AI-scapes

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Install AI-scapes on macOS

Tested on macOS 12 Monterey and newer with Google Chrome 120+. The same steps work in Brave, Edge, or any other Chromium-based browser that supports Manifest V3 extensions.

What you need

1. Unzip the extension

  1. Open Finder and navigate to wherever you saved ai-scapes-extension.zip (usually ~/Downloads).
  2. Double-click ai-scapes-extension.zip. macOS Archive Utility unzips it next to the original, producing a folder named ai-scapes-extension.
  3. Move the unzipped folder somewhere stable, for example ~/Documents/ai-scapes-extension. Chrome loads the extension from this folder on disk — if you delete or move it later, the extension stops working.
  4. Open the folder once and confirm you can see manifest.json at the top. That file is what tells Chrome how to load the extension.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Finder · ai-scapes-extension/ unzipped assets/install-screenshots/macos/01-finder-unzipped.png capture: top-level folder showing manifest.json next to icons/, content.js, etc.
Step 1 — the unzipped folder in Finder. manifest.json should be at the top level.
Tip. If macOS unzipped the file as ai-scapes-extension followed by another nested folder of the same name, use the inner folder — it is the one that contains manifest.json directly.

2. Open Chrome's extensions page

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. In the address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Return.
  3. In the top-right corner, toggle Developer mode ON.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER chrome://extensions · Developer mode ON assets/install-screenshots/macos/02-developer-mode.png capture: full Chrome window; circle/arrow the toggle in the top-right
Step 2 — the Developer-mode toggle is in the top-right of chrome://extensions.

3. Load the unpacked extension

  1. Click Load unpacked (top-left, after enabling Developer mode).
  2. A Finder window opens. Navigate to the folder you placed in step 1 (e.g. ~/Documents/ai-scapes-extension) and click Select.
  3. The AI-scapes experiment card should appear with its blue logo. If you see a red error banner, the wrong folder was selected — re-select the folder that contains manifest.json.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Load unpacked · Finder picker on ai-scapes-extension/ assets/install-screenshots/macos/03-load-unpacked.png capture: the Finder dialog with the folder selected and Select button visible
Step 3a — picking the unzipped folder in the Load-unpacked dialog.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Extension card · "AI-scapes experiment" assets/install-screenshots/macos/04-extension-loaded.png capture: the loaded card with version, ID, Details, Remove buttons
Step 3b — what the loaded extension card looks like.

4. Allow the extension in Incognito

  1. On the AI-scapes card, click Details.
  2. Scroll down to find the Allow in Incognito toggle and switch it ON.
Chrome extension details page on macOS with the Allow in Incognito toggle highlighted.
The toggle to flip — bottom of the extension's Details page.

5. Start the study

  1. Click the puzzle-piece icon in the Chrome toolbar, then pin AI-scapes experiment for easy access.
    SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Pin AI-scapes from the puzzle-piece menu assets/install-screenshots/macos/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. You will be taken through a short consent form, then a setup page that confirms you are signed into Google and that incognito access is enabled.
  3. Click Start study. The extension will open four search windows in sequence — please leave them open until the extension closes them automatically.
Heads up. The extension needs Chrome to be the focused window while it scrolls the results list. Try not to switch away to other apps for the ~2 minutes it takes to complete the four searches.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to load extension" error

You picked a folder that does not contain manifest.json at the top level. Re-select the folder from step 1 — typically the one named ai-scapes-extension whose contents include manifest.json, experiment.html, and an icons/ folder.

The Incognito toggle has no effect

Quit Chrome completely (Cmd+Q, not just close the window) and re-open it. The incognito permission is read at startup.

I want to uninstall later

Return to chrome://extensions and click Remove on the AI-scapes card. You can also delete the folder you placed in step 1.

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