Magellan - Your AI Superpower

Magellan is an open-source Chrome extension that transforms your browser into an intelligent AI research assistant. It's your all-purpose AI tool that works seamlessly within your browser, allowing you to ask questions about any webpage or document and get instant, cited answers. Whether you're reading an article, analyzing a document, or researching a topic, Magellan understands the context and provides accurate, verifiable information.

Demo

Features

• 🧠 AI-Powered Search – Ask questions about any webpage and get instant answers
  • Three Intelligent Search Modes:
    • Page Context: Search exclusively within the current page or document
    • Blended: Combines page content with general knowledge for comprehensive answers
    • General Knowledge: Use AI knowledge independent of page content
• 📄 Document Analysis – Upload and analyze multiple file formats
  • Supported Formats: PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX, MD, RTF
  • Smart Context: Uses uploaded documents as page context for searches
• 📚 Smart Citations & Visual Highlights – See exactly where information comes from
  • Automatic citation extraction with visual highlights on the page
  • Navigate between citations effortlessly
  • Click any citation to jump directly to the relevant section
• 🔍 Real-time Web Search – Enable optional real-time web search for current events and up-to-date information
• 🤖 Flexible AI Model Selection – Choose from hundreds of AI models via OpenRouter
  • Free models available with rate limits
  • Upgrade to paid models for higher limits
  • Switch between models optimized for speed, accuracy, or specific capabilities
• 💬 Persistent Chat History – Your conversation history is saved per browser tab
  • Different conversations on different pages
  • History persists across sessions
• 📋 Copy Responses – One-click copy button for each AI response
• 🎨 Beautiful, Customizable Interface
  • Light and dark themes with system theme sync
  • Collapsible interface for maximum screen space
  • Clean, modern design that integrates seamlessly with your workflow
• 📖 Help & Documentation – Built-in help page detailing all features
• 💸 100% Free & Open Source – No subscriptions, no paywalls, no data harvesting

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install the extension:

   • Get it from the Chrome Web Store
   • Or download the latest release:
     1. Go to the Releases page
     2. Download the zip file from the latest release
     3. Extract the zip file
     4. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
     5. Enable "Developer mode" in the top right
     6. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extracted folder
   • Or build from source

2. Get your OpenRouter API key:

   • Visit OpenRouter
   • Sign up for a free account
   • Create a new API key
   • Copy the key
   • Note: OpenRouter offers free models with rate limits, or you can use paid models for higher limits

3. Start using Magellan:

   • Click the Magellan icon in your Chrome toolbar to open the sidebar
   • Choose your preferred search mode:
     • Page Context: Best for understanding specific content on the page
     • Blended: Good for general questions that might need additional context
     • General Knowledge: Use when you want answers not limited to the page content
   • Select your AI model: Click the model selector to choose from hundreds of available models
   • Upload Documents: Click the upload button (+) to add PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX, MD, or RTF files for analysis
   • Enable Real-time Search (optional): Toggle real-time web search for current events and up-to-date information
   • Type your question about the current page or uploaded document
   • Get AI-powered answers with highlighted citations
   • Copy responses: Click the copy button to copy any AI response to your clipboard
   • View citations: Click the citations button to see all sources and navigate between them

💡 Pro Tip: For quick access, set up a keyboard shortcut in Chrome's extension settings:

1. Go to chrome://extensions/shortcuts
2. Find Magellan in the list
3. Set your preferred keyboard shortcut for "Activate the extension"

🛠️ Development

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/magellan-extension/magellan.git

2. Load the extension in Chrome:

   • Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable "Developer mode" in the top right
   • Click "Load unpacked" and select the magellan repository

3. Make your changes to the source code

4. Test the extension locally using Chrome's developer mode

5. Submit a pull request with your changes

Project Structure

magellan/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── js/                # JavaScript files
│   │   ├── api/          # API integration
│   │   │   ├── api-key.js    # API key management
│   │   │   └── openrouter.js # OpenRouter API integration
│   │   ├── core/         # Core functionality
│   │   │   ├── background.js # Background service worker
│   │   │   └── utils.js      # Utility functions
│   │   ├── search/       # Search functionality
│   │   │   ├── search.js     # Search implementation
│   │   │   └── contentScript.js # Content script for page interaction
│   │   ├── state/        # State management
│   │   │   └── tabState.js   # Tab state management
│   │   └── ui/           # User interface
│   │       ├── sidebar.js    # Sidebar component
│   │       ├── model-selection.js # Model selection UI
│   │       ├── fileUpload.js # File upload handling
│   │       ├── theme.js      # Theme management
│   │       ├── whats-new.js  # Displays extension updates
│   │       └── ui.js         # UI utilities and components
│   └── html/              # HTML files
│       ├── sidebar.html     # Main sidebar UI
│       ├── api-key.html     # API key setup page
│       ├── model-selection.html # Model selection page
│       ├── help.html        # Help and features page
│       └── whats-new.html  # What's new page
├── public/                # Static assets
├── docs/                  # Documentation
└── manifest.json          # Chrome extension manifest

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details on:

• How to submit issues and feature requests
• Our development process
• Pull request guidelines

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🌐 Links

• Chrome Extension
• Website
• Issue Tracker
• Documentation

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