Courier Web

1Installation & Setup

Courier Web works with Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and any other Chromium-based browser. Firefox and Safari support is coming soon.

1.1 Installing from the Store

1

Open the extension storeIn Chrome: Chrome Web Store. In Edge: Microsoft Edge Add-ons. In Brave or Arc: use the Chrome Web Store.

2

Search for Courier WebType "Courier Web" in the search bar and press Enter.

3

Click Add to BrowserClick Add to Chrome and confirm the permission prompt.

4

Pin the extensionClick the puzzle piece icon in your toolbar, find Courier Web, and click the pin icon 📌.

5

Open the side panelClick the Courier Web icon. The side panel opens on the right side of your browser window.

💡

TipPinning the extension gives you one-click access to the side panel and keeps the icon always visible.

1.2 Browser Support

Browser	Status
Chrome	✅ Fully supported
Microsoft Edge	✅ Fully supported
Brave	✅ Fully supported
Arc	✅ Fully supported
Other Chromium browsers	✅ Supported
Firefox	🔜 Coming soon
Safari	🔜 Coming soon

1.3 Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd/Ctrl` + `Shift` + `K`	Open the Courier Web side panel
`Cmd/Ctrl` + `Shift` + `Y`	Send selected text to your chosen destination
`Cmd/Ctrl` + `Shift` + `U`	Capture a screen region Pro

To view or change shortcuts, navigate to chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

1.4 Quick Start — First 5 Minutes

New to Courier Web? Here's the fastest way to get started and see what it can do.

1

Install and pin Add Courier Web from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your toolbar (click the puzzle piece icon → pin).

2

Try highlighting text Visit any article or webpage. Highlight a paragraph. The SmartBar appears with Quick Buttons.

3

Send to ChatGPT Click the first Quick Button (Weave). A new ChatGPT tab opens with your text ready to send.

4

Open the side panel Click the Courier Web icon in your toolbar. The side panel opens on the right.

5

Add an API key (optional) Settings → API Keys → paste your OpenAI or Anthropic key to use the side panel chat.

6

Try a tool Click any icon in the Tool Rail (right edge of panel) — try Reader Mode or Color Picker.

🎯

You're ready! You can use Courier Web without any setup — just highlight and send. Everything else (API keys, custom templates, Pro features) is optional and can be configured later.

1.5 Updates & What's New

Courier Web receives regular updates with new features, bug fixes, and improvements. Updates are installed automatically through the Chrome Web Store.

How Updates Work

Chrome automatically checks for updates every few hours while your browser is running
Updates install in the background — no action needed from you
After an update, you may see a brief notification in the extension icon
Sometimes Chrome requires a restart to finish installing an update

Check Your Current Version

1

Open Extensions Navigate to chrome://extensions in your browser.

2

Find Courier Web Scroll to the Courier Web card.

3

Check version number The version is displayed in small text below the extension name (e.g., "Version 2.4.1").

Force an Update

If you want to check for updates immediately:

Go to chrome://extensions
Turn on Developer mode (toggle in top right)
Click Update button that appears at the top
Chrome checks all extensions for updates and installs any available

Recent Updates

Major updates and changelogs are posted on the Courier Web website and in the Chrome Web Store listing. Look for the "What's New" section in the store page for the latest changes.

🔔

Stay informed: Follow Courier Web on social media or check the website for announcements about major new features and updates.

2Highlight & Prompt

The core Courier Web workflow. Select text on any webpage and a SmartBar appears near your selection — giving you instant access to AI actions, built-in tools, and your chosen destinations.

2.1 How It Works

1

Select textClick and drag to highlight any text on a webpage. The SmartBar appears automatically near your selection.

2

Click a Quick ButtonUp to three configurable buttons appear. Click any to send your text with that action to your destination.

3

Or right-click for moreRight-click your selection to see the full menu: built-in tools, custom templates, and capture options.

4

Your destination opensThe prompt and selected text are sent — e.g. a new ChatGPT tab opens with your text pre-filled.

💡

By default the SmartBar appears when you've selected at least 12 characters. Set it to 0 in Settings → Minimum character length to always show it.

2.2 Weave

Weave is the default action for Quick Buttons. When a button is set to Weave, clicking it takes your highlighted text and sends it directly to your chosen destination with no additional prompt wrapping — it's a clean, instant send. Think of it as a one-click "send this text to my AI" with no template applied.

Weave is the simplest and fastest way to use Courier Web. For more control over how your text is processed, assign a custom template to a Quick Button instead.

2.3 Quick Buttons

The SmartBar shows up to three Quick Buttons — configurable one-click actions that appear whenever you highlight text. Each button can be set to Weave or any custom template. Free users get one button; Pro users get all three.

