Why you should use it: If you have anywhere from 1 to ~25 puppet nations, it makes switching between them easier.

A NationStates++ puppet list.

NationStates++ is one of the most widely-used extensions for NationStates. One of its main features is a puppet management tool that allows you to switch between nation accounts by clicking a link instead of having to enter your password each time. Being able to switch between puppets quickly and easily is extremely important because less wasted time logging into a puppet nation means more time for shielding or launching.

NationStates++ can be installed here. Once it's added, you'll see a new button in the top right of the NationStates menu bar labelled 'Puppets'. Hover over it, and you'll see a link labelled 'Manage Puppets'. If you click that, you'll be taken to a page where you can add puppet accounts and even organize them into different lists.

Unfortunately, however, NationStates++ is old and no longer maintained. While its puppet management function still seems to work, many of its other features are broken. If you want a newer, alternate version that lacks many of NationStates++'s issues, you can try LibreNS++. LibreNS++ is set up as a userscript (a little bit of code that the user -- you -- add to your browser), so you need to install the Greasemonkey (Firefox) or Tampermonkey (Chrome) extension first in order to run it (those extensions basically just allow you to add your own little bits of code to your browser).

Once you've installed one of those extensions, click here to install the LibreNS++ userscript. Reload NationStates once you've installed it, and you'll see a new button in the top right of the NationStates menu bar labelled 'Puppets'. Click on it, and you'll see a link labelled 'Manage Puppets'. If you click that, you'll be taken to a page where you can add puppet accounts. You can find more information about LibreNS++ here.

Why you should use it: If you have ~25 or more puppet nations, it makes switching between them a lot easier (even easier than NationStates++/LibreNS++). It's the preferred puppet switching technique of the pros!

Containerise is an extension for the Firefox browser that makes handling a large number of puppets much easier. As Racoda, the author of the main guide on using Containerise for NationStates, notes:

The Potato Alliance commanders advise you to set up and use Containerise if you're planning to use a large number of puppet nations (say, 25 or more) during N-Day. Being able to switch between puppets quickly and easily is extremely important because less wasted time logging into a puppet nation means more time for shielding or launching. If you're interested in learning how to use it and want to run a lot of puppets, but you're not sure quite how things work, feel free to tag King Platypus#1081, or 9003#5389 on Discord for help.

The following dispatch is a comprehensive guide to setting up Containerise for puppet management. Please read it for instructions on how to set up the extension. It's originally meant for use by card farmers (players who run large numbers of puppet nations in order to generate cards), though, so it includes references to card farming. You can safely ignore those, because in this case you're using it for N-Day, not the cards game. But make sure to choose the container=puppet option when you reach that step in the instructions!

Containerise: Efficient Card Farming

by The Delight of Racoda

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Containerise: Efficient Card Farming

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Containers? What? Why?

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Quick demonstration

Firefox includes a feature that lets you use multiple identities (multiple accounts) on one site, with each account in a distinct, colour-coded "container". What this means for NationStates is that you can be logged in to multiple nations in different tabs all at once, without having to switch between them. This allows to greatly speed up card farming, as switching between nations can take a considerable amount of time. Of course, the more farming puppets you have, the greater the time savings.
In essence, containers can be thought of as if you're using a different browser (or private browsing) for each nation, but all within a single browser instance.
This feature stems from Firefox' desire to be a privacy-focused browser. So far, it is exclusive to Firefox, and won't work in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera...).
One of the many extensions leveraging the power of Firefox' containers is Containerise, which lets you automagically open a tab with a different, logged-in nation (without having to log out from all of your other ones) by simply clicking a link.

TL;DR: Containers are a Firefox exclusive feature that enables you to be logged in to multiple nations without having to switch and relogin.

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Installation

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Step 1: Install Firefox & the Containerise extension

You can install Firefox through your package manager or download it here.
The default Multi-Account Containers extension is cumbersome to use with lots of puppets: each separate container must be opened manually through clicking in a menu.
Containerise is an extension that lets you dynamically change the nation you're logged into (the container) based on the content of the address bar. You can get it here.

TL;DR: Install Firefox and Containerise.

Step 2: Configure rules

I've created a python script that can automate this step for you (along with some other features).

This is the most confusing step of all. Containerise uses a special syntax, Regex, to choose when to switch to a different "container" (nation).
There's two main ways in which you can configure the extension to switch to a nation: nation=puppet or container=puppet.

