# Getting started in your browser

This guide takes you from nothing installed to connected, in about two
minutes, on any desktop OS. It covers install, sign-in, connecting, and
where to get help. For every control and setting, read the
[browser tour](/docs/tour-browser).

URnetwork uses member-run exit devices. Providers do not receive your source
IP on relayed paths. One scope note: the extension has no sealed session —
your client device runs inside the operator, which translates the browser's
protocol into the network's — so what stands between the operator and your
content is the storage design
described in the [threat model](/docs/threat-model), not a seal. Read
[How URnetwork works](/docs/overview) for the full model.

## What you need

A desktop browser: Chrome and most Chromium browsers, Edge, or Firefox. The
extension proxies this browser's traffic and nothing else. It works by
configuring the browser's proxy settings, so everything the browser does
exits through URnetwork providers, and nothing else on your computer is
touched. It is not a device-wide VPN. For the whole machine, use the
URnetwork app for [Windows](/docs/getting-started-windows),
[macOS](/docs/getting-started-macos), or
[Linux](/docs/getting-started-linux).

The extension is also one half of one product. Sign in once at
[ur.io](https://ur.io) and the web app installs, sets up, connects, and
re-locates the extension for you; the extension is what enforces it inside
the browser. The popup drives all of it too, if you would rather not keep a
tab open.

## Install

Install from your browser's store:

- **Chrome** (and most Chromium browsers):
  [chromewebstore.google.com/detail/urnetwork/kpnklgbgjkihebbieiggfeokkddjbkfb](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/urnetwork/kpnklgbgjkihebbieiggfeokkddjbkfb)
- **Edge**:
  [microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/urnetwork/jegjndonglfogpmldpmokincfecdombi](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/urnetwork/jegjndonglfogpmldpmokincfecdombi)
- **Firefox**:
  [addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/urnetwork/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/urnetwork/)

Pin the icon to your toolbar; you will be opening the popup a lot. Or skip
the list: signed in at ur.io, the app offers the right store link for your
browser.

A note for Firefox tinkerers: a ZIP you load yourself via `about:debugging`
is temporary and disappears when Firefox restarts. Use the listing above.

Third-party security assessments, and their limits, are covered in the
[threat model](/docs/threat-model).

## Sign in

Easiest: sign in at [ur.io](https://ur.io) and press **Set up extension to
use your network**. The web app hands this browser your session directly,
with no code to copy, and then reads "Extension connected and ready to
use". From the popup instead, pick either path:

1. **Login with SSO.** Single sign-on: the same account you would use in
   the apps. It opens a web sign-in flow in a new tab; sign in or create
   your network there, and the extension picks up the session when the tab
   returns you. An email or phone one-time code is enough. To sign up with
   no email at all, sign the login message with a Solana or Bittensor
   wallet.
2. **Paste an auth code.** A short code that signs this browser into an
   account you already have; it cannot create one. Generate it in any
   URnetwork app or from your ur.io account panel, and paste it promptly.
   A ur.io code is single-use and expires about a minute after you make
   it.

New here? Take the SSO path. Every network starts on the free tier, a daily
data allowance that refreshes each day. Pro ($5/month or $40/year) replaces
it with a large monthly allowance. Current numbers:
[ur.io/products](https://ur.io/products).

## The proxy permission

There is no operating-system dialog. Adding the extension from the store is
the consent step: that is what lets it manage this browser's proxy
settings, and connecting later asks for nothing more.

One browser-level consent remains on Firefox. Firefox keeps extensions out
of Private Windows unless you allow "Run in Private Windows" in the
add-on's settings; until you do, private-window traffic bypasses the
proxy. Chromium browsers apply the proxy profile-wide, incognito included.

For what URnetwork records about your connections, read the
[threat model](/docs/threat-model).

## Connect

1. Open the popup from the toolbar icon and hit connect. **Best available**
   is the default: the network keeps picking fast, reliable providers for
   you.
2. The popup names your public address and says whether you are on
   URnetwork.

![The extension popup](/docs-assets/connect-extension.png)

### Choose a location

To choose where your traffic exits:

1. Open the location picker and type into **Search providers**. Left empty
   it lists countries; a search returns **Best matches** plus cities filed
   under their region. That is how you pick a city, not just a country.
2. Pick one, then connect.

Every entry carries a live provider count: how many member devices, real
people's phones, computers, and routers sharing spare bandwidth, can be
your exit right now. Counts rise and fall with the time of day. The
[overview](/docs/overview) explains the path your traffic takes and what
each party can see. The [tour](/docs/tour-browser) explains the popup's
settings and their trade-offs.

## Confirm it works

The popup names your public address and says whether you are actually on
URnetwork; [ur.io/ip](https://ur.io/ip) is the same check on the web. You
should see a residential address, an IP belonging to a real home connection
rather than a data center, in your chosen location. Different sites may see
different addresses: traffic spreads across a few providers at once, though
any given site consistently sees one.

## If something fails

Pages refusing to load usually means the kill switch is doing its job. It
ships on, subtitled *Blocks traffic on failure*: if the proxy connection
drops, the extension blocks the browser's traffic rather than silently
letting it fall back to your real connection. It health-checks every minute
and retries on its own; pages load again when it reconnects or you
disconnect. Turn the toggle off and a dropped connection fails open
instead. It guards this browser only.

[feedback.ur.io](https://feedback.ur.io) reaches the team. The
[tour](/docs/tour-browser) has the per-browser troubleshooting, and the
[FAQ](/docs/faq) answers common questions.

## What next

- **Take the [tour](/docs/tour-browser).** The proxy machinery per
  browser, kill-switch semantics (on by default), the geolocation
  override, health checks, what it collects (nothing), and
  troubleshooting.
- **Cover the whole machine.** The extension guards this browser only:
  [Windows](/docs/getting-started-windows),
  [macOS](/docs/getting-started-macos),
  [Linux](/docs/getting-started-linux),
  [Android](/docs/getting-started-android), and
  [iOS](/docs/getting-started-ios).
- **Read [How URnetwork works](/docs/overview).** Who the providers are,
  what they can see, and how the economics keep the network supplied.