Installation

ContextFort can be installed in two ways: from the Chrome Web Store (recommended) or by loading unpacked in developer mode (for testing or development).

Requirements

Chrome Browser

Version 134 or higher requiredCheck your version: chrome://version

Permissions

ContextFort requires elevated permissions for agent monitoring, screenshot capture, and session isolation.

Why Chrome 134+? ContextFort uses Manifest V3 APIs and modern Chrome features for security and performance. The minimum version is specified in chrome-extension/manifest.json:6.

Method 1: Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

The easiest and most secure way to install ContextFort.

Visit Chrome Web Store

Open the ContextFort extension page.Or search for “ContextFort” in the Chrome Web Store.

Review Permissions

Before installing, review what ContextFort can access:

Read and change all your data on all websites: Required to detect agent activity and capture screenshots
Manage your tabs and browsing activity: Track agent sessions and tab groups
Manage cookies: Separate human and agent login sessions

These permissions are necessary for core functionality. All data stays local - nothing is transmitted to external servers.

Add to Chrome

Click “Add to Chrome” button.Chrome will show a permission confirmation dialog. Click “Add extension” to proceed.

Verify Installation

After installation:

ContextFort icon appears in the toolbar
Extension shows version 1.0.1 (current)
Click the icon to open the dashboard

Pin the extension: Click the puzzle piece (🧩) icon in Chrome’s toolbar, then click the pin next to ContextFort for quick access.

Automatic Updates

Chrome Web Store installations update automatically:

Updates download in the background
Extension reloads on next browser restart
No user action required

Check for updates: chrome://extensions → ContextFort → “Update” button

Method 2: Load Unpacked (Developer Mode)

For developers, testers, or users who want to run a specific version.

Not recommended for production use. Developer mode bypasses Chrome Web Store security reviews and disables automatic updates.

Step 1: Download Source

GitHub Release
Build from Source

Download the latest stable release:

Go to Releases
Download the latest .zip file
Extract to a folder (e.g., ~/contextfort)

Releases are pre-built and ready to load. No compilation required.

Clone and build from source code:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/ContextFort-AI/ContextFort.git
cd ContextFort

# Run build script
./build-all.sh

The built extension will be in chrome-extension/ directory.

Building from source requires Node.js and npm. See README.md for details.

Step 2: Enable Developer Mode

Open Extensions Page

Navigate to chrome://extensions in Chrome.Or: Menu → Extensions → Manage Extensions

Toggle Developer Mode

In the top-right corner, enable the “Developer mode” toggle.

You’ll see a warning bar: “Extensions running in developer mode…” This is expected.

Step 3: Load Extension

Click Load Unpacked

Click the “Load unpacked” button (appears after enabling Developer mode).

Select Extension Folder

Navigate to the folder containing:

manifest.json
background.js
content.js
dashboard/ directory

Select this folder and click “Select Folder” or “Open”.

Verify Installation

ContextFort appears in the extensions list with:

Name: ContextFort
Version: 1.0.1
ID: jkocglijncodiiljpdnoiegfcgeadllg (or different for unpacked)
Status: Enabled

Unpacked extensions have different IDs than Chrome Web Store versions. This affects extension URLs and may require re-configuration if switching between methods.

Step 4: Handle Errors

If you see errors after loading:

Manifest errors

Failed to load extension: Required value 'manifest_version' is missing

Solution: Ensure you selected the correct folder containing manifest.json. Don’t select a parent or child folder.

Service worker errors

Service worker registration failed

Solution:

Click “Errors” button on the extension card
Check console for specific error
Common issue: Missing dependencies (run npm install in extension folder)

Permission warnings

Chrome shows warnings about broad permissions.Expected behavior: ContextFort requires extensive permissions for agent monitoring. These warnings are normal.

