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User Guide

Parachute · Chrome Extension

Getting Started

Installation

  1. Visit the Parachute page on the Chrome Web Store
  2. Click Add to Chrome
  3. Confirm the permissions when prompted

The Parachute icon appears in your browser toolbar. Click it to get started.

First-time Setup

The first time you click the Parachute icon, a short setup guide walks you through:

  1. Welcome. What Parachute does.
  2. Cloud setup. Connect Google Drive and/or Dropbox, enable local backup.
  3. Device name. Auto-detected from your computer, editable. This labels your backups so you can tell which machine they came from.
  4. Backup settings. Choose backup frequency (default: every 12 hours) and retention limit (default: 30 backups).
  5. Ready to go. Summary of your configuration with option to run your first backup immediately.

The setup takes under 30 seconds. You can re-run it anytime from Settings. If the popup closes mid-setup (e.g. during cloud login), it resumes where you left off.

After setup

The main popup shows:

  • Live tab, group, and window counts
  • Cloud provider toggle switches
  • Local backup toggle
  • Restore from backup button
  • Last backup and next backup times

FAQ

What does Parachute do?

Parachute silently backs up all your open Chrome tabs and tab groups on a schedule. If Chrome ever loses your tabs, a crash, a bad update, an accidental close, you restore exactly what you had.

Where do my backups go?

Directly to your own Google Drive, Dropbox, or a local file on your computer. We never see or store your data. There is no intermediary server.

Does Parachute read my page content?

No. Parachute captures tab titles and URLs for backup. It never reads page content, cookies, passwords, form data, or browsing history.

What about incognito tabs?

Incognito windows are never backed up. This is by design and cannot be changed.

Will it slow down my browser?

No. Parachute uses zero CPU and zero memory between backups. It wakes on schedule, takes a snapshot in milliseconds, and goes back to sleep.

Can I restore to a different computer?

Yes. If both computers are connected to the same cloud account, you can restore a backup from one machine on another. The device name tells you which machine each backup came from.

Can I choose which tabs to restore?

Yes. You preview every tab before restoring, with checkboxes to include or exclude individual tabs. You can also choose whether restored tabs load immediately or stay inactive to save memory.

Is it free?

Yes. Parachute is free to use.

How do I get help?

Reach us at unspokentools@gmail.com, or read the detailed sections below.

Backups

Manual Backup

Click Backup All Tabs in the popup. This immediately:

  1. Captures all open tabs across all normal windows (incognito is never included)
  2. Saves a local file to your Downloads folder (if local backup is on)
  3. Uploads to any connected cloud providers

Automatic Backup

Parachute runs automatic backups using Chrome’s alarm system. Two scheduling modes are available (configurable in Settings):

  • Interval mode (default): Backup every X hours (30 min, 1h, 6h, 12h, or 24h). Default is every 12 hours.
  • Daily mode: Backup once per day at a specific time you choose.

Backups happen silently in the background. You don’t need Chrome to be in focus.

If your computer is off when a scheduled backup is due, Chrome runs it the next time the browser opens.

What gets captured

  • All open tabs (URL, title, pinned status)
  • All tab groups (name, color, collapsed state)
  • All normal Chrome windows
  • Device name and timestamp

What is NOT captured

  • Incognito windows (by design, never)
  • Internal Chrome pages (settings, extensions, etc.)
  • Page content, cookies, passwords, or browsing history

Cloud Backup

Google Drive

  1. Toggle Google Drive On in the popup
  2. Sign in with your Google account and grant Parachute access
  3. Parachute creates a “Parachute” folder in your Drive
  4. All backups are uploaded there

Parachute can only access files it creates. It cannot read, modify, or delete any other files in your Drive.

Retention: by default, the 30 most recent backups per device are kept. Older ones are automatically deleted. You can change this in Settings.

Disconnecting: toggle Google Drive Off. This removes the connection from the extension. Existing backup files in Drive are not deleted.

Dropbox

  1. Toggle Dropbox On in the popup
  2. Sign in with your Dropbox account
  3. Backups go to /Apps/Parachute backup/

Parachute can only access its own app folder. It cannot see the rest of your Dropbox.

Retention: same as Drive, configurable in Settings (default 30 per device).

Disconnecting: toggle Dropbox Off. The connection is revoked and removed.

Switching accounts: disconnect first, then reconnect. Parachute forces re-authentication each time so you can pick a different account.

Using Both

You can connect both Google Drive and Dropbox simultaneously. Each backup uploads to both. They operate independently. If one fails, the other still works.

Local Backup

When enabled, each backup saves a file to your Downloads folder inside a TabBackups/ subfolder.

The subfolder name is configurable in Settings.

Note: Chrome only allows saving within the Downloads directory. A custom path outside of Downloads is not possible.

Turning off local backup

Toggle Local Backup to Off in the popup. Auto-backups will still upload to connected cloud providers but won’t save a local file.

Settings

Click Settings in the popup footer to open the settings page. All changes auto-save immediately.