Each button is fully customizable with over 50 built-in themes across these categories:

Theme Category	Examples
Core	Default, Neon, Minimal, Ocean, Stellar, Aurora, Midnight, Frost
Seasonal	Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Holiday	Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's, New Year
Fun & Pop Culture	Star Wars, Pokémon, Hologram, Retro, Cyberpunk, Pastel
Professional	Corporate, Monochrome, Executive, Slate

2.4 Built-in AI Tools

Right-clicking highlighted text reveals the full Courier Web menu with 14 built-in AI tools:

Tool	What It Does
Summarize — key points	Condenses text into 5–10 bullet-point key points, preserving names and numbers.
Extract — action items	Pulls out action items, owners, deadlines, and open questions.
Write — executive summary	Produces a structured exec summary: context, what happened, why it matters, next steps.
Analyze — argument & evidence	Breaks down the main claim, supporting evidence, weak points, and counterarguments.
Review — risks & assumptions	Surfaces assumptions, failure modes, ambiguities, and clarifying questions.
Rewrite — clearer & tighter	Rewrites text to be clearer and more concise while preserving meaning.
Rewrite — professional tone	Rewrites in a polished, professional tone with no slang.
Rewrite — shorten	Cuts text by ~30–50% while keeping all important meaning.
Email — draft message	Turns text into a professional email with subject line and clear ask.
Email — reply (polite + firm)	Drafts a polite but firm reply, with an alternate more-direct version.
Study — structured notes	Converts text into study notes with headings, bullets, definitions, and a summary.
Study — flashcards (Q/A)	Creates 8–15 testable Q&A flashcards from the text.
Dev — explain code behavior	Explains code purpose, behavior, inputs/outputs, and flags any bugs.
Dev — generate docstring	Creates a developer-friendly docstring, usage example, and TODOs.

⭐

ProHide all built-in tools so only your custom templates appear. Go to Settings and enable Hide free built-in prompts.

2.5 Destinations

Category	Destinations
AI chat	ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Groq, Perplexity, Kimi, Z.ai, OpenRouter
Search	Google
Writing & docs	Google Docs, Gmail, Notion
Social & comms	LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, Reddit, Slack

💡

Set per-site routing rules to automatically send different websites to different destinations. For example: always send YouTube highlights to ChatGPT, and Gmail highlights to Claude. Configure under Settings → Advanced → Per-site rules.

2.6 Capturing Images

Capture Image — right-click any image on a page and choose Capture image. The image is copied and sent to your destination.
Capture Region Pro — use Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + U, then click and drag to select any area of the screen.

2.7 Custom Templates

Create reusable prompt templates that appear in the right-click menu and can be assigned to Quick Buttons. Templates support placeholder variables:

{{text}}Your highlighted text. If omitted, it's appended automatically. {{url}}The URL of the current page. {{title}}The title of the current page. {{date}}Today's date. {{lang}}The detected language of the selected text. {{audience}}A reusable variable you set once in Settings (e.g. "non-technical managers"). {{tone}}A reusable variable you set once in Settings (e.g. "friendly and concise"). {{goal}}A reusable variable you set once in Settings (e.g. "persuade to sign up").

💡

Example template
Name: Tweet this | Prompt: Rewrite for Twitter in under 280 characters, punchy and direct: {{text}}

3Side Panel Assistant

The side panel is a full AI chat interface that opens alongside any webpage. It persists as you navigate between pages so you can reference what you're reading while you chat.

3.1 Opening the Side Panel

Click the Courier Web icon in your browser toolbar.
Or use Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + K.
Resize the panel by dragging its left edge.
The panel stays open as you navigate between tabs and pages.

3.2 Choosing a Provider & Model

The side panel supports multiple AI providers. Switch between them from the dropdown at the top of the panel. Each provider requires its own API key entered in Settings → API Keys.

Provider	Where to get a key
OpenAI (ChatGPT)	platform.openai.com → API keys
Anthropic (Claude)	console.anthropic.com → API keys
Google (Gemini)	aistudio.google.com → Get API key
DeepSeek	platform.deepseek.com → API keys
Groq	console.groq.com → API keys
Grok (xAI)	console.x.ai → API keys
Kimi (Moonshot)	platform.moonshot.cn → API keys
Perplexity	perplexity.ai/settings/api
Z.ai	z.ai → API keys
OpenRouter	openrouter.ai/keys
Local (Ollama etc.)	No key needed — point to your local endpoint

🔒

All API keys are stored locally in your browser — Courier Web never sends them to any external server.

3.3 Setting Up a Local Model (Ollama)

Run AI models locally on your computer with no API key and no internet connection required.

1

Install OllamaDownload from ollama.com. On Mac it starts automatically in the background.

2

Pull a modelIn terminal: ollama pull llama3.2

3

Verify it's runningcurl http://127.0.0.1:11434 — you should see a response.

4

Add the model in SettingsEnter the model details below and click Save.

5

Allow localhostChrome will ask to allow access to 127.0.0.1 — click Allow.

Field	Value
Model ID	`llama3.2` (must match `ollama list` exactly)
Endpoint	`http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1/chat/completions`
API Key	(leave blank)

3.4 Chat Threads & History

The side panel keeps a history of your chat threads. Start new conversations, switch between threads, and revisit past chats. All threads are stored locally on your device. When you highlight text on the page, the panel can automatically include it in your next message via the Auto-use selection toggle.

3.5 Themes

The side panel has a Dark/Light theme toggle visible at the top of the panel. Switch at any time — the setting persists across sessions.

3.6 Adding & Removing Custom Models

You can add custom AI models beyond the built-in providers. This is useful for accessing new models, beta versions, or specialized endpoints.

