NativeMind: The Browser Extension That Runs AI Completely On Your Device

Why You Need a Truly Private AI Assistant

When using AI tools in your browser, have you ever worried about:

  • Personal conversation data being uploaded to cloud servers?
  • Sensitive document content being used for model training?
  • Corporate confidential information leaking?

This is why NativeMind exists—a browser extension that processes all AI tasks entirely on your device. It solves the privacy concerns of cloud-based AI services, putting advanced AI capabilities directly in your hands.


🛡️ What Exactly Is NativeMind?

NativeMind is an open-source browser extension that enables fully local AI processing through two technologies:

  1. Ollama Integration: Leverages locally installed large language models
  2. WebLLM Support: Runs lightweight models directly in your browser

All data processing happens on your device—it works even without internet (after initial model download)

Extension Interface

✨ Core Features Explained

1. Intelligent Content Processing

Feature How to Use Real-World Use Case
Webpage Summarization Click toolbar icon Quickly digest long articles
Document Analysis Upload PDF/Word Extract key contract clauses
Bilingual Translation Select text or full page Read foreign language materials
Writing Assistance Right-click context menu Polish emails/refine reports

2. Seamless Workflow Integration

  • Multi-Tab Context: Analyze content across multiple pages simultaneously
  • Floating Toolbar: Access AI functions anywhere with one click
  • Keyboard Shortcuts: Ctrl+Shift+L for instant text translation
  • Local History: Optional conversation history storage

🧩 Technical Architecture Revealed

Dual-Mode Operation

graph LR
    A[User Request] --> B{Model Selection}
    B -->|High Performance| C[Ollama Local Model]
    B -->|Quick Demo| D[WebLLM Browser Model]
    C --> E[CPU/GPU Acceleration]
    D --> F[WebAssembly Runtime]

Performance Comparison

Metric Ollama Mode WebLLM Mode
Response Time 0.5-2 seconds 2-5 seconds
Memory Usage 4GB+ 1-2GB
Model Options Gemma/Mistral/etc. Preloaded Qwen3-0.6B
Offline Support

🛠️ 3-Step Installation Guide

Prerequisites

  1. Chrome browser (latest version)
  2. 8GB+ RAM device
  3. Minimum 5GB disk space

Installation Process

# Developer installation (optional)
git clone https://github.com/NativeMindBrowser/NativeMindExtension.git
cd NativeMindExtension
pnpm install
pnpm dev

Standard User Installation

  1. Visit Chrome Web Store
  2. Search “NativeMind”
  3. Click “Add to Chrome”

First-time users: Start with WebLLM mode for instant access. Unlock full features later via the Ollama setup guide


🔍 Deep Dive: Critical Features

How Privacy Protection Works

  • Closed Data Loop: Input → Processing → Output occurs entirely in memory
  • Zero Network Transmission: All external API calls disabled
  • No User Tracking: Usage behavior never collected
  • Encrypted Local Storage: AES-256 encryption for history

Why Choose Ollama?

  1. Latest Models: Deepseek/Qwen/Llama support
  2. Hardware Acceleration: Full GPU utilization
  3. Model Swapping: Load different capability models on demand
  4. Local Server: 127.0.0.1:11434 closed-loop communication

Writing Assistance in Action

Original Text:  
"This product works well and everyone likes it"

AI Optimization:  
1. Specify subject → "Users widely praise this product's experience"  
2. Add specifics → "Data shows 78% user retention rate"  
3. Professional tone → "Ergonomic design enhances operational efficiency"

⚠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues

Models Not Loading?

  1. Ollama Issues:

    • Verify ollama serve running in terminal
    • Confirm port 11434 availability
  2. WebLLM Issues:

    • Close memory-intensive tabs
    • Update browser to latest version

Features Not Working on Certain Sites?

Possible reasons:

  • Site restricts content scripts (e.g., banking pages)
  • Canvas-rendered text content
  • Browser privacy sandbox limitations

Solution: Try saving page as HTML first


🔮 The Future of Local AI

Performance Breakthroughs

  • Qwen3-4B: Outperforms 72B cloud models with just 4B parameters
  • Phi-4: Beats Gemini Pro 1.5 in mathematical reasoning
  • Gemma3-4B: Image recognition rivals 27B-scale models

Technology Roadmap

  1. Model Miniaturization: Maintain capability under 1B parameters
  2. Hardware Acceleration: Full WebGPU integration
  3. Cross-Device Synergy: Phone-computer joint computation
  4. Personalization: Local incremental training

📌 Developer Guide

Tech Stack

| Component | Technology |
|-----------|------------|
| Frontend | Vue3 + TypeScript |
| Build | WXT + Vite |
| Styling | TailwindCSS |
| AI Integration | WebLLM + Ollama API |

Contribution Process

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create feature branch
  3. Submit code changes
  4. Initiate Pull Request
git checkout -b feature/your-idea
git commit -m 'Implement XX feature'
git push origin feature/your-idea

❓ Top 10 User Questions Answered

1. Is this free?

Completely free and open-source (AGPLv3 license)

2. Which browsers are supported?

Officially supports Chrome; Edge version in development

3. Mobile compatible?

Not yet—local models require desktop-level resources

4. Chinese language support?

Excellent support; use Qwen or Deepseek Chinese models

5. Will it slow down my computer?

WebLLM has minimal impact; Ollama recommends 16GB RAM

6. How to update models?

Ollama users: Run ollama pull model-name in terminal

7. Image analysis capability?

Current version text-only; image recognition on roadmap

8. Can I export my data?

All history exportable as JSON

9. Enterprise deployment options?

Supports self-hosted deployment with custom model servers

10. Where to get support?

Discord community: https://discord.gg/b8p54DKhha


Important Note: NativeMind isn’t magic. Its capabilities depend on local hardware. For complex tasks:

  1. Use Ollama with 7B+ parameter models
  2. Ensure proper device cooling
  3. Break tasks into smaller steps
pie
    title User Value Distribution
    "Privacy Protection" : 38
    "No Internet Dependency" : 25
    "Customization" : 20
    "Zero Cost" : 17

Try Now | Project Home | GitHub Repository