Documentation

Getting started with Harbor

Everything you need to install Harbor, understand how it works, and get the most out of it — from your first task to advanced workflows.

Overview

Harbor is an open-source browser extension that acts as a true AI agent inside your browser. Unlike AI chatbots that require you to paste content and explain context, Harbor understands what's on your screen and can take actions on your behalf.

This documentation covers installation, basic and advanced usage, and answers to common questions. Harbor is in active development — features and interfaces may change between versions.

What is Harbor?

Harbor is a browser extension that provides AI agent capabilities — meaning it can do things, not just answer questions. It reads the current page, understands your request in plain language, and performs tasks like navigating to pages, clicking elements, extracting and summarizing information, and repeating workflows.

The key distinction: Harbor is not a chatbot. It's designed to act as an assistant that operates within your browser on your behalf.

What Harbor is not

  • Harbor is not a browser replacement. It works inside whatever browser you already use.
  • Harbor is not a data collection service. Your browsing activity is not sent to third-party services for ad targeting.
  • Harbor is not yet fully autonomous — it works best on well-defined tasks you give it directly.

How it works

Harbor runs as a browser extension with access to the current tab's content. When you give it a task, it processes your request, reads the relevant page content, and uses an AI model to determine the right sequence of actions — navigating, clicking, reading, or summarizing — to complete the task.

Harbor is built to be transparent: it shows you what it's doing as it does it, rather than operating silently in the background.

Requirements

Harbor currently supports Chromium-based browsers:

  • Google Chrome (recommended)
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Brave Browser
  • Arc
  • Any other Chromium-based browser that supports extensions

Firefox and Safari support is planned for a future release. Check the GitHub repository for the latest compatibility information.

Installing the extension

Harbor is currently distributed directly through GitHub. Installation takes a few minutes and doesn't require an account.

Step 1 — Download the extension

Go to the Harbor GitHub repository and download the latest release. You can either clone the repository or download the ZIP file. 

git clone https://github.com/owenawsong/Harbor-Extension.git

Step 2 — Open your browser's extension page

In Chrome or another Chromium browser, navigate to the extensions management page: 

chrome://extensions/

Step 3 — Enable Developer Mode

Toggle on Developer mode using the switch in the top-right corner of the extensions page.

Step 4 — Load the extension

Click Load unpacked and select the folder where you downloaded or cloned Harbor. The extension will appear in your browser toolbar.

Step 5 — Pin the extension

Click the puzzle piece icon in your browser toolbar and pin Harbor so it's always accessible.

First run

After installing Harbor, click the Harbor icon in your toolbar. You'll be prompted to complete any initial setup — this may include providing an API key depending on the version you're running.

Once set up, you're ready to give Harbor its first task. See Basic usage below.

Basic usage

Click the Harbor icon to open the agent panel. Type your request in plain language and press Enter (or click the send button). Harbor will read the current page and begin working on your task.

Example requests:

  • "Summarize the key points on this page."
  • "Find the pricing section and tell me the monthly cost."
  • "Search for the latest news about this topic."
  • "Fill in my name and email in this form." (use with caution — always review before submitting)

Giving Harbor tasks

Harbor works best with clear, specific tasks. Here are some tips:

  • Be specific about the goal. "Summarize this article in three bullet points" is better than "summarize this."
  • One task at a time. Complex multi-part tasks may produce better results if broken into steps.
  • You're always in control. Harbor will show you what it intends to do before taking consequential actions. You can stop it at any time.

Automation

Harbor can repeat workflows you give it. If you regularly perform the same sequence of steps on a site, you can describe the workflow to Harbor and it will be able to follow the same steps in future sessions.

Automation features are actively being developed. Check the GitHub repository for the most current information on what's available in your version.

FAQ

Is Harbor free?

Yes. Harbor is open source and free to use. You may need to provide your own API key depending on the version — check the repository README for details.

Does Harbor collect my data?

Harbor does not collect or sell your browsing data. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

Which browsers are supported?

Chromium-based browsers are currently supported. Firefox and Safari support is planned. See Requirements.

Is it safe to let Harbor interact with pages?

Harbor is designed to show you what it plans to do before taking significant actions. For form submissions and similar consequential steps, you'll be asked to confirm. That said, always review Harbor's actions — it's an early-access tool and may occasionally misunderstand a task.

Can I contribute to Harbor?

Absolutely. See Contributing below.

Where can I report a bug?

Open an issue on the GitHub issues page.

Troubleshooting

The extension isn't showing up in my toolbar

Make sure Developer Mode is enabled and that you loaded the correct folder using "Load unpacked." Try reloading the extension from the extensions page.

Harbor says it can't read the page

Some pages restrict extension access (e.g., the Chrome Web Store itself, or PDFs). This is a browser limitation and not something Harbor can work around on those specific pages.

The extension loaded but doesn't respond

Check that any required API key has been configured. If the issue persists, try reloading the extension or reopening the browser.

I found a bug

Please report it on GitHub Issues with as much detail as possible — browser version, what you were trying to do, and what happened instead.

Contributing

Harbor is open source and contributions are welcome. Whether it's fixing a bug, improving documentation, or suggesting a new feature — all of it helps.

To get started:

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
  2. Create a new branch for your change.
  3. Make your changes and commit them with a clear message.
  4. Open a pull request with a description of what you changed and why.

For larger changes, open an issue first to discuss the approach — this helps avoid duplicated effort.