Salesforce's Lightning interface is built for day-to-day CRM work, not for the record-level inspection admins and developers often need. A Salesforce extension can surface record IDs, show field-level metadata, or let you query and edit data directly from the page, saving trips to Setup or a separate developer console.
Inspecting records and fields in Salesforce
An inspector-style extension shows the record ID, object API name and field values directly on the page you're viewing, without navigating to Setup. This speeds up debugging when you need to check a field's API name or confirm which record you're editing, especially in orgs with many custom objects.
Working with Salesforce Lightning
Because Lightning pages load dynamically and use custom URLs, extensions built for Salesforce need to detect the current record and object context automatically. Look for one that's kept up to date with Lightning changes, since Salesforce updates its interface more often than many other web apps.
Editing data without leaving the page
Some Salesforce extensions let you run quick SOQL queries or edit field values inline, which is faster than opening the full record edit page for a single change. This is most useful for admins doing repetitive data cleanup or developers testing field behavior during development.