Device Name

Your device name labels backups so you can tell which machine they came from. Auto-detected on first install, editable at any time.

Backup Schedule

Two modes are available (a green dot indicates the active mode):

Every X hours (default): Backs up on a rolling interval. Options: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours (default), or 24 hours.

Daily at time: Backs up once per day at a specific time you choose. Useful if you want a consistent daily snapshot, e.g. at 09:00 when you start work.

In both modes, if Chrome wasn’t running at the scheduled time (laptop closed, browser quit), the backup runs automatically the next time Chrome is opened.

Retention

Maximum number of backups to keep per device in cloud storage. Options: 10, 30 (default), 60, 90, or Unlimited. Oldest backups are automatically deleted when the limit is exceeded.

This applies to both Google Drive and Dropbox. Local files are not affected by this setting.

Run Setup Guide

Re-runs the first-time setup experience. Useful if you want to reconfigure your settings from scratch or if you skipped steps during initial setup.

Restoring Tabs

From Cloud Backup

  1. Click Restore from Backup in the popup
  2. All backups from connected cloud providers appear in a scrollable list, sorted by date
  3. Click a backup to download and preview it

From Local File

  1. Click Restore from Backup
  2. Under Local File, click Choose file
  3. Select a backup file from your computer

Preview and Selection

After selecting a backup, you see a full preview:

  • Every tab listed with title and domain
  • Checkboxes to include/exclude individual tabs
  • Select all / deselect all per window
  • Collapsible tab groups (click the group name to expand/collapse)
  • Pinned tabs marked with a pin icon

Load Mode

Choose how restored tabs open:

  • Active: Tabs open and load their content immediately.
  • Inactive (default): Tabs open with the URL set but content does not load until you click the tab. Saves memory and bandwidth.

Note: The first tab in each restored window always loads (Chrome requires at least one active tab per window). All other tabs respect your load mode choice.

Restoring

  1. Select the tabs you want
  2. Choose your load mode
  3. Click Restore

Parachute creates new window(s) with your selected tabs, preserving tab groups (name, color, collapsed state), pinned tabs, and tab order. A notification confirms completion.

Privacy

  • Backups go to your cloud storage or your local disk. Not our servers.
  • We never read page content, cookies, passwords, or browsing history.
  • Tab URLs and titles are captured for backup purposes only and are never sent to us.
  • Incognito windows are never captured.
  • Anonymous usage analytics help us improve the product. No tab URLs, page content, or personal information is ever collected.

For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

Contact

Questions or feedback? Reach us at unspokentools@gmail.com.

User Guide

Parachute · Chrome Extension

Getting Started

Installation

  1. Visit the Parachute page on the Chrome Web Store
  2. Click Add to Chrome
  3. Confirm the permissions when prompted

The Parachute icon appears in your browser toolbar. Click it to get started.

First-time Setup

The first time you click the Parachute icon, a short setup guide walks you through:

  1. Welcome. What Parachute does.
  2. Cloud setup. Connect Google Drive and/or Dropbox, enable local backup.
  3. Device name. Auto-detected from your computer, editable. This labels your backups so you can tell which machine they came from.
  4. Backup settings. Choose backup frequency (default: every 12 hours) and retention limit (default: 30 backups).
  5. Ready to go. Summary of your configuration with option to run your first backup immediately.

The setup takes under 30 seconds. You can re-run it anytime from Settings. If the popup closes mid-setup (e.g. during cloud login), it resumes where you left off.

After setup

The main popup shows:

  • Live tab, group, and window counts
  • Cloud provider toggle switches
  • Local backup toggle
  • Restore from backup button
  • Last backup and next backup times

FAQ

What does Parachute do?

Parachute silently backs up all your open Chrome tabs and tab groups on a schedule. If Chrome ever loses your tabs, a crash, a bad update, an accidental close, you restore exactly what you had.

Where do my backups go?

Directly to your own Google Drive, Dropbox, or a local file on your computer. We never see or store your data. There is no intermediary server.

Does Parachute read my page content?

No. Parachute captures tab titles and URLs for backup. It never reads page content, cookies, passwords, form data, or browsing history.

What about incognito tabs?

Incognito windows are never backed up. This is by design and cannot be changed.

Will it slow down my browser?

No. Parachute uses zero CPU and zero memory between backups. It wakes on schedule, takes a snapshot in milliseconds, and goes back to sleep.

Can I restore to a different computer?

Yes. If both computers are connected to the same cloud account, you can restore a backup from one machine on another. The device name tells you which machine each backup came from.

Can I choose which tabs to restore?

Yes. You preview every tab before restoring, with checkboxes to include or exclude individual tabs. You can also choose whether restored tabs load immediately or stay inactive to save memory.

Is it free?

Yes. Parachute is free to use.

How do I get help?

Reach us at unspokentools@gmail.com, or read the detailed sections below.