Permissions Explained

ContextFort requests the following permissions (defined in chrome-extension/manifest.json:8-19):

{
  "permissions": [
    "storage",           // Store screenshots and session data locally
    "unlimitedStorage",  // Remove storage quota for screenshot capture
    "tabs",              // Access tab information for agent detection
    "tabGroups",         // Monitor tab group changes (emoji indicators)
    "webNavigation",     // Track agent page navigations
    "declarativeNetRequest", // Enforce URL blocking rules
    "scripting",         // Inject content scripts for event capture
    "cookies",           // Session isolation (swap human/agent cookies)
    "contextMenus",      // Add right-click menu options
    "notifications"      // Show login required notifications
  ],
  "host_permissions": [
    "<all_urls>"        // Required to monitor agents on any website
  ]
}

Why These Permissions?

Why <all_urls>?

AI agents can operate on any website (Google, GitHub, internal tools, etc.). ContextFort needs access to all sites to:

Capture screenshots regardless of domain
Enforce blocking rules across the web
Track agent navigation paths

Data stays local - ContextFort never transmits data to external servers.

Why cookies permission?

Session isolation feature swaps cookies between human and agent sessions:

// chrome-extension/background.js:94-102
async function clearCookies(domain) {
  const cookies = await captureCookies(domain);
  for (const cookie of cookies) {
    const protocol = cookie.secure ? 'https://' : 'http://';
    const url = `${protocol}${cookie.domain}${cookie.path}`;
    await chrome.cookies.remove({ url, name: cookie.name });
  }
}

This prevents agents from accessing your logged-in accounts.

Why unlimitedStorage?

Screenshot data can accumulate quickly during long agent sessions:

Average screenshot: 100-500 KB
100 screenshots per session: 10-50 MB
Multiple sessions: Can exceed Chrome’s default 5 MB quota

Storage management (chrome-extension/background.js:431-438):

screenshots.push(screenshotData);
if (screenshots.length > 100) {
  screenshots.shift(); // Keep only last 100
}

Post-Installation Configuration

Disable Analytics (Optional)

ContextFort includes optional PostHog analytics. To disable:

Locate background.js

For unpacked extensions:

Find the extension folder you loaded
Open background.js in a text editor

For Chrome Web Store installations:Cannot modify (use unpacked method if you need to disable analytics).

Change Feature Flag

Find line 2:

const ENABLE_POSTHOG = true;

Change to:

const ENABLE_POSTHOG = false;

Reload Extension

Go to chrome://extensions, find ContextFort, and click “Reload” button.

Analytics only collect event names (agent_start, agent_stop) and timestamps. No PII, screenshots, or session data is ever transmitted. See chrome-extension/background.js:33-48 for implementation.

Configure Storage Limits

By default, ContextFort keeps the last 100 screenshots. To change this:

Edit chrome-extension/background.js:436

Modify the limit:

if (screenshots.length > 200) {  // Change to your desired limit
  screenshots.shift();
}

Reload the extension

Verifying Installation

Run these checks to ensure ContextFort is working:

Check Extension Status

Open chrome://extensions and verify:

✅ ContextFort is Enabled
✅ No error messages
✅ Version matches expected (1.0.1)

Open Dashboard

Click ContextFort icon in toolbar. Dashboard should open with:

Navigation tabs: Visibility, Sessions, Controls
No error messages in dashboard
“No sessions yet” message (if first install)

Check Console

Open Chrome DevTools (F12) on any page:

Go to Console tab
Look for ContextFort messages
Should see: [ContextFort] Extension started

If you see errors, check Troubleshooting below.

Troubleshooting

Extension won't install from Chrome Web Store

Error: “Cannot install from this site”Solutions:

Ensure you’re using Google Chrome (not Chromium or Edge)
Check Chrome version: Must be 134+
Disable other security extensions temporarily
Try incognito mode: chrome://extensions → Enable “Allow in incognito”

Developer mode load fails

Error: “Failed to load extension”Common causes:

Wrong folder selected: Must contain manifest.json
Missing files: Ensure all files from release are present
Syntax errors: If built from source, check for compilation errors

Debugging:

# Check manifest is valid JSON
cat manifest.json | python -m json.tool

# List required files
ls -la manifest.json background.js content.js popup.html

Dashboard won't open

Symptoms: Clicking icon does nothingSolutions:

