phluff Download for macOS
🔌 Connect the AI bridge

Set up the bridge.

Let Claude drive your logged-in ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini tabs — image generation, send-message, and full-page screenshots — through Phluff's local bridge. Six quick steps.

What you're setting up

The AI bridge has three pieces that talk to each other locally:

Mac app
Runs the local bridge on your machine.
Companion
Chrome extension that connects one tab you choose.
MCP server
Lets Claude talk to Phluff via npx -y phluff-mcp.

Before you start

  • The macOS app installed and opened once.
  • Google Chrome (or a Chromium browser like Edge).
  • A logged-in AI tab — ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
  • Node.js 20+ (only for the MCP server).
  • Claude Code or Claude Desktop.
Just want the Mac utility?

You only need Step 1.

Want the AI bridge?

Continue through Steps 2–6.

1

Install the Phluff app

If you haven't already, grab the notarized macOS build and launch it once — the fluff-ball appears in your menu bar.

Download for macOS
2

Install the Companion extension (Chrome/Edge)

The extension drives your logged-in AI tabs. It's a quick unpacked install:

  1. Download & unzip the Companion extension.
  2. Open chrome://extensions and turn on Developer mode (top-right).
  3. Click Load unpacked and select the unzipped phluff-companion folder.
Download Companion extension (.zip)

Chrome Web Store listing coming soon — for now it's a one-time unpacked load.

Turning on Developer Mode just lets you load Phluff's Companion — you can remove it anytime from chrome://extensions.

Not working?
  • Make sure Developer mode is on before clicking Load unpacked.
  • Pick the unzipped phluff-companion folder itself, not its parent or the .zip.
  • If Chrome shows a manifest error, re-download and unzip the Companion again.
3

Connect the extension to Phluff

  1. In Phluff, open Settings → Bridge and copy the pairing key.
  2. Click the Phluff Companion toolbar icon to open its popup.
  3. Paste the pairing key and click Save & reconnect.

Settings → Bridge should now show a green Extension connected dot.

4

Configure the MCP server in Claude

The MCP server runs via npx — no build or clone. Requires Node 20+. Pick your Claude host:

claude mcp add phluff --scope user -- npx -y phluff-mcp

Run this in your terminal, then restart Claude Code.

The MCP server and extension both connect to the app's local bridge using the same pairing key — keep Phluff running.

npx -y phluff-mcp runs Phluff's MCP helper locally — no telemetry. For Claude Desktop you're just adding one MCP entry: copy the block above, no coding required.

Not working?
  • Command not found? Install Node.js 20+, then re-run; check with node -v.
  • Restart your Claude host fully after adding the entry so it picks up the server.
  • Claude Desktop: confirm the JSON is valid (no trailing commas) before relaunching.
5

Arm & bind a site tab

  1. Open https://chatgpt.com/ and log in.
  2. Click the Companion icon → Arm this tab on the ChatGPT row (dot turns green).
  3. Click Bind targets, then the 3-click picker: input field → submit button → output/message area.

Bindings persist across restarts; arming is per session. Repeat per site you want to drive.

Not working?
  • Make sure the tab is both armed (green dot) and bound before driving it.
  • If the page layout changed, re-run Bind targets and re-pick the three elements.
  • Confirm you're signed in to the site — Phluff only drives the tab you control.
6

Verify it works

Ask Claude to take a full-page screenshot of the tab you bound — for example:

Use phluff_bridge_status to check the connection, then take a full-page screenshot of the bound ChatGPT tab

A connected bridge returns { connected: true }, and the screenshot saves under ~/Pictures/Phluff/.