1

Open SettingsClick the Courier Web icon and navigate to Settings → API Keys.

2

Scroll to Custom ModelsFind the "Add Custom Model" section near the bottom.

3

Enter model detailsFill in the Display Name, Model ID, Endpoint URL, and optionally an API Key.

4

Click Add ModelYour custom model appears in the provider dropdown in the Side Panel.

5

To removeClick the trash icon next to any custom model in the list.

Where to Find Model Names

Provider	Where to find model IDs	Example Model ID
OpenAI	platform.openai.com/docs/models	`gpt-4o`, `gpt-4-turbo`
Anthropic	docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/models-overview	`claude-sonnet-4-20250514`
Google Gemini	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models	`gemini-1.5-pro`, `gemini-2.0-flash`
Groq	console.groq.com/docs/models	`llama-3.3-70b-versatile`
DeepSeek	platform.deepseek.com/api-docs/quick_start/pricing	`deepseek-chat`, `deepseek-reasoner`
Ollama (local)	Run `ollama list` in terminal	`llama3.2`, `qwen2.5:7b`
OpenRouter	openrouter.ai/models	`anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet`

💡

Example: Adding Groq's Llama 3.3 70B
Display Name: Groq Llama 3.3 70B
Model ID: llama-3.3-70b-versatile
Endpoint: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/chat/completions
API Key: gsk-... (your Groq API key)

⚠️

Model ID must match exactly
Copy the model ID character-for-character from the provider's documentation. Even small differences like capitalization or missing version numbers will cause errors.

4Tool Rail

The Tool Rail is a vertical icon bar on the right edge of the side panel. It gives you access to 25+ browser productivity tools without leaving your current page. Click any icon to activate that tool. Click Show Labels at the bottom of the panel to display tool names next to each icon.

4.1 Overview

💡

You can show or hide tool labels using the Show Labels toggle at the bottom of the side panel. Enable Glow Animations for visual feedback when tools are active.

4.2 Page Tools

🔍

Selection

Captures your current text selection from the page and brings it directly into the chat input.

🌐

Translate

Translates selected or pasted text into a language of your choice directly in the panel.

👁

Reader Mode

Strips the current page down to clean, distraction-free readable text — removes ads, sidebars, and navigation.

📄

Page Extractor

Extracts and copies the full text content of the current page into the panel or clipboard for use with AI.

🖱

Hover Peek

Preview links by hovering over them — shows a small popup preview without navigating away.

❄️

Page Freeze

Freezes the current page so dynamic content, popups, and auto-updates stop. Useful for capturing a snapshot.

🎨

Color Picker

Click any element on the page to instantly copy its hex or RGB color value to your clipboard.

🙈

Universal Comment Hider

Hides comment sections across websites — YouTube, Reddit, news sites — for a cleaner reading experience.

☑️

Universal Multi-Select

Select multiple separate elements on a page simultaneously — combine their content and send to AI in one action.

🔬

Web Intelligence

Extracts structured insights, metadata, and key data points from the current page automatically.

4.3 Productivity Tools

📝

Instant Site Notes

Attach sticky notes to any website. Notes are linked to that URL and reappear every time you visit.

🕐

Tab Memory

Save your current tab session (all open tabs) and restore it later — useful for preserving research sessions.

⏱

Website Time Tracker

Tracks how long you spend on each website. View a breakdown of your daily browsing time per domain.

🚫

Smart Tab Limit

Set a maximum number of open tabs. Courier Web enforces this limit and alerts you when you exceed it.

📋

Quick Daily Planner

A lightweight task planner accessible directly from the panel. Add tasks, check them off, and reset daily.

🧘

Momentum Mode

Focus mode that hides distracting elements on the current page — ads, related content, comment sections, sidebars.

📌

Highlight History

Browse and reuse all your past text highlights. Click any entry to pull it back into the chat or send it again.

4.4 Data & Research Tools

🔢

Data & Conversion Tools

Unit conversions, currency conversion, and data format helpers — all available without leaving the panel.

🔔

Page Monitor

Monitor any webpage for changes. Courier Web alerts you when content on a tracked page updates.

📁

File Converter

Convert files between common formats directly in the browser — no upload to third-party sites required.

💬

Custom Prompts

Create and manage your own quick-access prompt shortcuts, separate from full custom templates.

🛒

Prompt Marketplace

Browse and install community-made prompts. Expand your prompt library without writing them yourself.

🔭

Passive Research

Runs quietly in the background as you browse. Monitors your activity and builds a running research summary you can query at any time.

📊

Usage & Credits

View your API token consumption and usage statistics per provider.

4.5 RSS Feeds

The RSS Feeds tool lets you subscribe to any RSS feed and interact with its content directly in the side panel chat.

1

Open RSS FeedsClick the RSS icon in the Tool Rail.

2

Add a feedPaste any RSS feed URL and click Add. The feed's latest posts load immediately.

3

Browse postsScroll through the feed's latest articles and headlines in the panel.

4

Ask AI about any postClick a post to load it into context, then ask questions about it in the chat box — summarize, analyze, compare, or extract anything.

