Install Browy in Chrome, Edge, or Brave

Browy comes in two parts:

1. The browser extension: a Chromium side panel plus a DevTools panel.
2. The native host: a small Node.js helper that runs on your machine and talks to GitHub Copilot.

Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store, then run the one-line installer for the native host.

Requirements

Operating system

Windows 10 / 11, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon),
or Linux (x86_64 / arm64).

Browser

A Chromium browser:
Chrome 114+, Edge 114+, or Brave.

LLM access

A GitHub Copilot subscription.
Browy uses your existing Copilot.

Step 1: install the extension

Add Browy to Chrome / Edge / Brave One click on the Chrome Web Store. Same listing covers Chrome, Edge, and Brave.

Pin the Browy toolbar icon so the side panel is one click away.

✓ Validate

Click the Browy toolbar icon. The side panel opens and asks you to install the backend, with the command for your operating system and a copy button. That’s Step 2.

Prefer to sideload?

The native-host installer below also stages an unpacked copy of the extension at ~/Downloads/Browy-Extension/ (or %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\Browy-Extension\ on Windows). Open chrome://extensions/, toggle Developer mode on, click Load unpacked, and select that folder. The native host pre-approves both the Web Store and unpacked extension IDs, so you can switch between them without re-running anything.

Step 2: install the native host

Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

irm https://github.com/BrowyHQ/browy/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

The installer will:

1. Download the latest Browy release (~145 MB, most of it the Copilot CLI)
2. Install the native host to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Browy\app\
3. Register com.browy.host with Chrome / Edge / Brave (pre-approves both the Web Store and unpacked extension IDs)
4. Stage an unpacked extension copy at %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\Browy-Extension\ for sideload installs

✓ Validate

Go back to the side panel. It picks up the backend by itself within a few seconds and moves on to the chat (if it doesn’t, close and reopen it). Still stuck? Check the host is on disk:

& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Browy\app\node.exe" "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Browy\app\dist\cli-bin.js" --version

macOS

Open Terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/BrowyHQ/browy/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

The installer will:

1. Detect your architecture (Apple Silicon or Intel) and download the matching tarball (~145 MB on Apple Silicon, ~160 MB on Intel)
2. Install the native host to ~/.browy/app/
3. Register com.browy.host with Chrome / Edge / Brave (pre-approves both the Web Store and unpacked extension IDs)
4. Stage an unpacked extension copy at ~/Downloads/Browy-Extension/ for sideload installs

✓ Validate

Go back to the side panel. It picks up the backend by itself within a few seconds and moves on to the chat (if it doesn’t, close and reopen it). Still stuck? Check the host is on disk:

~/.browy/app/node ~/.browy/app/dist/cli-bin.js --version

Linux

Open a terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/BrowyHQ/browy/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

The installer will:

1. Detect your architecture (x86_64 or aarch64) and download the matching tarball (~165 MB)
2. Install the native host to ~/.browy/app/
3. Register com.browy.host with Chrome / Edge / Brave (writes to ~/.config/<browser>/NativeMessagingHosts/, pre-approves both extension IDs)
4. Stage an unpacked extension copy at ~/Downloads/Browy-Extension/ for sideload installs

✓ Validate

Go back to the side panel. It picks up the backend by itself within a few seconds and moves on to the chat (if it doesn’t, close and reopen it). Still stuck? Check the host is on disk:

~/.browy/app/node ~/.browy/app/dist/cli-bin.js --version

Step 3: sign in to Copilot

Click the Browy icon to open the side panel. The first time you use it, Browy will prompt you to sign in.

Click “Sign in to GitHub Copilot” and follow the device-flow link.

A terminal window opens with the GitHub Copilot device-flow link. Paste the code into the URL it shows, authorize Browy in your browser, and the terminal closes itself.

✓ Validate

Send “what is the headline of this page” against any tab. You should see a snapshot tool call followed by a streamed reply.

You’re done. Try your first chat for five concrete examples.

Updating

Re-run the installer. It detects your existing install and updates it in place, keeping your chats and settings. When the Web Store updates the extension past your backend, the side panel shows a yellow browy backend is out of date banner with a button that copies this command for you.

Windows

irm https://github.com/BrowyHQ/browy/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://github.com/BrowyHQ/browy/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

The side panel reconnects to the new backend on its own. If you sideloaded the extension, also reload it in chrome://extensions/ (the circular ↻ icon on the Browy card) to pick up the new extension files. Web Store installs update themselves.

Uninstall

Windows

1. Remove the extension from chrome://extensions/
2. Delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Browy\, %USERPROFILE%\.browy\, and %USERPROFILE%\.browseragent\ (the host log)
3. Delete the native messaging host registration: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\NativeMessagingHosts\com.browy.host.json (and the equivalent under Edge / Brave folders)

macOS

1. Remove the extension from chrome://extensions/
2. Run the bundled uninstaller, then remove the install directory:

   ~/.browy/app/uninstall.sh && rm -rf ~/.browy ~/.browseragent ~/Downloads/Browy-Extension

3. The uninstaller deletes the native messaging host manifests under ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/ (and the equivalent for Edge / Brave).

Linux

1. Remove the extension from chrome://extensions/
2. Run the bundled uninstaller, then remove the install directory:

   ~/.browy/app/uninstall.sh && rm -rf ~/.browy ~/.browseragent ~/Downloads/Browy-Extension

3. The uninstaller deletes the native messaging host manifests under ~/.config/google-chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/ (and the equivalent for Edge / Brave).

Your chats

Chat transcripts live in the GitHub Copilot SDK’s store under ~/.copilot/, alongside any other Copilot CLI sessions, so uninstalling doesn’t remove them. To remove them, delete the chats from the side panel’s history before you uninstall.

Troubleshooting

“browy backend is out of date”

The Web Store updated the extension, but the backend on your computer predates it, so newer features (like deleting chats) won’t work. Click copy update command in the banner, paste it into PowerShell or a terminal, and the panel reconnects on its own. See Updating.

“Host disconnected, reconnecting…”

The side panel can’t reach the native host. Common causes: the native host failed to install (re-run the installer), the browser was opened before the host was registered (restart the browser), or your AV / endpoint protection quarantined the bundled node (allow the install directory, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Browy\ on Windows, ~/.browy/ on macOS and Linux, in your AV exclusions).

“Host unreachable, reinstall →”

The reconnect attempts gave up. Click Reinstall host in the banner; it points at the same one-line installer you used the first time (install.ps1 on Windows, install.sh on macOS / Linux). Your chats and settings are preserved across reinstalls.

“Browy started debugging this browser”

Chrome’s standard debugging banner appears while a session is active. That’s how Browy reads and drives pages. Closing the banner detaches the agent. See Permissions → debugger for the full story.

Next

Your first chat Five example prompts to try in the side panel.

Permissions What each Chrome permission is for.

Privacy & data What stays on your machine and what leaves.