Installing Chatsavo in Chrome, Edge, Yandex Browser, Opera, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi and Firefox

Chatsavo is a desktop browser extension; it isn't available in mobile browsers.

Chatsavo is currently in early access: it is not in the extension stores. You install it by hand from a zip on the Install page. This is not a store install.

Chrome, Edge, Yandex Browser, Opera, Brave, Arc and Vivaldi

All of these are built on Chromium and install the extension the same way. You need Chrome 116 or later, or another browser based on Chromium 116 or later.

1. Download the Chatsavo zip from the Install page.
2. Unzip it into a folder you won't delete or move: the browser loads the extension from it on every start. For example, Documents/Chatsavo.
3. Open your browser's extensions page by pasting the address into the address bar:
   • Chrome and Arc — chrome://extensions;
   • Edge — edge://extensions;
   • Yandex Browser — browser://extensions;
   • Opera — opera://extensions;
   • Brave — brave://extensions;
   • Vivaldi — vivaldi://extensions.
4. Switch on Developer mode (usually top right; in Edge, in the left-hand menu).
5. Click Load unpacked and pick the folder from step 2 — the one that contains manifest.json.
6. Chatsavo appears in the list of extensions.

The browser may occasionally remind you that developer-mode extensions are enabled. That's expected for the early version: just dismiss the warning.

In Arc, extension icons are tucked into the extensions menu in the sidebar.

Firefox

You need Firefox 140 or later. The current zip is not signed by Mozilla and is intended for temporary manual installation through the debugging page.

1. Download the Chatsavo zip for Firefox from the Install page.
2. Open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox.
3. Click Load Temporary Add-on… and pick the downloaded zip, or manifest.json from the unzipped archive.

Firefox removes a temporary add-on when the browser restarts, so you need to load it again after starting Firefox. Before closing the browser, download your data: Settings → Your data → Download everything (JSON). Files up to 25 MB are restorable in this version; larger files are complete data exports only. If your local data store is empty after reinstalling and the downloaded file was reported as restorable, restore it using the backup instructions. Do not rely on a temporary installation as the only place you keep your data.

A permanent installation will be available with a signed build. Mozilla's temporary installation guide explains the current method.

Updating the early version

An extension loaded from a folder doesn't update itself. When a new version is out (follow the changelog or its RSS feed):

1. Download the new zip from the Install page.
2. Unzip it over the old folder, replacing the files.
3. On the extensions page, click Reload on Chatsavo (the circular arrow).

In Chromium browsers, this update keeps your folders and index. In Firefox, download your data first, then load the new zip as a temporary add-on again. If the data store is empty, restore the JSON only when Chatsavo reported that file as restorable (up to 25 MB).

Pin the icon

The Chatsavo icon opens quick search and your recent chats. It's handy to keep it visible:

• Chrome, Edge, Yandex Browser, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi: click the puzzle icon right of the address bar, then the pin next to Chatsavo.
• Firefox: click the puzzle icon, then the gear next to Chatsavo → Pin to Toolbar.

Check that it works

1. Open chatgpt.com or claude.ai. If the page was already open, reload it.
2. The Chatsavo panel appears on the left.
3. Press Alt+Shift+F — the cursor jumps to the "Search chats" field.

No panel? See troubleshooting.

Stores

Chatsavo is not in the Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons or addons.mozilla.org. The only install is the manual zip.

Which sites it works on

ChatGPT and Claude are supported. The panel on Gemini, Grok, Alice, DeepSeek and Perplexity is in the current build; their support is in testing and can be rough. Alice has no separate chat list: a chat shows up when you open it.

The extension asks for access to chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, grok.com, alice.yandex.ru, chat.deepseek.com and perplexity.ai (including www.perplexity.ai). The Alice page loads reply text from rpc.alice.yandex.ru inside alice.yandex.ru; there is no separate host permission for that address. GigaChat comes later and is not in the permissions yet.

Next: first steps.