💡

You can add multiple RSS feeds and switch between them. Ask questions like "What are the top stories today?" or "Summarize the last 5 posts from this feed."

5Composer & Chat Tools

Below the chat input in the side panel is a row of action icons that give you access to additional AI-powered tools and modes.

5.1 Chat Mode

The default mode. Type any message and get a response from your selected AI provider. The conversation persists across pages as you browse. You can start new threads, switch between past conversations, and reference your current page's content.

5.2 Favorite Prompts

Star any prompt to save it as a favorite. Access your starred prompts via the favorites icon below the chat box for one-click reuse. Favorites are stored locally and persist across sessions.

5.3 Research Mode

Research Mode is a powerful multi-tab research tool. Type a question or topic and Courier Web automatically opens multiple relevant tabs based on your query, gathers content from each, and synthesizes a combined AI response across all sources.

💡

Best for: Comparative research, fact-checking across sources, getting a broad overview of a topic, or finding the best product/tool for a job.

5.4 Analyze Page

Sends the full text content of your current page to the AI and returns an instant structured analysis or summary. The AI can answer questions about the page, extract key information, identify main arguments, or summarize long articles — all without you needing to copy and paste anything.

5.5 Paste Clipboard

Pastes your current clipboard content directly into the chat input with one click. Useful when you've copied text, code, or data from elsewhere and want to ask the AI about it without manually pasting.

5.6 AI Spaces

AI Spaces is a submenu with two dedicated AI tools:

Transcribe Audio — upload an audio file or record directly in the browser and receive a full text transcript. Supports common audio formats. Useful for meeting recordings, voice memos, lectures, and podcasts.
Generate Image — generate AI images directly from the side panel. Describe what you want and Courier Web uses Pollinations to produce the image. Requires a free Pollinations API key (enter.pollinations.ai). Free tier supports approximately 80 images per week with the gptimage model.

💡

Image generation requires a Pollinations API key saved in Settings → API Keys. Sign up free at enter.pollinations.ai.

5.7 Prompt Library

The Prompt Library shows all your saved custom prompts in one place. Browse, search, and click any prompt to instantly load it into the chat input. Prompts from the Prompt Marketplace are also accessible here after installation.

5.8 Show Labels & Glow Animations

Two display toggles at the bottom of the panel:

Show Labels — displays a text label next to every icon in the Tool Rail, making it easier to identify tools until you're familiar with the icons.
Enable Glow — adds subtle glow animations to active tools and the panel UI for visual feedback. Can be disabled for a cleaner look.

6AI Schedules

AI Schedules let Courier Web monitor your web activity and interests and automatically deliver AI-generated summaries on a schedule. There are two schedule types: Daily Briefing and Daily Digest.

6.1 Daily Briefing

The Daily Briefing is a morning summary delivered at a time you set. Based on your configured topics and interests, the AI compiles a structured overview of what's happening — news, updates from your RSS feeds, and content relevant to your chosen subjects. It's presented as a visual card inside the side panel when you open your browser.

💡

Configure your topics and delivery time in Settings → AI Schedules. You can add sources, keywords, and RSS feeds to shape what your briefing covers.

6.2 Daily Digest

The Daily Digest works passively in the background throughout your browsing day. Courier Web monitors your web activity — pages you visit, content you highlight, topics you search for — and builds an ongoing AI-curated digest of your day's research and reading. At the end of the day it presents a visual summary of everything you engaged with, key themes, and suggested follow-up reading.

⚠️

The Daily Digest monitors your browsing activity locally on your device. Nothing is sent to Courier Web servers — all processing happens in your browser.

7YouTube Transcription & Prompts

When you open a YouTube video, Courier Web adds a button that fetches the full transcript and lets you run AI prompts on it — without leaving YouTube.

⭐

Pro featureYouTube transcription features require Courier Web Pro.

7.1 How It Works

1

Open a YouTube videoNavigate to any YouTube video page.

2

Find the Courier Web buttonA button appears in the YouTube controls row, below the video player.

3

Fetch the transcriptClick the button to open the transcript panel. It fetches automatically.

4

Choose a prompt or ask a questionSelect a built-in option or type your own question about the video.

5

Send to your destinationThe transcript and your prompt are sent to your chosen AI destination.

7.2 Transcript Sources

Source	How it works	Reliability
YouTube captions	Pulls directly from YouTube's caption data (auto-generated or creator-uploaded)	High
Transcript panel	Reads from YouTube's built-in transcript panel in the page DOM	Medium
Local Whisper (advanced)	Optional local fallback for videos without captions — requires separate setup	Medium

7.3 Prompt Ideas for YouTube

Prompt	Best for
Summarize this video	Getting the gist of any video quickly
What are the 5 main takeaways?	Talks, interviews, and educational content
Create study notes from this lecture	University lectures, online courses, tutorials
What tools or products were mentioned?	Review videos, "best of" lists, tech demos
Write a blog post based on this video	Repurposing video content into written articles
List all the action items mentioned	How-to videos, productivity talks
Create flashcards from this lesson	Studying or reviewing educational content
Translate this transcript to Spanish	Getting content in another language

8Settings & Advanced Features

Open Settings by clicking the gear icon in the side panel, or by clicking the Courier Web icon and selecting Options.

