Security & Permissions

Exactly what Root asks for, and exactly what stays local

Root is intentionally small. The current public Chrome Web Store package is Manifest V3, uses narrowly scoped permissions, stores your workspace in the browser, and does not need a Root account or remote server to hold your notes.

Manifest V3 sidePanel + contextMenus + activeTab No Root account required

At a glance

Trust should come from specifics, not vibes

The current public Chrome Web Store package opens Research Draft in Chrome's side panel and adds an explicit right-click research action. It uses page access only when you choose Attach page or invoke that research action. It uses identity and optional Google API access only when you choose Root Connect. Your workspace content stays local unless you intentionally copy, export, share, or connect it through your own Google Drive. The app also surfaces Last backup and Workspace health locally, so safety is visible inside Root instead of living only in the docs.

What Chrome asks you to approve

The current public Chrome Web Store package opens a side panel for Research Draft, adds a deliberate right-click capture action, and can temporarily look at the active tab after you choose Attach page.

sidePanel

Root uses Chrome's side-panel surface so Research Draft can stay open beside the page you are browsing. The current package does not replace your new-tab page.

contextMenus

Root adds a right-click action for sending a selected excerpt or page reference into Research Draft with its source.

activeTab + optional tabs

Root does not ask for broad always-on site access. Attach page requests the optional capability it needs to read the active page title and URL after your action.

Optional Google connection

identity starts the Google consent flow. Optional Google API access and the narrow drive.file scope are used only after you choose Root Connect. Root does not request <all_urls> or watch every site in the background.

What Root reads in the current public package

Workspace content

Your items, snippets, task lines, tags, and local version history live in the browser. Root reads that local workspace so it can show the app itself.

Attached page title + URL

When you choose Attach page, Root reads the active page title and URL so it can add that source to Research Draft.

Selected text after your action

When you right-click selected text and choose the Root research action, Root receives that excerpt with its page source and adds it to Research Draft.

That is the important boundary: Root receives the page title and URL, or the text you explicitly selected, only after the corresponding action. It does not scrape full page text just because Root is installed.

What Root does not read by default

Not every tab Root does not ask for broad background access to all open tabs.
Not page text by default Attach page uses title and URL. Selected text is included only when you invoke Root's right-click research action.
Not your accounts The current beta does not require a Root login just to store and use the workspace.
No hidden cloud copy The current public Chrome package does not upload your workspace content to a Root server behind your back.

What network requests happen

For workspace content, the current public Chrome package is local-first. Your notes are not uploaded to a Root server just because you type into the workspace.

  • No Root account is required to use the current workspace.
  • No remote server is required for the current workspace content.
  • Root Connect is optional. When you choose it, supported Root surfaces read and write Root workspace files through your own Google Drive; Root does not keep a second hosted notes copy.
  • Export and import remain deliberate file actions, and Root Connect is not a complete backup or account-recovery service.
  • Copy, export, and browser AI use are all user-triggered. Something leaves Root only when you intentionally copy, paste, export, or share it.
  • Opening external links is still normal web behavior. If you click out to the Web Store, support docs, or another website, that page loads like any other website would.

Backup status and Workspace health are also generated locally from the same in-browser workspace. Opening those views does not upload your notes to a Root service.

Separate beta downloads

Some beta workflows are distributed separately from the public Chrome Web Store package. Root for Codex is a local Codex plugin download: it writes local Markdown drafts outside Root Workspace to a folder you choose or create, then Root Chrome can import those files after one folder permission step.

  • No Root account is included in the Root for Codex plugin.
  • No Root server or Google Drive sync is included in the Root for Codex plugin.
  • No MCP server is included in the current Root for Codex beta download.
  • Verify the zip before installing by comparing its SHA-256 checksum on the Codex page.

How to verify this yourself

  1. Open chrome://extensions and inspect the Root listing. You can confirm the current permission set and see that the build is Manifest V3.
  2. Use Inspect views on sidepanel.html or the extension service worker if you want to watch Root directly in Chrome DevTools.
  3. Open the Network tab in DevTools, then type in Research Draft, edit notes, or append something into Inbox. You should not see workspace content uploading to a Root server.
  4. Try Attach page and the right-click research action. You will see that page or selection context is added only after the corresponding user action.

If you want the broader local-first explanation too, the best companion pages are Privacy and Support.