AI-scapes

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Install AI-scapes on Linux

Tested on Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, and Fedora 40 with Google Chrome and Chromium 120+. The extension works in any Chromium-based browser that supports Manifest V3.

What you need

1. Unzip the extension

  1. Open a terminal and unzip the file into a stable location: 
    mkdir -p ~/.local/share/ai-scapes-extension
unzip ~/Downloads/ai-scapes-extension.zip \
      -d ~/.local/share/ai-scapes-extension
ls ~/.local/share/ai-scapes-extension/manifest.json
    The final ls should print the manifest path. If it says "No such file" you likely have a nested folder — adjust the path so it points to the directory containing manifest.json.
  2. Prefer a GUI archive manager? Right-click the .zip in your file manager and choose Extract here. Move the resulting folder into ~/.local/share/ (or any path that survives reboots).
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Terminal · unzip + ls confirming manifest.json assets/install-screenshots/linux/01-terminal-unzipped.png capture: terminal window, unzip listing, and the trailing manifest path
Step 1 — terminal output after unzipping. The trailing ls proves manifest.json is at the top level.
Snap users. If Chrome / Chromium is installed via Snap, it runs in a confined sandbox that cannot read arbitrary user directories. Use a path that Snap can access — for example ~/snap/chromium/common/ai-scapes-extension/ for Chromium-snap, or ~/.config/google-chrome/External Extensions/ for the Google-supplied .deb build.

2. Open Chrome's extensions page

  1. Open Chrome (or Chromium).
  2. In the address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Enter.
  3. Toggle Developer mode ON in the top-right.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER chrome://extensions · Developer mode ON assets/install-screenshots/linux/02-developer-mode.png capture: full Chrome window; circle/arrow the toggle in the top-right
Step 2 — Developer mode toggle (top-right of chrome://extensions).

3. Load the unpacked extension

  1. Click Load unpacked.
  2. In the file picker, navigate to the folder you unzipped in step 1 (e.g. ~/.local/share/ai-scapes-extension/) and click Open.
  3. The AI-scapes experiment card should appear. If you see a red error about manifest.json, the folder you picked is one level above the manifest — re-select.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Load unpacked · file picker on ai-scapes-extension/ assets/install-screenshots/linux/03-load-unpacked.png capture: GTK / KDE picker with folder selected and Open button
Step 3a — picking the unzipped folder in Chrome's Load-unpacked dialog.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Extension card · "AI-scapes experiment" assets/install-screenshots/linux/04-extension-loaded.png capture: the loaded card with version, ID, Details, Remove buttons
Step 3b — what the loaded extension card looks like on Linux.

4. Allow the extension in Incognito

  1. On the AI-scapes card, click Details.
  2. Switch Allow in Incognito ON.
Chromium extension details page with the Allow in Incognito toggle switched on.
The toggle to flip — bottom of the extension's Details page.

5. Start the study

  1. Click the puzzle-piece icon in the toolbar and pin AI-scapes experiment.
    SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Pin AI-scapes from the puzzle-piece menu assets/install-screenshots/linux/05-pin-extension.png capture: dropdown menu with the pin icon next to AI-scapes experiment
    Pinning the extension makes the icon visible in the toolbar.
  2. Click the AI-scapes icon to start the consent + setup flow.
  3. Click Start study. The extension opens four search windows in sequence and closes them as each search completes.
Wayland note. On Wayland desktops some window managers ignore programmatic focus requests. If a search window opens but does not come to the front, click on it once — the extension will continue from there.

Troubleshooting

"Manifest file is missing or unreadable"

Chrome could not see manifest.json at the top of the folder. Run ls /path/to/folder/manifest.json in a terminal — if that fails, you picked a parent directory. Re-select the directory whose ls directly lists manifest.json.

The extension card stays empty / doesn't appear

On distros that ship Chromium via Snap or Flatpak, the browser may not have permission to read the path you chose. Move the unzipped folder under your home directory's Snap / Flatpak-visible area (see the callout above) and re-load.

I want to uninstall later

Return to chrome://extensions and click Remove. Then delete the unzipped folder if you no longer need it.

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