Backups

Manual Backup

Click Backup All Tabs in the popup. This immediately:

  1. Captures all open tabs across all normal windows (incognito is never included)
  2. Saves a local file to your Downloads folder (if local backup is on)
  3. Uploads to any connected cloud providers

Automatic Backup

Parachute runs automatic backups using Chrome’s alarm system. Two scheduling modes are available (configurable in Settings):

  • Interval mode (default): Backup every X hours (30 min, 1h, 6h, 12h, or 24h). Default is every 12 hours.
  • Daily mode: Backup once per day at a specific time you choose.

Backups happen silently in the background. You don’t need Chrome to be in focus.

If your computer is off when a scheduled backup is due, Chrome runs it the next time the browser opens.

What gets captured

  • All open tabs (URL, title, pinned status)
  • All tab groups (name, color, collapsed state)
  • All normal Chrome windows
  • Device name and timestamp

What is NOT captured

  • Incognito windows (by design, never)
  • Internal Chrome pages (settings, extensions, etc.)
  • Page content, cookies, passwords, or browsing history

Cloud Backup

Google Drive

  1. Toggle Google Drive On in the popup
  2. Sign in with your Google account and grant Parachute access
  3. Parachute creates a “Parachute” folder in your Drive
  4. All backups are uploaded there

Parachute can only access files it creates. It cannot read, modify, or delete any other files in your Drive.

Retention: by default, the 30 most recent backups per device are kept. Older ones are automatically deleted. You can change this in Settings.

Disconnecting: toggle Google Drive Off. This removes the connection from the extension. Existing backup files in Drive are not deleted.

Dropbox

  1. Toggle Dropbox On in the popup
  2. Sign in with your Dropbox account
  3. Backups go to /Apps/Parachute backup/

Parachute can only access its own app folder. It cannot see the rest of your Dropbox.

Retention: same as Drive, configurable in Settings (default 30 per device).

Disconnecting: toggle Dropbox Off. The connection is revoked and removed.

Switching accounts: disconnect first, then reconnect. Parachute forces re-authentication each time so you can pick a different account.

Using Both

You can connect both Google Drive and Dropbox simultaneously. Each backup uploads to both. They operate independently. If one fails, the other still works.

Local Backup

When enabled, each backup saves a file to your Downloads folder inside a TabBackups/ subfolder.

The subfolder name is configurable in Settings.

Note: Chrome only allows saving within the Downloads directory. A custom path outside of Downloads is not possible.

Turning off local backup

Toggle Local Backup to Off in the popup. Auto-backups will still upload to connected cloud providers but won’t save a local file.

Settings

Click Settings in the popup footer to open the settings page. All changes auto-save immediately.

Device Name

Your device name labels backups so you can tell which machine they came from. Auto-detected on first install, editable at any time.

Backup Schedule

Two modes are available (a green dot indicates the active mode):

Every X hours (default): Backs up on a rolling interval. Options: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours (default), or 24 hours.

Daily at time: Backs up once per day at a specific time you choose. Useful if you want a consistent daily snapshot, e.g. at 09:00 when you start work.

In both modes, if Chrome wasn’t running at the scheduled time (laptop closed, browser quit), the backup runs automatically the next time Chrome is opened.

Retention

Maximum number of backups to keep per device in cloud storage. Options: 10, 30 (default), 60, 90, or Unlimited. Oldest backups are automatically deleted when the limit is exceeded.

This applies to both Google Drive and Dropbox. Local files are not affected by this setting.

Run Setup Guide

Re-runs the first-time setup experience. Useful if you want to reconfigure your settings from scratch or if you skipped steps during initial setup.

Restoring Tabs

From Cloud Backup

  1. Click Restore from Backup in the popup
  2. All backups from connected cloud providers appear in a scrollable list, sorted by date
  3. Click a backup to download and preview it

From Local File

  1. Click Restore from Backup
  2. Under Local File, click Choose file
  3. Select a backup file from your computer

Preview and Selection

After selecting a backup, you see a full preview:

  • Every tab listed with title and domain
  • Checkboxes to include/exclude individual tabs
  • Select all / deselect all per window
  • Collapsible tab groups (click the group name to expand/collapse)
  • Pinned tabs marked with a pin icon

Load Mode

Choose how restored tabs open:

  • Active: Tabs open and load their content immediately.
  • Inactive (default): Tabs open with the URL set but content does not load until you click the tab. Saves memory and bandwidth.

Note: The first tab in each restored window always loads (Chrome requires at least one active tab per window). All other tabs respect your load mode choice.

Restoring

  1. Select the tabs you want
  2. Choose your load mode
  3. Click Restore

Parachute creates new window(s) with your selected tabs, preserving tab groups (name, color, collapsed state), pinned tabs, and tab order. A notification confirms completion.

Privacy

  • Backups go to your cloud storage or your local disk. Not our servers.
  • We never read page content, cookies, passwords, or browsing history.
  • Tab URLs and titles are captured for backup purposes only and are never sent to us.
  • Incognito windows are never captured.
  • Anonymous usage analytics help us improve the product. No tab URLs, page content, or personal information is ever collected.

For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

Contact

Questions or feedback? Reach us at unspokentools@gmail.com.