8.1 Destination Settings

Choose your default destination for all prompts. Set per-site routing rules — send different websites to different AI destinations automatically.

Per-site rules format: hostname=destination (one per line)
Example: youtube.com=chatgpt or github.com=claude

8.2 Prompt Queue

The prompt queue lets you batch multiple sends and run them all at once instead of opening a new tab for each. Most useful with ChatGPT. Enable under Advanced → Prompt Queue in Settings. Queue mode only applies to ChatGPT — other destinations bypass it and send immediately.

8.3 History

Courier Web keeps a local log of everything you've sent. Free users get a smaller history cap; Pro users get a larger one. From the History page you can search past entries, view the full prompt and destination, and reuse any entry with one click.

⭐

ProExport your full history as JSON, CSV, or Markdown from the History page.

8.4 Backup & Restore

Backup type	What's included
Standard backup	Settings, templates, quick buttons, destinations, preferences. No API keys.
Full encrypted backup	Everything above plus API keys and Pro token, encrypted with a passphrase you set.

⚠️

After reinstalling: use the Restore button (not Activate) — it re-verifies your license and restores Pro status automatically.

8.5 Languages

Courier Web is localized into English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese. The extension automatically uses your browser's language setting. You can preview a specific language from the Language Preview selector at the top of the Options page.

8.6 AI Presets

When enabled, AI Presets automatically adjusts how Courier Web wraps and formats your prompts based on your chosen destination. Each AI platform has slightly different conventions for how it handles context and instructions — enabling this setting lets Courier Web optimize the prompt structure for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek automatically, without you needing to think about it.

💡

Enable AI Presets in Settings → Destination → Optimize prompt wrappers by destination. Applies to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek.

8.7 Auto Insight

When enabled, Auto Insight silently analyzes each page you visit in the background and generates a quick insight card that appears in the side panel. You don't need to do anything — just browse and Courier Web automatically surfaces key information, summaries, or notable points about the page you're on.

💡

Toggle Auto Insight on/off in Settings → Auto Insight. It requires an active API key since it makes an AI call per page visit.

8.8 Performance & Optimization

Keep Courier Web running smoothly with these performance best practices.

Memory & Speed

Issue	Solution
Side panel feels slow	Close and reopen the panel. Disable Auto Insight if you don't use it. Clear chat history in Settings.
Too many tabs open	Enable Smart Tab Limit (Tool Rail) to cap your tabs. Use Tab Memory to save and close sessions you'll revisit later.
Extension using too much RAM	Limit your chat history size in Settings. Turn off Daily Digest monitoring if not needed. Close unused RSS feeds.
SmartBar appearing slowly	Reduce minimum character length to 0 in Settings so it appears instantly on any selection.
Research Mode opening too many tabs	Currently opens 5-10 tabs by default. Close the ones you don't need immediately to free up memory.

Best Practices

Clear history regularly — Keep your history under 500 entries for best performance. Export before clearing if you want to keep it.
Use smaller models for drafts — GPT-4o Mini and Gemini Flash respond faster and use less memory than larger models.
Disable unused tools — If you never use Daily Briefing or RSS Feeds, turn them off to reduce background processing.
Close the panel when not in use — The side panel stays active even when minimized. Close it completely (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + K) to free up resources.
Limit concurrent API calls — If using Research Mode or multiple tools at once, wait for each to finish before starting another.

⚡

Quick performance check: Settings → Advanced → Diagnostics / Health shows your current memory usage, chat history size, and active background processes.

9Free vs Pro

9.1 Feature Comparison

Feature	Free	Pro
Quick Buttons	1 button	3 buttons
Button themes	Core themes only	All 50+ themes
Custom templates	✗	✓
Hide built-in prompts	✗	✓
YouTube transcription	✗	✓
Screen region capture	✗	✓
History cap	Smaller	Larger
History export (JSON/CSV/MD)	✗	✓
Backup Vault	✗	✓
Device reset (once/month)	✗	✓
All 19+ destinations	✓	✓
All built-in AI tools	✓	✓
Side panel chat	✓	✓
Tool Rail (all tools)	✓	✓
RSS Feeds	✓	✓
Research Mode	✓	✓
Image Generation	✓	✓
AI Schedules	✓	✓

9.2 Activating Pro

1

PurchaseOpen Settings and click Purchase Pro on Gumroad. Complete checkout — one-time $4.99 lifetime unlock.

2

Get your keyYour license key is in your Gumroad receipt email.

3

ActivatePaste the key into the license key field in Settings and click Activate.

4

Pro activates immediatelyPro is verified per device. Works on up to 4 devices simultaneously.

💡

To move your license to a new device after reaching the limit, use Reset Devices in Settings (available once per month).

10API Keys

API keys let the side panel send prompts directly to an AI provider using your own account. All keys are stored locally in your browser — Courier Web never sees or transmits them.

10.1 Where to Enter Your Keys

1

Open SettingsClick the Courier Web icon → Options, or the gear icon in the side panel.

2

Scroll to API KeysFind the API Keys section and expand it.

3

Paste your key and SaveClick into the input for your provider, paste the key, click Save. A masked preview confirms it's saved.

