A Greasemonkey-compatible userscript for mobile browsers that makes the browser Back and Forward gestures work correctly with Techmeme’s in-page "more" overlays.
Latest Version: 1.0.1 | See What's New
On Techmeme's mobile site, tapping the "more" link in a story opens an in-page overlay using JavaScript without updating the URL. As a result:
- Browser Back does nothing
- You must tap Techmeme's small "Back" control instead
- Forward navigation is impossible
This script:
- Pushes a history entry when a
nav_to_morecell is tapped - Uses a URL hash to represent the opened overlay
- Maps browser Back to Techmeme's
backFromPage - Maps browser Forward to reopening the same overlay
No page reloads. No interference with outbound article links.
- A web browser that allows UserScripts.
- https://www.tampermonkey.net/ (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera)
- https://violentmonkey.github.io/ (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
- Install Violentmonkey or Tampermonkey from your browser's Add-Ons/Extensions page.
- Open src/techmeme-improve-navigation.js in your browser
- Your userscript manager should detect it and prompt you to install
- Click "Install"
The script automatically runs on:
https://techmeme.com/m/https://www.techmeme.com/m/
- Intercepts taps on
td.nav_to_morein capture phase - Extracts the Techmeme item id from
openItemPage(...) - Calls
history.pushState()with a hash - Listens for
popstateto close or reopen overlays
- Relies on Techmeme's current DOM structure and
openItemPageAPI - If Techmeme changes these, the script may need adjustment
This UserScript was authored by Fanis Hatzidakis with assistance from large-language-model tooling (ChatGPT and Claude Code). All code was reviewed, tested, and adapted by Fanis.
Copyright (c) 2025 Fanis Hatzidakis
Licensed under PolyForm Internal Use License 1.0.0
See LICENCE.md