The browser extension

What it does, how to install it, and what to do when dtangle says it has stopped.

Each browser you use without it gets its own line at the top of dtangle's menu. Click one and these steps open for that browser.

Why dtangle asks for it

Without the extension, dtangle can still see that your browser was open and for how long. It cannot see where you went. So a research session and a two hour detour look identical: both arrive as "time in Chrome" with nothing attached.

The extension is the only thing that supplies the site. It reports the domain when you navigate or switch tabs, and nothing else: no page contents, no keystrokes, no form data. Query strings are stripped before anything leaves the browser, so a URL carrying a password reset token or a search term is recorded as the page, not the parameters. Private and incognito windows are never recorded at all.

Installing it

Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi

All of these run the same build. Install it once per browser, on every machine you use dtangle on, since an extension installed on your laptop does nothing for your desktop.

Download the extension and unzip it.
Go to chrome://extensions (or edge://extensions, brave://extensions).
Turn on Developer mode, top right.
Click Load unpacked and choose the unzipped folder.
Browse for a minute. The line in dtangle's menu clears on its own.

Firefox

Go to about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox.
Click Load Temporary Add-on and pick manifest.json from the unzipped folder.

Safari

There is no dtangle extension for Safari and there cannot be one without a separate Safari App Extension shipped through the App Store. dtangle reads Safari URLs a different way, using AppleScript, which needs the Automation permission rather than an extension. dtangle will never ask you to install an extension for Safari.

"Reload the dtangle extension"

This one is not your fault and it is the most common thing that goes wrong. Chrome runs extensions as a service worker and shuts that worker down when it looks idle. Normally it wakes again on the next tab switch. Occasionally it does not, and the extension sits there listed and enabled while sending nothing.

The fix takes five seconds. Open chrome://extensions, find dtangle, and click the circular reload arrow on its card. That is all. You do not need to remove it, reinstall it, or restart anything.

If the card shows Errors or the service worker reads Inactive and never wakes, reload it the same way. dtangle notices within a few hours of browsing that no reports are arriving, which is why you saw the warning before you noticed anything yourself.

Which message means what

dtangle's menu says	What happened	What to do
Add the dtangle extension to Chrome	It was never installed in that browser on this Mac	Install it
Reload the dtangle extension in Chrome	It was working and went quiet	Reload it

Firefox, Brave and the rest get the same lines with their own name. Each line goes away by itself once reports from that browser arrive, and when nothing else is left to set up, the blue dot and the wiggle on the menu bar icon stop too.

More than one computer

dtangle tracks each machine separately, so the warning always names the one that needs attention. Installing the extension on your laptop will not clear a warning about your desktop. Your Devices page lists every machine with its own status, which is the quickest way to see which one is missing something.

Checking that it worked

Browse normally for a few minutes, then open your Devices page. The warning on that machine disappears once reports start arriving. Nothing needs restarting and you do not need to dismiss anything: the notice clears itself.

Still stuck? The FAQ covers what dtangle records and how to turn things off.