Browser & app access

Connect Brave or Chrome tabs, install the extension preview, approve websites, and set up Safari or other Mac apps for Work.

Choose how Work uses your browser

Browser and app control require macOS 14 or newer, a compatible direct-download Gab AI app, and Work access. Keep Gab AI and the browser or selected app open while the task uses them. For Brave and Chrome, connect the Gab AI extension to work in selected tabs using your existing website sign-ins. You can keep using other tabs and apps; the active task’s pointer and Take over controls appear in the tab it is using. Connected tabs do not require macOS Accessibility or Screen Recording permission. Safari and other supported Mac apps use Mac app control. This has separate macOS permissions, and some actions need the selected window in front. Safari does not have the extension’s independent background-tab controls. Side chat in the Brave/Chrome extension is another feature: it works with a Gab AI sign-in even without the Mac app.

Connect Brave or Chrome to the Mac app

  1. Open browser setup — In Gab AI, open Settings → Mac app → Browser and app access → Set up browser and app access.
  2. Choose your installed browser — Choose Connect tabs…, select Brave or Chrome, and follow the illustrated connection guide. Choose Download & continue to start the ZIP download and move to the unzip instructions, or choose I already installed it. Use the browser profile that contains the tabs and website sign-ins you want Work to use.
  3. Confirm the connection — Wait for the connection guide to report Connected, then choose Done. Select Let new tasks use this access and Save and continue.
  4. Try a new Work task — Start a new Work chat in the Mac app and use the example below. Review the website approval card when it appears. Saving setup does not itself approve every website.
Use Chrome on my Mac to open https://example.com and tell me the page heading. If browser or website permission is needed, ask me in this chat and wait. Do not submit any forms.

Install the browser extension preview

Install this manual preview in Brave or Chrome before Chrome Web Store approval. Side chat works with a Gab AI sign-in without the Mac app. Browser automation requires macOS 14+ and a compatible direct-download Gab AI Mac app with Connect tabs in browser setup. This preview has not been approved by the Chrome Web Store.

  1. Extract and keep the folder — Download the ZIP and extract it to a folder you will keep, such as a Gab AI folder in Documents. Keep the extracted folder in place while the extension is installed.
  2. Load the extension in your browser — In Brave, enter brave://extensions in the address bar; in Chrome, enter chrome://extensions. Turn on Developer mode, choose Load unpacked, and select the extracted folder that contains manifest.json. Use the browser profile where you are signed in.
  3. Open side chat — After loading the extension, pin Gab AI and click its icon. Sign in to your Gab AI account to use your existing conversations, models, plan and credits. No Mac app is needed for side chat. If sign-in opens in a separate tab, return to the panel and choose Reload.
  4. Optionally connect the Mac app for automation — Open Gab AI on your Mac → Settings → Mac app → Browser and app access → Set up browser and app access. Choose Connect tabs…, select Brave or Chrome, and choose I already installed it. Wait for the connection confirmation, choose Done, select Let new tasks use this access, then Save and continue. Start a new Work task in the Mac app. Side chat remains available without this connection.

Side chat and preview updates

Add page to chat asks for that website’s permission and adds readable text to your draft. Or select text, right-click, and choose Ask Gab AI. Review before sending: the title, address and text you send are processed by Gab AI and your selected model and can remain in chat history. Sign-in stays at gab.ai. Preview updates are manual: replace files in the same installed folder and Reload the extension. When the store version is available, follow Gab AI’s migration instructions. An unpacked preview does not automatically become a store installation.

Approve only the websites your task needs

A connected browser can share open tab titles and addresses so Work can identify the right tab. Page text, form contents, and screenshots used by the task are sent to Gab AI and its model and service providers and may remain in task history. Before it reads page text, form contents or screenshots, or interacts with a website, the app requests website approval. Allow once applies to this task. Allow for this site saves a site permission. Allow for all sites skips future website prompts, except for blocked sites. Decline leaves the requested access unavailable. Use Websites in Mac browser setup to review saved site choices; blocks take priority. Work acts with your existing website sign-in. Read the proposed action before approving a purchase, message, upload, or other consequential step. Browser and website permission are access grants, not a reason to skip reviewing what you ask Work to do.

Set up Safari or another Mac app

  1. Choose the apps — Open the same browser/app setup guide. Use Choose my browser… for an installed browser such as Safari, or Choose apps… for other supported apps. Save your choices with Let new tasks use this access and Save and continue.
  2. Allow access when Work asks — You can also request a specific browser or app in a Work message. If access is missing, the chat shows an approval card naming that app. Select Allow to grant the requested access, or decline. Approved app access is also saved for future tasks; other existing tasks retain their current access.
  3. Complete macOS permissions — When directed, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and enable Gab AI for Accessibility to control apps (named Device Control and Data Access on newer macOS versions), or Screen Recording when a screenshot is needed (also named Screen & System Audio Recording). Grant the permission named by the app for the installed Gab AI copy, then return to Gab AI. If macOS requests Quit & Reopen, finish that step.
  4. Check permission and continue — The task waits until macOS reports that permission is enabled. Return to Gab AI or choose I’ve enabled it — check again if that control is shown. Reopen the requested app and its window if it was closed. After an app restart, reopen the chat and continue the task.

What browser and app control can do

In supported browser tabs, Work can read pages, capture images, follow links, fill fields, click, scroll, drag, select and insert text, and navigate or open and close authorized tabs. Connected Brave/Chrome tabs can work in the background while you use other tabs. For approved Mac apps, Work can inspect accessible controls and menus, capture a selected window, and use supported mouse, keyboard, text selection, and paste actions. Some compatible builds can open an approved app that is closed and direct input to its window in the background. App support varies: custom controls, protected fields, and older app or extension versions can refuse an action. If Work asks you to bring a window forward or take over, follow that prompt. Successful input must still be checked against the visible result.

Take over, hand back, or stop

Choose Take over in the active tab or the Mac control strip when you want to interact yourself. The task pauses control and shows You’re in control. Finish the interaction and choose Hand back to let the task continue. Use Stop in the control strip or Stop access in setup to end the relevant access. Use Stop Run in Work to stop the active run. To change saved app or website choices, return to Browser and app access. Saving changed setup disconnects app access for existing tasks; start a new task with the updated choices.

Protected apps and local commands

Terminal apps, Script Editor, System Settings, password fields, and protected permission or authentication surfaces are unavailable for direct computer control in current builds. Complete sign-in and macOS permission steps yourself. Use Take over and Hand back when a task needs your interaction. For project tests, builds, and development servers, use the separate folder command permissions described in Local coding & commands. Browser/app approval does not grant these permissions. Do not use a terminal app as a workaround for a denied folder command.

If something goes wrong

Connected never appears: check that the extension is enabled in the Brave or Chrome profile you selected, keep the extracted preview folder in place, and open the Mac app’s Connect tabs guide again. Side chat working by itself does not prove that Mac automation is connected. Website access is declined: review Websites in Mac browser setup. A saved block takes priority over an all-sites grant. Follow the task’s access prompt again after changing the relevant choice. Permissions are still waiting: enable the named permission for the installed Gab AI copy, return to the app, and use I’ve enabled it — check again when available. Follow Quit & Reopen if macOS requests it. The browser window does not come forward: open the selected app and a normal window, then retry from the chat. Safari and app control may require the window in front. Work is paused: check whether the tab or control strip says You’re in control, then choose Hand back when ready. A browser page cannot be controlled: try a normal website tab. Browser-internal pages, extension settings, and other protected browser surfaces are not ordinary web pages. A feature is missing: check for Mac app updates and follow any availability message. The extension preview and the Mac app must both support the connection.

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