AI-scapes

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Install AI-scapes on Windows

Tested on Windows 10 and Windows 11 with Google Chrome 120+. The same steps work in Microsoft Edge — replace chrome://extensions with edge://extensions when prompted.

What you need

1. Unzip the extension

  1. Open File Explorer (Win+E) and go to wherever you saved ai-scapes-extension.zip (usually Downloads).
  2. Right-click ai-scapes-extension.zip and choose Extract All…. Pick a stable destination such as C:\Users\<you>\Documents\ai-scapes-extension and click Extract.
  3. Open the extracted folder and confirm it contains manifest.json directly. If manifest.json is one level deeper, use that inner folder for the next step.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER File Explorer · ai-scapes-extension\ unzipped assets/install-screenshots/windows/01-explorer-unzipped.png capture: contents pane showing manifest.json next to icons\, content.js, etc.
Step 1 — File Explorer inside the unzipped folder. Confirm manifest.json is at the top.
Why not double-click? Windows treats double-clicking a zip as a "preview" — the files are not actually extracted. Chrome cannot load an extension from inside the zip preview. Always use Extract All.

2. Open Chrome's extensions page

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. In the address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Enter.
  3. In the top-right corner, switch Developer mode ON.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER chrome://extensions · Developer mode ON assets/install-screenshots/windows/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 (top-left of the page).
  2. A folder picker opens. Navigate to the folder you extracted in step 1 (e.g. C:\Users\<you>\Documents\ai-scapes-extension) and click Select Folder.
  3. The AI-scapes experiment card should appear. If a red error appears about manifest.json, you picked the outer folder by mistake — go one level deeper and re-select.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Load unpacked · folder picker on ai-scapes-extension\ assets/install-screenshots/windows/03-load-unpacked.png capture: the dialog with folder selected and Select Folder button
Step 3a — picking the unzipped folder in Chrome's Load-unpacked dialog.
SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Extension card · "AI-scapes experiment" assets/install-screenshots/windows/04-extension-loaded.png capture: the loaded card with version, ID, Details, Remove buttons
Step 3b — what the loaded extension card looks like on Windows.

4. Allow the extension in Incognito

  1. On the AI-scapes card, click Details.
  2. Scroll down and switch Allow in Incognito ON.
Chrome 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 Chrome toolbar, then pin AI-scapes experiment.
    SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER Pin AI-scapes from the puzzle-piece menu assets/install-screenshots/windows/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 begin the consent form and setup checks.
  3. Click Start study. Four search windows will open in sequence. Leave Chrome focused while they run; they will close themselves once each search finishes.
Antivirus / SmartScreen. Some Windows installs flag unsigned developer extensions on first run. The .zip we ship is the same source code published on our public GitHub — it is not signed because Chrome only signs extensions distributed via the Chrome Web Store. If your IT policy blocks unpacked extensions, contact the lab so we can arrange an alternative.

Troubleshooting

"Manifest file is missing or unreadable"

Chrome could not find manifest.json at the top of the folder you selected. Open the folder in File Explorer, look for manifest.json, and re-pick exactly that folder.

"This extension may have been corrupted"

Re-download the zip and extract it again — partial downloads can cause this. If it persists, switch off your antivirus's "scan extensions" feature temporarily.

I want to uninstall later

Return to chrome://extensions and click Remove on the AI-scapes card.

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