ChromeBoard bridge

Your Chromebook, but smarter.

This is the bridge. Install one app and let it become a semi-home-screen for files, folders, web apps, Drive links, dashboards, and pinned launch surfaces. The machine gives you a box. We turned the box into a launcher.

Local files and folders use the File System Access API, so after you grant access once, ChromeBoard can reopen them from your board. Web apps, Drive links, dashboards, custom schemes, and imported browser pages can live here too.

Quick dock

Pin anything important and it lands here too. Files and folders still need permission, because browsers are paranoid little raccoons.

ChromeBoard settings

🖼️
Wallpaper
Use an image to make this feel like your own actual desktop.
📦
Export / import
Layouts, notes, app links, colors, and metadata can move between machines.
🔐
Permission health
Recheck file and folder handles if Chrome gets moody after a reboot.
⚙️
Desktop names
Create separate boards for work, ops, design, contracts, or chaos.
⚡
Quick setup
Do the fast onboarding pass: scan a folder, paste a pile of links, or use the helper to import tabs and bookmarks.

Import bridge

🧲
Browser right-click import
Use the included ChromeBoard Import Helper extension to right-click pages, links, images, video, or audio in Chrome and throw them straight into ChromeBoard.
📋
Clipboard import
Copy any URL, then tap one button here and ChromeBoard builds a launcher tile from the clipboard.
🧩
Bulk link import
Paste one URL per line, or use name | url | icon | tags and flood-fill a fresh board in one move.
📚
Folder scan
Pick Downloads, Linux files, or another folder and ChromeBoard will import the top-level files and subfolders into tiles in one shot.
📤
Share target
Installed ChromeBoard can receive shared links from Chromium share surfaces once you deploy and install it.
Native ChromeOS launcher right-click hooks are not exposed to normal web apps, so the real loophole is: browser context-menu helper + installed PWA + local file pickers + share target. That bridge actually works.

ChromeBoard runs fully client-side. No backend. No secret server goblins. Files stay on the machine unless you export your layout JSON yourself.

Add item

Manage desktops

Permission health

Files and folders need browser permission to reopen. Re-grant if Chrome forgets after updates, restarts, or cosmic nonsense.

Import / export layout

📤
Export current launcher
Exports desktops, links, notes, wallpaper, metadata, and item settings. File handles themselves cannot leave the browser sandbox.
📥
Import launcher
Brings back your board structure, notes, pinned links, and wallpaper settings.

ChromeBoard Import Helper

Download the helper extension directly from this site: Download helper ZIP. After download, extract it, open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode, click Load unpacked, and select the extracted folder. You can also use the full walkthrough here: Helper setup page and the separate full extension tutorial.
1
Load the helper extension
Chrome → Extensions → Developer mode → Load unpacked → choose the extracted helper folder, then open the tutorial page for the import workflow.
2
Set your ChromeBoard URL
Open the extension options and paste the deployed URL for this app after loading the extracted helper folder.
3
Right-click import
Right-click a page, a link, or media in Chrome and choose Import to ChromeBoard, or use the popup for one-shot bulk imports.

Quick setup

This is the fast onboarding lane. ChromeBoard still cannot scrape ChromeOS launcher pins directly because Google does not expose that surface to normal apps. The bridge instead grabs the things users actually use: folders, files, tabs, bookmarks, and pasted app links.
🗂️
Scan a folder
Pick Downloads, Linux files, or a project folder. ChromeBoard imports the top-level files and subfolders as launcher tiles.
🔗
Paste a pile of links
Drop one URL per line, or use name | url | icon | tags for richer tiles.
🧲
Use the helper for tabs and bookmarks
The upgraded helper can import the current tab, all tabs in a window, all tabs across windows, or the bookmark bar in one click.
📋
Clipboard
One copied URL, one button, one new tile. Fast enough for little things.

Bulk import links

Accepted formats: https://example.com or Name | https://example.com | 🚀 | ops,docs. Bare domains like google.com get cleaned into https:// automatically.

Icon library

Pick from a much fatter icon stash so users are not stuck with five sad emoji and a dream.