# NativeMind: A Local AI Browser Extension Built on Ollama > NativeMind is an open-source Chrome and Firefox extension that runs chat, page summarization and translation against local models, either through an Ollama server or WebLLM in the browser. Here is how the two backends differ, how to install it, and where it stops being the right tool. **NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension** — NativeMind: Your fully private, open-source, on-device AI assistant - Repository: https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension - Website: https://nativemind.app - Stars: 1,134 · Forks: 112 - Language: TypeScript - License: AGPL-3.0 - Published: 2026-09-10 · Updated: 2026-09-10 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/nativemindbrowser-nativemindextension ## The problem NativeMind targets: browser AI without a cloud round trip Most AI browser extensions work by shipping page content to a vendor's API. That is convenient and it is also the reason many people will not install one on a work machine. NativeMind inverts the arrangement: the README describes it as a "fully local browser extension built on Ollama" and an open-source alternative to ChatGPT, with the extension acting as a front end and the model running on hardware you control. The stated features follow from that positioning: contextual awareness across tabs, page summarization, bilingual translation with a side-by-side view, chat with PDFs and images, writing tools for rewriting and tone adjustment, and an agent mode the README describes as breaking complex requests into actionable steps. The audience is narrower than a general ChatGPT replacement. It is for people who already have, or are willing to set up, a local inference server, and for whom keeping page text off third-party servers is the point rather than a bonus. ## Ollama and WebLLM: two backends with different costs NativeMind supports two ways to run a model, and the choice determines almost everything about the experience. The recommended path is Ollama, which the README lists first and describes as a self-hosted local server with access to "full system resources" and support for models including Deepseek, Qwen, Llama, Gemma, Mistral, Phi and gpt-oss. In this mode the extension talks to a server process on your machine; the browser is a client, and the model can use your CPU and GPU without the memory limits a browser tab imposes. The second path is WebLLM, which the README labels "Trial Support" and links to mlc-ai/web-llm. WebLLM runs the model inside the browser through WebAssembly, which removes the separate server but constrains what you can run. The README does not document the memory ceiling, quantization options or which models are available under WebLLM, so treat the trial label literally: it is the path for trying the extension before committing to an Ollama install, not the path you should plan a workflow around. The repository layout reflects the same split. It is a WXT-based TypeScript project, with entrypoints/, components/, composables/, utils/ and locales/ at the top level, plus separate wxt.config.ts and wxt.config.beta.ts files and a .release-it.beta.json alongside .release-it.json. Two build configurations and two release configurations mean the beta channel is a first-class part of the project rather than an afterthought, which is consistent with the v1.12.4-beta.0 release appearing hours before the v1.12.4 stable tag. ## Installing NativeMind from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons The README does not ask end users to build from source. It points to the Chrome Web Store listing and the Firefox Add-ons listing, and states that NativeMind supports Chrome, Firefox, Brave and Edge with full feature compatibility across all platforms, while the Edge badge in the same README reads "Coming Soon". That contradiction is worth noting before you promise Edge support to anyone. The quick start is three steps: pin the extension, set up Ollama by following the linked setup guide, then click the toolbar icon. The repository is a pnpm project for anyone who wants to build it, with a dev script and a production build script defined in package.json: ```bash pnpm install pnpm dev pnpm build:prod ``` pnpm install also triggers a postinstall step that runs wxt prepare. The dev script sets NODE_ENV=development and starts WXT, which produces an unpacked extension you load in the browser's developer mode. For Firefox specifically, the project defines a separate script that targets Manifest V3: ```bash pnpm dev:firefox pnpm build:prod:firefox ``` There is also a check script that runs vue-tsc --noEmit followed by eslint, and a unit test script backed by Vitest. If you are evaluating the codebase rather than using the extension, run pnpm check and pnpm test:unit before reading further; they tell you quickly whether the tree is in a state you can build on. ## Where NativeMind is the wrong tool The first limitation is hardware. Local inference is bounded by the machine it runs on, and the README names capable model families without stating the memory or VRAM each one needs. A laptop that runs a small quantized model comfortably will not run a large one, and the extension cannot fix that. If your work depends on the strongest available reasoning, a hosted model will beat what you can run locally, and NativeMind is the wrong choice for