4

Select the providerOpen the side panel, click the model dropdown, and choose a model from that provider.

10.2 Where to Get Each Key

Provider	Where to get your key	Key format
OpenAI	platform.openai.com → API keys	`sk-...`
Anthropic (Claude)	console.anthropic.com → API keys	`sk-ant-...`
Google (Gemini)	aistudio.google.com → Get API key	`AIza...`
DeepSeek	platform.deepseek.com → API keys	`sk-...`
Groq	console.groq.com → API Keys	`gsk_...`
Grok (xAI)	console.x.ai → API Keys	`xai-...`
Kimi (Moonshot)	platform.moonshot.cn → API keys	`sk-...`
Perplexity	perplexity.ai/settings/api	`pplx-...`
Z.ai	z.ai dashboard → API keys	—
OpenRouter	openrouter.ai/keys	`sk-or-...`
Hugging Face	huggingface.co/settings/tokens	`hf_...`
Pollinations (image gen)	enter.pollinations.ai	`sk_...`
Ollama (local)	No key needed — leave blank	—

💡

OpenRouter gives you access to dozens of models (GPT-4o, Claude, Llama, Mistral, and more) with a single key — ideal if you want to try multiple providers without managing separate accounts.

10.3 API Keys vs Destinations

Mode	How it works	Requires API key?
Highlight → Destination	Opens the AI's website in a new tab and injects your text into the chat box	No — uses your existing account on the site
Side Panel chat	Sends messages directly to the provider's API from your browser	Yes — one key per provider

You don't need an API key to use Highlight & Prompt. API keys are only required for the side panel chat and AI tools like image generation and transcription.

10.4 Model Comparison & Selection Guide

Different AI models excel at different tasks. Here's a guide to help you choose the right one for your needs.

By Use Case

Best For	Recommended Models	Why
Creative writing	Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-4o	Strong prose quality, maintains voice and style consistency
Code generation	GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet 4, DeepSeek Coder	Excellent code understanding and generation, good at debugging
Research & analysis	Claude Sonnet 4, Gemini 1.5 Pro	Large context windows, strong reasoning, detailed analysis
Quick answers	GPT-4o Mini, Gemini Flash, Groq (any model)	Fast response times, low cost, good for simple queries
Long documents	Gemini 1.5 Pro, Claude Sonnet 4	Context windows up to 1-2 million tokens
Budget-conscious	Gemini Flash, DeepSeek, Groq models	Free tier or very low cost per request
Privacy/offline use	Ollama (Llama, Qwen, Mistral)	Runs entirely on your machine, no data sent anywhere
Conversation & chat	GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet 4	Natural conversation flow, good context retention

Speed vs Quality

Model	Speed	Quality	Cost
GPT-4o	Fast	Excellent	$$$
GPT-4o Mini	Very Fast	Good	$
Claude Opus 4	Medium	Excellent	$$$$
Claude Sonnet 4	Fast	Excellent	$$
Gemini 1.5 Pro	Fast	Very Good	$$
Gemini 2.0 Flash	Very Fast	Good	$
DeepSeek Chat	Fast	Good	$
Groq (Llama 3.3 70B)	Extremely Fast	Very Good	Free (with limits)
Ollama (local)	Medium-Slow*	Good	Free

*Ollama speed depends on your hardware. With a good GPU it can be fast; CPU-only is slower.

💡

Pro tip: Use faster, cheaper models (GPT-4o Mini, Gemini Flash) for drafts and simple tasks. Switch to premium models (Claude Opus, GPT-4o) for final versions or complex reasoning. Save 80% on costs while maintaining quality where it matters.

Estimated Costs (per 1M tokens)

Model	Input	Output	Notes
GPT-4o	$2.50	$10.00	Industry standard, reliable
GPT-4o Mini	$0.15	$0.60	Best value for most tasks
Claude Sonnet 4	$3.00	$15.00	Premium quality
Gemini 1.5 Pro	$1.25	$5.00	Good balance of cost/quality
Gemini 2.0 Flash	Free*	Free*	*Within generous free tier limits
DeepSeek	$0.14	$0.28	Extremely affordable
Groq	Free*	Free*	*Rate limited, see their docs

Prices as of March 2026. Check each provider's pricing page for current rates.

11Paste Mode

When you send highlighted text to a destination, Courier Web needs to get your content into that site's input box. There are three methods — paste modes — that control how this happens.

11.1 The Three Paste Modes

Mode	What it does	Best for
Auto-inject	Opens the destination and automatically types your text directly into the input box — no manual action needed.	ChatGPT (most reliable)
Paste helper	Opens the destination and copies text to your clipboard automatically. Switch to the tab and press Cmd/Ctrl+V.	Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Groq, most AI sites
Open only	Opens the destination but does not copy or inject anything. You paste manually.	Gmail, X, Google — where content is passed in the URL

11.2 Default Paste Modes Per Destination

Destination	Default mode
ChatGPT	Auto-inject
Claude	Paste helper
Gemini	Paste helper
DeepSeek	Paste helper
Groq	Paste helper
Grok	Paste helper
Perplexity	Paste helper
Kimi	Paste helper
OpenRouter	Paste helper
Gmail	Open only
X (Twitter)	Open only
Google	Open only
Facebook	Paste helper

Change paste modes for any destination in Settings → Paste Mode. Click Reset paste modes to restore all defaults.

