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You don’t need to write an Airglow app to use Airglow. Install the Chrome extension, point your local app server at a public folder of prebuilt apps someone else maintains, and those apps appear on the pages they target.
Done means the Airglow extension is installed, the local app server is running against a prebuilt-apps folder, and at least one prebuilt app appears on the page it targets.

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What “prebuilt apps” means

A prebuilt app is an Airglow app whose code lives in a public folder maintained by someone else — an individual, a team, or a community pack. You stay a user: install the Chrome extension, run the local server pointed at that folder, and every page-matching app inside it runs in your browser without you writing a line of code. You will need:
  • Chrome.
  • Node.js + pnpm.
  • A terminal.
  • A Git URL of a public prebuilt-apps repo. The Airglow SDK includes a starter set under airglow-apps/ you can use today.

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Steps

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1. Clone the SDK repo

The SDK repo ships with the Chrome extension, the local app server, and a starter set of prebuilt apps under airglow-apps/. Start there before pointing at a third-party pack. 
git clone https://github.com/airglow-inc/airglow-sdk.git
cd airglow-sdk

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2. Load the Airglow extension in Chrome

  1. Open chrome://extensions.
  2. Turn on Developer Mode.
  3. Click Load unpacked.
  4. Select airglow-sdk/extension.
Airglow appears in the extension list and is enabled.

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3. Start the local app server against the bundled apps

pnpm install
pnpm airglow dev
The server reads every app under airglow-apps/ and exposes them to the Chrome extension. Keep this terminal open while you browse.

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4. Open a target page

The bundled apps target real pages. Open one of them and Airglow attaches the matching app.
AppOpen this page
HN Summarynews.ycombinator.com
GitHub QAA public GitHub repo page
Gmail CalendarGmail inbox view
The app’s pill or panel appears on the matching page. Click it; the app reads the visible page content and returns a result in the same tab.

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5. Point at a different prebuilt pack (optional)

To use someone else’s pack instead of the bundled apps, replace airglow-apps/ with the contents of a public repo and restart the server. 
rm -rf airglow-apps
git clone https://github.com/<owner>/<their-airglow-pack>.git airglow-apps
pnpm airglow dev
Reload the extension from chrome://extensions so it picks up the new apps.

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Best practices

  • Trust the page, not the chat. A prebuilt app is just code in a folder. Open the target site and check what the app actually does on the page.
  • Keep packs small. A pack with 5–10 focused apps is easier to audit than a pack with 50. You’re loading their code into your browser session; size the trust accordingly.
  • Read the manifest before you load. Each app’s manifest.json declares the pages it matches and the permissions it asks for. Skim it before pointing the server at an unfamiliar pack.

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If it does not work

CaseFix
Airglow is missing in ChromeRe-load the unpacked extension from airglow-sdk/extension.
Local apps do not loadRestart pnpm airglow dev in the airglow-sdk folder.
An app does not appear on its target pageReload the extension at chrome://extensions, then refresh the page.
You replaced airglow-apps/ but old apps still showStop and restart pnpm airglow dev, then reload the extension.
For more cases, open Troubleshooting.

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