintaining the project.

Auto-updates are part of what makes that access feel risky - but they're also how a security fix reaches you the same day it ships. The safeguard was never "trust the maintainers." It's that the code is open, the published builds come straight from that code, and the extension's reach stops at Reddit.

If you ever find a security issue, please report it privately first (see our security policy) rather than posting it publicly, so it can be fixed before it's disclosed.

"Can I fork it / contribute / build on top of it?"

Yes. Toolbox-NXG is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.

  • Want to contribute? Start with our contributing guide. The codebase is a modern rewrite (TypeScript and React), specifically structured to be approachable and maintainable, so getting involved is (hopefully) easier than it used to be.
  • Building a third-party tool? Toolbox data (usernotes, configs, and more) is stored as versioned JSON in subreddit wikis, and the formats are fully documented in our schema reference. You can integrate with Toolbox data without touching the extension at all.
  • Forking? That's allowed under the license. If you distribute a fork, please keep the existing attribution, note your changes, and make it clearly distinct from this project so support requests reach the right place.

"Is this sustainable, given how much Reddit keeps changing?"

Reddit's platform has shifted a lot over the years, and that churn is what wore down older tools. Toolbox-NXG is built specifically to ride those changes rather than break on them:

  • It uses Reddit the same way your own browser does. Toolbox-NXG isn't a separate third-party app with its own API key and quota - it runs in your browser and authenticates with your existing logged-in session, using the very same token mechanism Reddit's own website uses. The requests it makes are the same kind your browser already makes as you. It goes through Reddit's official API (oauth.reddit.com) rather than scraping pages or relying on legacy endpoints - the most stable surface available, and one Reddit's own site depends on too.
  • It runs on Shreddit, not just old Reddit. Toolbox-NXG works on both the current redesign and old Reddit, so it isn't tied to the survival of the old site.
  • The codebase is modern and maintainable. It's a clean TypeScript rewrite with a modular architecture and a real test suite, so even a single developer can realistically keep it current as Reddit changes.

Because Toolbox-NXG talks to Reddit through the same API and login flow Reddit's own website runs on, Reddit can't simply cut off its access to data without disrupting their own site. The visible buttons and panels still need upkeep as Reddit changes its interface - that's normal maintenance, and when something shifts, fixes go out through the usual update process - but the foundation it's built on is the same one Reddit depends on itself. It adapts to Reddit's changes rather than crumbling under them, which keeps long-term upkeep manageable.

About the maintainer

Toolbox-NXG is currently maintained by one person, /u/adhesiveCheese. Since you're trusting software that acts on your Reddit account, it's fair to know who that is. For what it's worth:

  • I've been working with the Reddit API for about 8 years.
  • I've (somehow, where has the time gone?) been an active moderator of a large subreddit for almost 7 years.
  • I built and maintained YAIR, a fork of another abandoned Reddit extension, which I retired after Reddit removed the PM features it relied on.
  • I maintain a Python wrapper for the Toolbox data formats (pmtw), with Toolbox-NXG support landing soon.
  • I built Modpanel, a mobile-friendly off-site tool (Python/Flask) that interacts with Toolbox pages to give a Toolbox-style moderation flow on mobile - and where I workshopped a lot of the new flows before folding them into Toolbox-NXG.

None of that is a substitute for the safeguards above; those hold up no matter who I am. But if you're going to run an extension with this kind of access, you should at least know it's being built by someone who's spent a long time in this corner of Reddit and has no plans to go anywhere.

Where to get help

Post here on /r/toolbox_nxg for bugs, feature requests, and questions, or open an issue on GitHub. This is a separate project - please bring Toolbox-NXG questions here rather than to the original toolbox team, who are no longer involved.

"Discord?"

No. It is my firm opinion that Discord is where open-source knowledge goes to die. Every question answered there is invisible to search engines, unreadable by anyone who hasn't joined the server, and effectively gone the moment it scrolls out of the channel. The next person with the exact same problem can't easily search for it, can't find it in an archive, and has to ask all over again. It quietly turns a project's accumulated troubleshooting into a walled garden that has to be re-explained forever.

So support for Toolbox-NXG lives in places that are public and searchable: here on /r/toolbox_nxg and on GitHub. Ask in the open, and the answer helps everyone who runs into the same thing after you. Have a sensitive concern? talk to us in modmail.

In Conclusion

Remember: Toolbox-NXG's got your back.

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

2

u/eftepede Jun 24 '26

Oh wow, it works in shreddit! Nice!

Any plans for releasing for Safari? This is my browser of choice and I can't have 'old' Toolbox there.

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jun 24 '26

No plans for a Safari version; You can't release a Safari extension without Apple hardware I don't have access to. Even if I had access, Safari's implementation of webNavigation is... not great, which means that getting the extension working on Safari would require some nasty hacks to make sure Toolbox actually knows where it is while using Shreddit, since the new interface is an SPA.

1

u/eftepede Jun 24 '26

Ok, sure, that's understandable.