11.3 Troubleshooting Paste

Symptom	Fix
Text never appears in ChatGPT	Switch ChatGPT to Paste helper
Text gets cut off in ChatGPT	Switch to Paste helper — clipboard has no size limit
Claude / Gemini opens but nothing is pasted	Ensure mode is Paste helper, then press Cmd/Ctrl+V
Text appears twice	Switch to Open only or Paste helper
Facebook: clicking does nothing	Grant the Facebook permission when prompted
Helper tab closes before you can paste	Text is already on your clipboard — switch tabs and press Cmd/Ctrl+V

12Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
SmartBar doesn't appear on highlights	Refresh the page. Check that minimum character length in Settings isn't set too high. Courier Web may not activate on pages open before installation.
Right-click menu not showing	Close the menu and right-click again. Chrome menus don't update while they're open.
Clicking a button does nothing	Open DevTools (F12 → Console). A "blocked by client" message means a Chrome permission is missing. Go to chrome://extensions → Courier Web → Details → Site access.
"Address already in use" (Ollama)	Not an error — Ollama is already running. No action needed.
Ollama model not found / 404	Run `ollama list` and copy the exact model name including version tag (e.g. `llama3.2:latest`).
CORS error with Ollama	Restart Ollama with: `OLLAMA_ORIGINS="*" ollama serve`
403 error from Hugging Face	Your token may be missing or the model is gated. Accept the model's terms of use on its page first.
YouTube transcript not available	The video may not have captions. Check for the CC button in the YouTube player.
Templates not appearing in menu	Close and re-open the right-click menu. Changes don't appear until the menu is re-opened.
Extension changes not taking effect	Go to chrome://extensions and click the reload icon on Courier Web, then refresh the page.
Pro not showing after activation	Click Restore in Settings. If you recently reinstalled, use Restore (not Activate) to re-verify your license.
Image generation failing	Check that your Pollinations API key is saved in Settings → API Keys. Get a free key at enter.pollinations.ai.
Side panel chat not responding	Check that an API key is saved for your selected provider. The model dropdown shows which provider is active.
RSS feed not loading	Verify the feed URL is a valid RSS/Atom URL. Try opening it in a browser tab directly to confirm it loads.

🩺

Run Diagnostics
Settings → Advanced → Diagnostics / Health runs a full check of your extension state, permissions, and endpoint connectivity. Use this first when something unexpectedly stops working.

13Privacy & Data

Courier Web is designed with privacy as a core principle. All sensitive data stays on your device, and nothing is sent to Courier Web servers.

13.1 What Stays Local

Data Type	Stored Where	Sent to Servers?
API Keys	Chrome local storage (encrypted)	Never
Chat history	Local browser storage	Never
Highlight history	Local browser storage	Never
Custom templates	Chrome sync storage (syncs across your devices)	Google sync only
Settings & preferences	Chrome sync storage	Google sync only
RSS feed subscriptions	Local browser storage	Never
Site notes	Local browser storage	Never
Browsing activity (Daily Digest)	Local browser storage (temporary)	Never

13.2 What Gets Sent to AI Providers

When you use the side panel chat or send prompts to destinations, your text and questions are sent directly from your browser to the AI provider you've selected (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.). This happens according to each provider's own privacy policy and terms of service.

Your prompts and selected text go directly to the AI provider
Courier Web does not intercept, log, or store these messages
Image uploads go directly to the AI provider's API
Audio transcription is processed by the provider's service

⚠️

Important
Review each AI provider's privacy policy before using their service. When you use your own API keys, you're subject to that provider's terms — not Courier Web's. Links: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google

13.3 Pro License Verification

When you activate Courier Web Pro, your license key is verified with Gumroad's servers to confirm it's valid. After verification, your Pro status is stored locally. License checks happen:

Once when you first activate
Periodically (roughly once per week) to ensure the license is still valid
When you click "Restore" after reinstalling

Only your license key and device ID are sent during verification — no browsing data, prompts, or personal information.

13.4 Permissions Explained

Permission	Why It's Needed
Access to all websites	Required to inject the SmartBar on any page you visit and extract selected text
Read and change data on websites	Lets Courier Web read selected text and inject prompts into AI chat boxes
Storage	Saves your settings, templates, API keys, and history locally
Clipboard	Used by Paste Helper mode to copy text to your clipboard for pasting
Tabs	Opens new tabs when sending to destinations and manages Research Mode multi-tab sessions
Side panel	Enables the persistent side panel UI that stays visible as you browse

13.5 Clearing Your Data

You can delete all local Courier Web data at any time:

1

Open Settings Click the gear icon in the side panel or the Courier Web toolbar icon.

2

Scroll to Advanced Find the Advanced section at the bottom of Settings.

3

Click Clear All Data This removes all history, templates, settings, and API keys from your browser.

4

Confirm deletion Click Confirm in the popup. This action cannot be undone.

⚠️

Clearing data does not deactivate your Pro license. To restore your settings and Pro status after clearing, use Settings → Backup & Restore → Restore from a backup file you created earlier.

