starAgent

An AI assistant for chat, web and document understanding, translation, and Markdown notes in sidebar or fullscreen mode.

# starAgent — Your AI Assistant, Right Where You Work [中文](./README.md) Bring AI into your browser's side panel — search, read, translate, write, and take notes without ever leaving the page you're on. starAgent is a Chrome AI assistant: start a conversation from the side panel at any time, expand to a wider fullscreen workspace when you need room, and use it to read web pages and documents, translate content, reply smartly, or keep Markdown notes. 🟢 **Why we built starAgent?** We believe AI should work for everyone, not just the technically savvy. The browser is where we work every day, so the most direct answer is simple: weave AI into the tools and workflows you already know. With starAgent, you can summon an AI assistant on any webpage — search, read, translate, write, take notes — all from a single entry point. 🟢 **Who we are?** We're a small, remotely distributed team focused on making AI simple, intuitive, and reliable. From day one, starAgent has been built on a **local-first** philosophy: your chat history and document parsing stay on your device, and only the content needed to generate a reply is sent to the AI service. 🟢 **If you have a ChatGPT account, why use starAgent?** starAgent isn't a replacement for any single AI — it's your **unified entry point** in the browser, designed around how you actually work on the web: 1️⃣ **Always-on side panel**: summon an AI on any tab with one click, no tab-switching, browse and ask side by side. 2️⃣ **Context is king**: whether you're reading an article, skimming a PDF, or drafting a reply, starAgent answers in the context of the current page and document. 3️⃣ **Streaming output**: replies scroll in real time, with a collapsible thinking process for transparency. 4️⃣ **Local document parsing**: PDF and Word text is extracted on your device — no whole-file uploads. 5️⃣ **A capability panel that just works**: translate, read, smart reply, and smart note — four high-frequency skills one click away. 🟢 **Why choose starAgent as your browser AI extension?** 1️⃣ **All in one**: chat, web understanding, document Q&A, translation, and notes — all in a single entry, no juggling multiple extensions. 2️⃣ **User friendly**: feature-rich, yet the interface stays simple and intuitive. 3️⃣ **Local-first**: history and notes live in your browser, and documents are parsed on your device — your data, respected. 4️⃣ **Two modes**: the side panel is great for browsing and asking; fullscreen provides a distraction-free workspace. 5️⃣ **Bilingual**: the interface follows your browser language or switches on demand. 🟢 **What makes starAgent special? Key features include:** 1️⃣ **AI Chat (side panel)** - ✅ Streaming answers: real-time output with a collapsible thinking process. - ✅ Chat history: every conversation is saved — create, switch, continue, or delete anytime. - ✅ Reply preferences: choose the AI model, reply style, and generation randomness to suit your needs. - ✅ Multi-turn context: keep asking follow-up questions and the AI remembers the conversation. 2️⃣ **Web & Document Understanding** - ✅ Web assistant: read the current page or selected text — summarize key points, explain concepts, and ask questions about the page. - ✅ Document Q&A: attach PDF, Word (`.docx`), or text files and ask based on their contents. - ✅ Local parsing: document text is extracted on your device; only the needed text is submitted to generate a reply. - ✅ Drag-and-drop upload: click or drag files in, and handle multiple files at once. 3️⃣ **Smart Translation** - ✅ One-click translation of typed content, selected webpage text, or document text. - ✅ Configurable default target language (Chinese, English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese). - ✅ Preserves tone and format, with more natural handling of proper nouns. 4️⃣ **Smart Notes** - ✅ Create, edit, and preview Markdown notes right inside the extension. - ✅ Auto-saved; notes don't disappear when the side panel closes. - ✅ One-click export to `.md` files for easy backup and migration. 5️⃣ **Capability Panel** - ✅ Translate, read, smart reply, and smart note — four high-frequency skills in one panel, one click away. - ✅ Collapsible to an icon-only row to save space. 6️⃣ **Side Panel & Fullscreen Modes** - ✅ Use the compact side panel while browsing; switch to a wider fullscreen window with one click when you need more space. - ✅ Both modes share the same account, settings, and conversation data — switching doesn't change your preferences. --- ## Installation If you already have the extracted `starAgent` folder: 1. Open `chrome://extensions/` in Chrome. 2. Turn on **Developer mode** in the top-right corner. 3. Click **Load unpacked**. 4. Select the `starAgent` folder that contains `manifest.json`. 5. We recommend pinning starAgent in the browser's extension menu for quick access. If you received `starAgent-v0.1.0.zip`, extract it completely first, then follow the steps above. When upgrading, replace the old folder with the new full folder and click **Reload** on the extensions management page. ## First Use Click the starAgent icon in the browser toolbar to open the side panel. You need to sign in before starting your first conversation: - Existing users: sign in with your email and password. - New users: request a six-digit verification code by email, then register with your email, verification code, and password. - The account is created only after the verification code is confirmed; no separate username is required. After signing in, type into the input box at the bottom and send your message to start chatting. You can create, switch, or delete chat histories at any time. ## Privacy - Chat history and Markdown notes are stored in Chrome's local extension storage. There's no automatic cross-device sync, so export important notes regularly. - PDF and Word documents are parsed **on your device**; only the necessary text is sent to the AI service to generate a reply. - Please do not submit passwords, bank card information, access tokens, trade secrets, or any other sensitive content you don't want processed. - Uninstalling the extension, clearing extension data, or resetting your browser profile may remove local data. ## FAQ ### Why doesn't the web assistant work on some pages? Chrome does not allow extensions to read certain protected pages, such as `chrome://` pages, the Chrome Web Store, and some browser built-in pages. This is a browser security restriction. ### Why couldn't text be extracted from a PDF? Image-based scanned PDFs usually don't contain directly extractable text. The current version doesn't perform OCR automatically, so you need to convert the image text into selectable text first. ### Why is my file reported as too large? Each file must be smaller than 5 MB, and the extracted text must also fit into the available context of the current conversation. Try splitting the file or removing irrelevant content before uploading again. ### Will notes sync automatically across devices? Notes currently use the browser's local extension storage and don't support automatic cross-device sync. Export important notes regularly for backup. --- *starAgent — your AI companion for the modern web.*