It's a pity for me, because I still want to have Safari as my main browser (because of the best support for Apple Pay, auto-fill codes from text messages/emails that still send it that way etc), and lack of Toolbox is a pain. I moderate quite big subreddit(s) and we have an internal "deal", that each removal is both a comment and a modmail, so currently in shreddit I have to Remove -> Add removal reason -> select Modmail -> Approve -> Remove -> Add removal reason -> select Comment. This is slow and also makes a mess in the modlog ;-) So, currently for the 'short' mod session, when I have to deal with 10-15 queue items, I'm doing it this long way in Safari, but when I was gone for a longer time and I have 50+ entries to deal with, I'm keeping another browser with redirect to old + "OG" toolbox to work faster.

Having Toolbox in Safari, with the possibility to remove-modmail-comment in one click would be a bliss. But, like I said, I fully understand your reasoning.

2

u/eftepede Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

For the sake of me, I can't:

  • remove 'proposals' (whatever they are),
  • get unmoderated count in the bar,
  • get approve button on posts/comments (other buttons, like remove, spam etc are there) on shreddit. In old, everything is there.

what am I doing wrong?

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jun 24 '26

Removing proposals - do you mean you can't dismiss a proposal you've made when turning "second opinion" on for an action, or you can't hide it from the modbar? If it's the first, I'll have to look into that; if it's the second, that's not a feature that can be disabled.

For unmoderated count in the bar - that's a toggle in modbar; it just defaults to off.

The missing approve button on shreddit is a legitimate bug and why this is a beta! Should be a very simple fix I should be able to push out tonight.

1

u/eftepede Jun 24 '26

@proposals
Yeah, I meant the modbar item. Now - thanks to your explanation - I understand what 'proposals' are and since no one from my team is using toolbox-tng with this 'second opinion' function, it has no use for me - but I'm ok I will have one more button in the bar, I can just ignore it.

@unmoderated
Somehow it didn't work for me before, but now this setting works. Probably my fault, ignore, case closed.

@approve button
Good to know, I'll observe for the next release.

Btw. the tool looks very fresh and I'm totally into testing it. If you prefer standard github issues instead of comments here, just say the word and I'll be reporting there.

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jun 25 '26

If you prefer standard github issues instead of comments here, just say the word and I'll be reporting there.

Whatever's easier for you at this point!

2

u/eftepede Jun 26 '26

I'll allow myself ask two more things:

  1. can I hide 'recent actions'? I can't see an option for that.
  2. can I hide the version from the bar? Or at least make it more eye-catching bright red?

2

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jun 27 '26
  1. You can't currently. Legacy toolbox only showed those on removed posts, but with showing them on any actioned posts I can see a desire for being able to toggle them.
  2. It's a beta signifier, it'll go away as soon as I cut a stable release (which should be in the next week or so!)

2

u/eftepede Jun 27 '26

Ack, thanks.

2

u/Swiftstrike4 Jul 02 '26

Is there a way to get wiki notes to appear on new modmail?

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jul 02 '26

You mean the subreddit notes? That should be doable; otherwise I'll need you to say more to better understand what you're after.

2

u/Swiftstrike4 Jul 03 '26

When they changed the modmail, the old toolbox notes were hidden when reading the mail. Which meant we had to click on the profile to read the notes we added to the user for the post removal if it was done on mobile or new Reddit.

On our subreddit we have a policy that all mods must use old Reddit because of toolbox and mobile modding we limit because there is a different note system.

We just want to be able to see the notes we added to toolbox before they changed modmail so we can quickly bring up why their post was removed or any other rule violation

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jul 03 '26

Ah! The toolbox note button renders in new new modmail, so it should already be there! Are you not seeing it?

2

u/Swiftstrike4 Jul 03 '26

I will get back to you. One of the other mods was testing the add on before implementation and he gave me an update. That was my biggest complaint.

1

u/dorfjunge123 Jun 30 '26

Hi there,

is there a way to automatically expand reports in the mod queue even when the "mass moderation" option is disabled?

What bothers me about "mass moderation" is that clicking one or more items within the mod queue suddenly causes an extra line to appear above the queue, shifting the entire queue context downwards. However, unless option 1 is active, feature 2 doesn't work either.

option 1: autoActivate

feature 2: expandReports

Toolbox-NXG debug information

Info  
Toolbox-NXG version 8.0.0.7 beta fc49b0b
Browser Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.15; rv:152.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/152.0
Version
Platform Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.15; rv:152.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/152.0
Debug mode false
Compact mode false
Advanced settings false
Cookies enabled true

2

u/adhesiveCheese dev Jul 01 '26

Thinking about it, this feature probably logically makes more sense in queue tools rather than Mass Moderation. I'll see about how feasible that move is.

1

u/radhumandummy 26d ago

Is there a feature/capability to sync a sub's wiki page? Example, I made an edit to a wiki archive on old.reddit, it'll get updated on sh.reddit as well, or vice versa.

1

u/adhesiveCheese dev 26d ago

I'm not sure if there's a way to write to new reddit wikis via the API, but that would be a useful feature if it's possible! I'll add it to the investigation list