that job. The second limitation is the setup dependency. The recommended configuration assumes an Ollama server the browser can reach, and the README delegates the details to an external setup guide rather than documenting the endpoint, port or any cross-origin configuration in the repository itself. That is the step most likely to fail silently, and the README does not describe what the extension shows when the server is unreachable. The third is platform coverage: the README lists Edge as coming soon, so an organization standardized on Edge cannot deploy this today. Finally, the agent features are described in the README in general terms (autonomous task execution, multi-step problem solving, tool integration) without a documented list of which tools an agent can call or what permissions it needs. If your evaluation depends on knowing exactly what an agent can touch, the README does not answer that, and you should read the entrypoints and permissions in the source instead. ## How NativeMind compares with Page Assist and Nanobrowser The closest comparisons are other browser extensions that put a model in the sidebar. Page Assist is an Ollama-backed extension that, based on its search presence, is also associated with RAG over local documents; the practical difference is scope. NativeMind's README emphasizes translation with a side-by-side view, PDF and image chat, writing tools and an agent mode, so it aims at a broader assistant surface rather than a chat sidebar with retrieval. Nanobrowser is another extension people search alongside this one, and its focus is agentic browser automation, which is one feature of NativeMind rather than its whole identity. WebLLM is not an alternative product so much as the in-browser inference engine NativeMind uses for its trial path, and the README links to mlc-ai/web-llm directly. The honest framing: if you want a minimal local chat sidebar over Ollama, NativeMind carries more surface area than you need. If you want translation, document chat and writing tools in the same extension, the breadth is the reason to pick it. ## Licence, forks and the cost of staying current NativeMind is licensed AGPL-3.0-only, per both the repository metadata and the LICENSE file at the top level. That matters more than usual for a browser extension, because AGPL obligations attach to software offered over a network. If you fork the extension and distribute it, or run a modified version as a service, the licence terms apply to your version. This is not legal advice; read the licence text and talk to counsel if you plan to ship a derivative. The upgrade cost is low for users, since the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons handle updates, but the project ships frequently. The releases listed are v1.12.4 on 2026-03-23, v1.12.4-beta.0 the same day, and v1.12.3 on 2026-03-04, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-03-23. The presence of a CHANGELOG.md, a Husky directory for git hooks, release-it configuration and a separate beta config indicates a maintained release process, but note that the version field in package.json reads 1.12.3 while the latest release tag is v1.12.4, so do not use package.json as the source of truth for the current version. If you self-host a build rather than installing from a store, you own the rebuild cycle, and the two release configs mean you can track beta or stable deliberately. ## Conclusion NativeMind suits engineers and privacy-conscious users who already run an Ollama server and want page summarization, translation and chat without sending content to a hosted API. Skip it if you need Edge support today (the README lists Edge as coming soon) or if a cloud model's quality matters more than local execution. Before adopting, verify two things on your own machine: that your browser can reach the Ollama endpoint, and that the model you intend to use is small enough for your hardware, since the README names Deepseek, Qwen, Llama, Gemma, Mistral and Phi without stating memory requirements. ## FAQ ### Which AI extension is best? That depends on what you need. NativeMind's README positions it as a private, on-device assistant that runs models locally through Ollama or WebLLM, and it covers page summarization, translation, PDF and image chat, writing tools and an agent mode. If your priority is local execution rather than a specific feature list, that combination is what it offers. ### Which AI is fully open-source? NativeMind is released under AGPL-3.0-only, and its source is at NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension. The README describes it as an open-source alternative to ChatGPT, and the extension's own code is TypeScript built with WXT. ### How to activate AI extension in Chrome? NativeMind's README gives three steps: install from the Chrome Web Store, pin the extension to your toolbar, and set up Ollama using the linked setup guide. After that you click the NativeMind icon in the toolbar to start using it. ## Sources - [License: AGPL-3.0](https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension/blob/main/LICENSE) - [NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension on GitHub](https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension) - [Project website](https://nativemind.app) - [README](https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/nativemindbrowser-nativemindextension