⬇️ Download the chrome extension and try it out! LINK
How many of you have opened a webpage and thought — why is this written so complicated?
The Internet is unnecessarily complex.
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📘 Technical documentation
API references and developer guides written for experts -
📄 Research papers
Academic studies packed with jargon and methodology -
⚖️ Legal policies
Terms and conditions that require a law degree -
🏥 Medical information
Health articles full of technical terminology -
📝 Complex blogs
Long-form content that assumes too much background knowledge
The problem isn't the idea — it's the language.
Brilliant concepts get lost in unnecessarily complex writing.
One click. Any page. Instantly simpler.
- Chrome Extension — it lives in your browser
- Opens a side panel on any webpage
- Lets users chat with the webpage
- Multiple explanation modes
Explain the page in simple terms
Step-by-step explanation
Three-bullet summary for quick understanding
Explain like you're five — no jargon, just clarity
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🎓 Students
Reading research papers and academic materials -
💻 Developers
Navigating complex technical documentation -
👔 Professionals
Understanding legal policies and contracts -
🩺 Patients
Reading medical information and health resources -
🌍 Everyone
Non-native English speakers learning online
Chrome extension in chrome_extension
It uses the side panel api from chrome to show the initial explanation and then you can chat with the webpage directly too!
- Browser APIs: Chrome Extension Manifest V3
- Side Panel API
- Tabs API
- Scripting API
- Storage API (for settings)
- Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+), HTML5, CSS3
- Coding platform: AWS Kiro
- AI Integration:
- Direct API integration with OpenAI-compatible providers
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Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/c2p-cmd/eli5-extension.git cd eli5-extension -
Load the extension in Chrome
- Open Chrome and go to
chrome://extensions - Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top-right)
- Click "Load unpacked"
- Select the
chrome-extensionfolder
- Open Chrome and go to
-
Configure your AI provider
- Right-click the extension icon → Options
- Choose a provider preset or enter custom settings
- Add your API key
- Click "Test Connection" to verify
- Click "Save Settings"
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Start using!
- Visit any webpage
- Click the SmolBrain extension icon
- Choose an explanation mode or type your question
The settings page includes presets for popular providers:
| Provider | API URL | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Featherless AI | https://api.featherless.ai/v1 |
Default, affordable |
| OpenAI | https://api.openai.com/v1 |
GPT-4, GPT-3.5-turbo |
| Ollama | http://localhost:11434/v1 |
Local models, no API key needed |
| OpenRouter | https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 |
Access to multiple models |
For any OpenAI-compatible API:
- API URL: Your provider's base URL
- API Key: Your authentication key (optional for Ollama)
- Model Name: The specific model to use (e.g.,
glm-4.7-flash:latest,llama2)
- Option 1: Right-click extension icon → Options
- Option 2: Click the gear icon ⚙️ in the side panel header
- Click the SmolBrain icon on any webpage
- Choose an explanation mode or type a custom question
- The extension extracts visible text from the page
- Your AI provider generates a simple explanation
- Ask follow-up questions to dive deeper
- You're on a restricted Chrome page (chrome://, chrome-extension://, or Chrome Web Store)
- Solution: Visit a regular website instead
- Check your API settings (click gear icon ⚙️)
- Verify your API key is correct
- Test connection in settings page
- Check your provider's status page
- Make sure you loaded the
chrome-extensionfolder (not the root folder) - Check
chrome://extensionsfor error messages - Try reloading the extension
- Powered by: Your own AI provider
- Built with: AWS Kiro
- Inspiration: Making complex content accessible to everyone