Check background worker: chrome://extensions → ContextFort → “service worker”
Look for errors in service worker DevTools
Reload extension: chrome://extensions → Reload button
Clear extension storage: Details → “Clear storage”

Dashboard opens via chrome-extension/background.js:51-55:

chrome.action.onClicked.addListener(() => {
  chrome.tabs.create({
    url: chrome.runtime.getURL('dashboard/visibility/index.html')
  });
});

Permissions not working

Symptoms: Features missing or errors about permissionsSolutions:

Verify permissions granted: chrome://extensions → ContextFort → “Details” → “Permissions”
For unpacked extensions: Check manifest.json permissions array
Remove and reinstall extension
Some permissions require user interaction: ContextFort will prompt when needed

Extension disabled after Chrome restart

Cause: Developer mode extensions trigger warningsSolutions:

Chrome Web Store version: Doesn’t have this issue
Developer mode: Click “Enable” after each Chrome restart
Suppress warning: Use --enable-extension-activity-logging Chrome flag (not recommended)

Uninstalling

To remove ContextFort:

Open Extensions Page

Navigate to chrome://extensions

Remove Extension

Find ContextFort and click “Remove” button.Confirm deletion when prompted.

Data Cleanup

Uninstalling automatically deletes all local data:

All screenshots
Session history
Blocking rules
Stored session profiles

This cannot be undone. Export important data before uninstalling.

Partial Cleanup (Keep Extension, Clear Data)

If you want to keep ContextFort but clear storage:

chrome://extensions → ContextFort → “Details”
Scroll to “Storage”
Click “Clear storage”

Or via Dashboard:

Open ContextFort dashboard
Settings → Clear All Data (if available)

Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Monitor your first agent session in 5 minutes

Features Overview

Explore all ContextFort capabilities

Configuration

Customize behavior and privacy settings

Security

Understand data handling and privacy

Getting Help

If you encounter issues during installation:

Check Chrome version: chrome://version (must be 134+)
Review console errors: Open DevTools → Console tab
Search GitHub Issues: Existing problems
Open new issue: Include:
- Installation method (Web Store or unpacked)
- Chrome version
- Error messages
- Steps to reproduce

Need more help?

Contact support or join the community discussion.

Get Started

Core Features

Dashboard

Configuration

Security & Compliance

Installation

Installation

Requirements

Chrome Browser

Permissions

Method 1: Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

Automatic Updates

Method 2: Load Unpacked (Developer Mode)

Step 1: Download Source

Step 2: Enable Developer Mode

Step 3: Load Extension

Step 4: Handle Errors

Permissions Explained

Why These Permissions?

Post-Installation Configuration

Disable Analytics (Optional)

Configure Storage Limits

Verifying Installation

Troubleshooting

Uninstalling

Partial Cleanup (Keep Extension, Clear Data)

Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Features Overview

Configuration

Security

Getting Help

Need more help?

​Installation

​Requirements

Chrome Browser

Permissions

​Method 1: Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

​Automatic Updates

​Method 2: Load Unpacked (Developer Mode)

​Step 1: Download Source

​Step 2: Enable Developer Mode

​Step 3: Load Extension

​Step 4: Handle Errors

​Permissions Explained

​Why These Permissions?

​Post-Installation Configuration

​Disable Analytics (Optional)

​Configure Storage Limits

​Verifying Installation

​Troubleshooting

​Uninstalling

​Partial Cleanup (Keep Extension, Clear Data)

​Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Features Overview

Configuration

Security

​Getting Help

Need more help?

Installation

Requirements

Method 1: Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

Automatic Updates

Method 2: Load Unpacked (Developer Mode)

Step 1: Download Source

Step 2: Enable Developer Mode

Step 3: Load Extension

Step 4: Handle Errors

Permissions Explained

Why These Permissions?

Post-Installation Configuration

Disable Analytics (Optional)

Configure Storage Limits

Verifying Installation

Troubleshooting

Uninstalling

Partial Cleanup (Keep Extension, Clear Data)

Next Steps

Getting Help