User Guide

1. Install

Install from the Chrome Web Store. After clicking Add to Chrome the extension takes a few seconds to register; then opening any new tab will land you on the SiteLogs dashboard. (The store listing is currently in review — see the homepage for status.)

If you've received a private build directly from us (early-access tester), open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, click Load unpacked, and select the folder we sent.

2. First run

SiteLogs replaces Chrome's default new-tab page with the dashboard. The first time you open it you'll see an empty Overview — that's expected. Browse normally for a few minutes, then come back; the heartbeat persists every 60 seconds.

The 7-day free trial starts now. A small pill at the bottom-right shows the time remaining; you can dismiss it any time.

3. How time tracking works

SiteLogs counts active milliseconds — the time you're actually focused on a tab — not "tab open duration". The mechanism:

• Chrome's native idle API marks you "idle" after 60 s without keyboard or mouse input. SiteLogs pauses the timer for that period.
• A tiny visibility script tracks tab focus and throttled interaction pings (≤ once per 10 s). It does not read page DOM, network, cookies, or form data.
• When the service worker is killed by Chrome (Manifest V3 behavior), an alarms-driven 60-second heartbeat flushes the in-flight session to IndexedDB so nothing is lost.
• chrome://, chrome-extension://, file://, and incognito tabs are never tracked. Domains in your ignore list are also skipped.

4. Tab organizer

The Tabs page lists every open tab in your current window:

• ✨ Organize — closes duplicate URLs (keeps the most recently used one) and groups remaining tabs by domain into Chrome's native colored tab groups. Pinned tabs stay put.
• Filters — show only duplicates or "cold" tabs (>3 days unused).
• Group by — switch between domain and category grouping.
• Save as session — snapshot the current window for later restore.

5. Sessions

A Session is a named snapshot of all tabs in a window. Use it to switch between contexts (work / research / personal).

• Save: Tabs page → "Save as session" → enter a name.
• Restore: Sessions page → "Restore in new window".
• Sessions are stored locally and don't sync across devices.

6. Tags & classification rules

SiteLogs ships with a 200+ entry domain → category dictionary (AI / Tech / Social / Video / News / Shopping / Docs / Tools / Work / Finance / Research / Leisure / Other). Override it any way you like:

• Tags — attach freeform tags to URLs or domains directly from Tabs / History rows. Filter History by tag.
• Domain rules (Settings → Rules) — pin a single domain to a custom category.
• Regex rules — match URL patterns. First-match wins.
• Ignore list — domains never tracked at all.
• Focus budgets — daily minute caps per category, with progress bars on the Overview.

7. Activating your license

After a successful purchase via Lemon Squeezy you'll receive a license key by email (format: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). To activate:

1. Open the dashboard (a new tab) and go to Settings → License.
2. Paste the key into the activation field and click Activate.
3. The page reloads — you should see "Lifetime license active · <your email>".

One license key activates on multiple devices. To free up a slot, click Deactivate this device in Settings.

8. Keyboard shortcuts

• / — focus the global search box on History
• g then o — Overview
• g then t — Tabs
• g then h — History
• g then s — Sessions
• g then a — Tags
• g then , — Settings

9. Export & reset

Settings → Data:

• Export JSON — downloads a complete dump of visit records and aggregates.
• Wipe all data — clears IndexedDB and chrome.storage. Cannot be undone.
• Uninstalling the extension also removes everything stored in your browser.

10. FAQ & troubleshooting

Why is my "active time" lower than the time the tab was open?

Because the number is real focus time minus idle gaps. If you opened a tab and then walked away for 10 minutes, those 10 minutes are not counted. That's the whole point.

Why does today look empty?

Heartbeat persists every minute. If you just installed, give it a few minutes after browsing to start showing. Also check that the domain isn't in your ignore list and that you're not in incognito.

Does my data sync across devices?

No. Visits and aggregates stay on each device. Your preferences (tags, rules, budgets, ignore list) sync via Chrome Sync if you're signed in, but visit data does not.

I bought but the dashboard still says "trial".

You need to activate the license key. Go to Settings → License and paste the key from the purchase email. If you can't find it, check spam or contact us.

Refunds?

30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee via Lemon Squeezy. Email us with your order ID.

Still stuck?

Contact us — we read every message.