Both of them have pros and cons

nation=puppet:

• Instant switching when visiting the puppet's nation page (ex. nationstates​.net/nation=my_secret_puppet switches to "My Secret Puppet")

• Does not work on N-Day/Z-Day and possibly other events (it will switch you to the puppet, preventing you from shielding/healing it)
  

container=puppet:

• container=puppet has to be manually added to the address to switch to a puppet (ex. nationstates​.net/container=my_secret_puppet to switch to "My Secret Puppet")

• Does work on N-Day/Z-Day (will not switch you to the puppet unless container= is in the address)
  

If in doubt, nation=puppet is usually easiest for beginners and will work out of the box.
You will have to generate a rule for each puppet, like this:

If you choose nation=puppet

@^.*\.nationstates\.net/(.*/)?nation=puppet_number_1(/.*)?$ , Puppet Number 1
@^.*\.nationstates\.net/(.*/)?nation=puppet_number_2(/.*)?$ , Puppet Number 2

(etc.)

If you choose container=puppet

@^.*\.nationstates\.net/(.*/)?container=puppet_number_1(/.*)?$ , Puppet Number 1
@^.*\.nationstates\.net/(.*/)?container=puppet_number_2(/.*)?$ , Puppet Number 2

(etc.)

The part before the comma is the puppet's name, all lowercase, spaces replaced with underscores. The part after the comma is any name that uniquely identifies your puppet (purely cosmetic, but it has to be unique — I recommend just using the puppet's name). The easiest way to generate these rules is with a spreadsheet.

Having done this, click on the Containerise extension's button (four colourful squares).

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Click on the pen ("CSV Editor") in the top right of the popup, and paste in the rules you have generated.

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Remember to hit the save button! (bottom left of the window, looks like a floppy disk)

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If you have a lot of puppets, and this is your first time saving the rules, it might take a few dozen seconds to finish processing. You're good to go when a "Saved!" message appears.

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TL;DR: Read the damn step, it's important. Or use the python script.

Optional, recommended: Step 3: Generate links to your containers

Note: you don't need to follow this step if you're using the python script.

It's a good idea to generate clickable links to each of your nations, so that it automagically opens a new container-tab. If you don't want to use the script from the previous step, use a spreadsheet. You can also add additional links that redirect you to any NS page, like your puppet's issues or it's deck page.
The links should be in this format:

• container=puppet:
  https://www.nationstates.net/container=my_puppet_1
  Issues link: https://www.nationstates.net/container=my_puppet_1/page=dilemmas

• nation=puppet:
  https://www.nationstates.net/nation=my_puppet_1
  Issues link: https://www.nationstates.net/nation=my_puppet_1/page=dilemmas
  

TL;DR: Too lazy to read an optional step? Your loss.

Step 4: Logging in

Now that you've configured the extension comes the mundane task of having to log in to each of your puppets. The upside is you'll only have to do this once every few months!

1. Open a new container-tab according to the rules format you chose:

   • container=puppet:
     https://www.nationstates.net/container=my_puppet_1

   • nation=puppet:
     https://www.nationstates.net/nation=my_puppet_1
     

2. Click the Login button

3. Enter your credentials and click the Stay logged in/Remember me checkbox.
   (If you don't you'll have to login next time — that defeats the purpose of containers)

4. Click the Log in button
   

TL;DR: You'll figure this out sooner or later. Or you could just read the 84 words.

Optional: Step 5: Additional stuff

There's a lot of scripts created by the community that you can use to speed up farming even more.
I've created a set of 3 simple ones to make issue answering easier (they'll have to be all installed).
The rest of the repository contains other useful cards-related scripts, I encourage you to take a look at them too.
If you're new to cards, I recommend reading this excellent guide by DGES/TNP's Cards Guild.
You can also join the cards discord for more tips, tricks & tools.

Read dispatch

Why you should use it: It will make all your actions much quicker. Everyone should use it!

Solanum is a keybinding script created by Esfalsa that replaces Psithurism (used on N-Day7 and earlier) and has been built specifically for Potato Alliance on N-Day. It takes actions that you would normally take with your mouse, like going to a certain page or clicking a button, and maps them to keys on your keyboard. It is available to faction members on this link

There is one thing you can do to prepare for installing Solanum, though: just like LibreNS++ above, Solanum will be distributed as a userscript (a little bit of code that the user -- you -- add to your browser). So you need to install a userscript manager such as Violent Monkey or Userscripts for Safari (Firefox | Chrome | Safari (Userscripts)) extension first in order to run it (those extensions basically just allow you to add your own little bits of code to your browser). In addition, if you've previously installed Breeze++ or a similar extension, make sure to turn it off before using Solanum!