Permissions
Why helm asks for each one — and what it does not do with it.
helm asks for a handful of browser permissions. Some sound broad — that's how Chrome labels whole categories of access — but each one powers a specific feature you can see, and helm does all of its work on your device.
The one that looks alarming
When you install helm, the broadest item your browser lists is access to every site you visit (<all_urls>). That sounds like helm is watching everything — it isn't. This access does two things:
- It lets the command palette open on any page when you press the shortcut.
- It keeps your custom tab names in place as pages reload.
helm reads a page's actual content only when you ask it to — when you run Export to Markdown or Extract Images — and that processing happens on your device. It is never used to watch, log, or send the pages you browse.
What each permission is for
- tabs — List, search, switch, rename, and manage your open tabs from the palette.
- storage — Save your renames, Spaces, aliases, and settings on your device.
- scripting — Draw the command palette over the page when you press the shortcut.
- sessions — Reopen recently closed tabs.
- tabGroups — Create and manage tab groups, and restore saved Spaces.
- bookmarks — Show matching bookmarks in palette search; results stay on your device.
- history — Show matching pages in palette search; results stay on your device.
- downloads — Search and manage your downloads from the palette.
- clipboardWrite — Copy URLs and content to your clipboard when you ask.
- debugger — Used only to stitch together a full-page screenshot (beyond the viewport), then released immediately.
- offscreen — Convert pages to Markdown in the background.
- host access (
<all_urls>) — The access described above: open the palette on any page, keep custom tab names in place, and read page content only when you run Export to Markdown or Extract Images.
One permission is optional and only requested if you use the feature that needs it:
- downloads.open — Open a downloaded file directly from the palette.
How your data is handled
These permissions govern what helm can access. For what helm actually stores, what stays on your device, and what is never sent or sold, see the privacy policy.