14Common Use Cases

Here's how different people use Courier Web in their daily workflows.

14.1 For Students

📚

Study from Lectures

Watch a lecture on YouTube → fetch transcript → ask "Create study notes from this lecture" → get structured notes with definitions and summaries.

🎴

Make Flashcards

Highlight a textbook passage → right-click → "Study — flashcards (Q/A)" → get 8-15 testable questions with answers.

✍️

Writing Assistance

Draft an essay → highlight a paragraph → "Rewrite — clearer & tighter" → get improved version while keeping your voice.

🔬

Research Papers

Use Research Mode to compare multiple academic sources, then ask "What are the main points of agreement and disagreement?"

14.2 For Researchers

🔍

Multi-Source Research

Type a question in Research Mode → Courier opens 5-10 relevant tabs → synthesizes findings from all sources into one answer.

📰

Monitor Topics

Add RSS feeds for your research areas → get Daily Briefings with the latest papers, articles, and news in your field.

📊

Extract Data

Highlight a complex table or dataset → "Extract — action items" or create a custom template to structure the data how you need it.

🔔

Track Changes

Use Page Monitor to watch for updates on key webpages — journal publication pages, conference sites, or competitor research.

14.3 For Content Creators

🐦

Repurpose Content

Highlight a blog post → create a custom template "Turn this into a Twitter thread" → get 10 tweet-sized chunks ready to post.

📝

Video to Article

Fetch a YouTube transcript → "Write a blog post based on this video" → get a full article with intro, body, and conclusion.

✉️

Email Newsletters

Collect highlights from multiple articles → send to Gmail destination → "Draft message" → get a formatted newsletter draft.

🎨

Generate Visuals

Use AI Spaces → Generate Image → describe what you need → get AI-generated images for social posts or articles.

14.4 For Developers

💻

Explain Code

Highlight unfamiliar code on GitHub or StackOverflow → "Dev — explain code behavior" → get plain-English explanation of what it does.

📖

Generate Docs

Highlight a function → "Dev — generate docstring" → get properly formatted documentation with usage examples.

🐛

Debug Issues

Copy an error message → paste into side panel → ask "What's causing this and how do I fix it?" with auto-use selection enabled.

🔧

API Testing

Use local Ollama models for free API testing, or switch between Claude/GPT to compare code suggestions from different models.

14.5 For Professionals

📧

Draft Emails

Highlight meeting notes → "Email — draft message" → get a professional email with subject line and clear action items.

📄

Executive Summaries

Highlight a long report → "Write — executive summary" → get context, what happened, why it matters, and next steps in 3-4 paragraphs.

⚠️

Risk Analysis

Highlight a proposal or plan → "Review — risks & assumptions" → surface hidden assumptions and potential failure modes.

⏰

Track Time

Enable Website Time Tracker to see exactly how much time you spend on different sites — useful for billing or productivity tracking.

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1Installation & Setup

1.1 Installing from the Store

1.2 Browser Support

1.3 Keyboard Shortcuts

1.4 Quick Start — First 5 Minutes

1.5 Updates & What's New

How Updates Work

Check Your Current Version

Force an Update

Recent Updates

2Highlight & Prompt

2.1 How It Works

2.2 Weave

2.3 Quick Buttons

2.4 Built-in AI Tools

2.5 Destinations

2.6 Capturing Images

2.7 Custom Templates

3Side Panel Assistant

3.1 Opening the Side Panel

3.2 Choosing a Provider & Model

3.3 Setting Up a Local Model (Ollama)

3.4 Chat Threads & History

3.5 Themes

3.6 Adding & Removing Custom Models

Where to Find Model Names

3.7 Auto-Use Selection

4Tool Rail

4.1 Overview

4.2 Page Tools

4.3 Productivity Tools

4.4 Data & Research Tools

4.5 RSS Feeds

5Composer & Chat Tools

5.1 Chat Mode

5.2 Favorite Prompts

5.3 Research Mode

5.4 Analyze Page

5.5 Paste Clipboard

5.6 AI Spaces

5.7 Prompt Library

5.8 Show Labels & Glow Animations

6AI Schedules

6.1 Daily Briefing

6.2 Daily Digest

7YouTube Transcription & Prompts

7.1 How It Works

7.2 Transcript Sources

7.3 Prompt Ideas for YouTube

8Settings & Advanced Features

8.1 Destination Settings

8.2 Prompt Queue

8.3 History

8.4 Backup & Restore

8.5 Languages

8.6 AI Presets

8.7 Auto Insight

8.8 Performance & Optimization

Memory & Speed

Best Practices

9Free vs Pro

9.1 Feature Comparison

9.2 Activating Pro

10API Keys

10.1 Where to Enter Your Keys

10.2 Where to Get Each Key

10.3 API Keys vs Destinations

10.4 Model Comparison & Selection Guide

By Use Case

Speed vs Quality

Estimated Costs (per 1M tokens)

11Paste Mode

11.1 The Three Paste Modes

11.2 Default Paste Modes Per Destination

11.3 Troubleshooting Paste

12Troubleshooting

13Privacy & Data

13.1 What Stays Local