WebWell
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Install

Install WebWell in two minutes.

WebWell isn’t in the Chrome Web Store yet, so for now you add it straight from GitHub. It’s the same code, it works the same, and it needs no account. Works on Google Chrome and Brave on a computer.

  1. Download WebWell

    Save the ZIP file, then unzip it (right-click, then Extract all). You’ll get a folder called webwell-main.

    Download the ZIPor view it on GitHub

  2. Open your browser’s extensions page

    Browsers don’t let websites open this page, so copy the address, paste it into a new tab and press Enter.

    brave://extensions for Brave chrome://extensions for Chrome

  3. Turn on Developer mode

    It’s the switch in the top-right corner of the extensions page. It lets your browser load an extension from a folder.

  4. Click “Load unpacked”

    Choose the unzipped webwell-main folder, the one that has a file called manifest.json directly inside it. WebWell appears in your list.

  5. Pin it and open a new tab

    Click the puzzle-piece icon in the toolbar and pin WebWell. Then open a new tab: say your name, set your focus for the day, and press Focus when you’re ready.

    Back to the tour

Good to know

  • Keep the folder where it is. WebWell runs from that folder. If you move or delete it, the extension stops working.
  • Chrome may ask about Developer mode. When you start Chrome it can show a notice about extensions in developer mode. Choosing to keep it enabled is fine. The Web Store version won’t show it.
  • Back up before you remove it. Your stats live only in your browser. In WebWell’s Settings, use Export before you remove or reinstall the extension, because removing it erases its data.
  • Updating. Download the new ZIP, replace the contents of your folder, then press the reload arrow on WebWell’s card on the extensions page. Your data stays.
  • Permissions. WebWell only asks for access to all sites when you switch on a blocking feature. Read exactly what it stores.

If something doesn’t work

“Manifest file is missing or unreadable”

You picked the wrong folder. Unzip the download first, then choose the folder that has manifest.json directly inside it, not the ZIP and not a folder one level up or down.

I can’t see “Load unpacked”

Developer mode is off. Switch it on in the top-right corner of the extensions page and the button appears.

The new tab didn’t change

Open a fresh tab (not one that was already open). If another extension also replaces the new tab, your browser uses one of them, so turn the other one off on the extensions page.

Tell me when it’s in the store

The Chrome Web Store version is coming. To hear about it, send me an email, or on GitHub choose Watch, then Custom, then Releases.