Star Rating Highlighter

WHAT IT DOES

Star Rating Highlighter is a browser extension that scans any webpage for star ratings (visual stars or numeric ratings) and highlights them with a visual indicator showing the rating value. It detects ratings in various formats including "4.5/5", "4.5 out of 5", "4.5 stars", and standalone numbers. The tool displays a summary of ratings found, including total number of ratings, average rating, and count of ratings above a user-defined threshold. You can set a minimum rating threshold (0-5) to highlight only ratings that meet your criteria. The tool is ideal for shoppers, product researchers, marketers, and anyone who wants to quickly identify high-rated products or content on a webpage.

WHERE IT RUNS

Star Rating Highlighter runs on any webpage, overlaying a floating panel that does not interfere with page content. It operates entirely in your browser as a lightweight userscript, scanning the DOM for rating-related text and elements. It works on any page, whether static or dynamic, with no external dependencies. All settings are stored locally using GM_setValue—no data is ever sent to any server.

HOW TO USE

After installation, open the floating panel by clicking the extension icon. The panel shows the current status (Enabled or Disabled) and a toggle button to enable or disable the highlighter. Adjust the "Min rating to highlight" slider to set the threshold (0-5). The panel displays a summary with total ratings found, average rating, and count of ratings above the threshold. A list shows each rating with the star display, rating value, and a preview of the surrounding text. Click the "Scan Ratings" button to manually rescan for ratings. The tool automatically rescans when the page content changes. All settings are saved per website.

REAL MECHANISM — WHY THIS WORKS

Most rating detection tools require manual inspection of the page source or use external APIs. Star Rating Highlighter uses a DOM-scanning approach that directly reads rating-related text from the page. The tool traverses the DOM using a TreeWalker to find text nodes containing rating-related patterns (e.g., "/5", "out of 5", "stars", "rating", "score"). It uses multiple regular expression patterns to extract ratings from both 5-point and 10-point scales, normalizing them to a 5-point scale. Each rating is parsed and stored with its element reference. The tool then highlights ratings that meet the user's threshold by applying a colored outline and a tooltip showing the rating value as stars and a number. A summary is displayed with total ratings, average, and count above threshold. A MutationObserver detects dynamically added ratings and rescans automatically. This approach ensures accurate, real-time, and fully private star rating highlighting without requiring any external services or network access.

THE PANEL

The floating panel is fully draggable and remembers its position per site, snapping to the edges of the viewport when dragged near them. You can collapse the panel to a small icon to minimize screen distraction and expand it back with a single click. The panel is resizable from the bottom-right corner, giving you more space to view the results. Press the Escape key to close the panel instantly. The panel remains open across page navigation within the same domain, maintaining your current view state. All preferences—panel position, enabled state, and minimum rating threshold—are saved per domain for a seamless experience.

PLEASE NOTE

Star Rating Highlighter requires the free BotGentz extension to be installed and enabled, as it relies on the cross-extension messaging API provided by BotGentz for DOM access permissions. The tool detects ratings using pattern matching on text content and may not detect ratings that are rendered only with visual stars (no text). The minimum rating threshold applies to the 5-point scale; ratings from 10-point scales are normalized. The tool does not modify page content; it only highlights ratings visually. All settings are stored locally in your browser using GM_setValue. No page content, rating data, or usage information is ever sent to any server. The extension does not read, store, or transmit any personal information. It only scans and highlights ratings at your request.