Companion extension for the AdGuard desktop app — manage filtering right from the browser and hide annoying elements in two clicks.
AdGuard Browser Assistant is for users of the AdGuard desktop app (Windows/Mac) who want to see and control filtering without leaving the browser. Checking whether a site is filtered, allowlisting it, or reporting a missed ad otherwise means opening the desktop app — the extension puts those controls into the browser toolbar instead.
The extension does not filter traffic by itself: the desktop app does the filtering, and the extension is its browser-side companion UI. It shows the filtering status of the current tab and lets you toggle protection, pause filtering, block elements manually, and report websites in a couple of clicks.
This is a replacement for the legacy assistant userscript we were using before that.
- Installation
- Quick Start
- Features
- Permissions
- FAQ / Troubleshooting
- Browser compatibility
- Acknowledgments
- Documentation
Important: this extension requires the AdGuard desktop app to function. Install AdGuard for Mac or Windows first, then use this extension to expand the app's capabilities.
- Install AdGuard for Windows or Mac.
- Install the extension from your browser's web store — links for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera are on the product page.
- After installation, confirm the consent agreement on the post-install page.
- Make sure the AdGuard desktop app is installed and running.
- Click the AdGuard Browser Assistant icon in the browser toolbar.
- The popup shows the filtering status of the current tab. From here you can toggle protection for the site, block an element, or pause filtering — the extension is active right away.
- View the filtering status of the current tab: protection state, number of blocked ads, and HTTPS filtering/certificate details.
- Enable or disable filtering on the current website.
- Pause all filtering for 30 seconds.
- Remove all user rules for the current page in one click.
- Jump to the desktop app's filtering log or settings for this page.
- Launch the Assistant overlay from the popup or the context menu, select any annoying element on the page (text, image, video, banner), and remove it. A user filter rule is created automatically.
- Report a website (e.g. when an ad snuck through) directly from the popup or the context menu.
- Right-click a page to enable/disable filtering on this website, block ads on it, report an issue, pause/resume AdGuard protection, or open AdGuard settings and the filtering log.
- The context menu integration can be turned off on the extension's options page.
| Permission | Reason |
|---|---|
nativeMessaging |
Communicate with the AdGuard desktop app (native host) |
tabs |
Indicate website filtering status by changing the icon color |
activeTab |
Show filtering status and stats for the current tab |
scripting |
Inject the element-blocking Assistant overlay into the page |
contextMenus |
Add filtering actions to the page context menu |
storage |
Save extension settings and the consent agreement |
The popup says "AdGuard is not installed or configured incorrectly". Install the AdGuard desktop app for Windows or Mac and make sure it is running.
The popup says "AdGuard is not running" or "AdGuard is not updated". Launch the desktop app, or update it to the latest version — the extension needs a compatible app version to talk to.
The icon or menu says "AdGuard cannot run on this domain". Some pages — browser internal pages, other extensions' pages, web stores — are inaccessible to extensions, so filtering status and controls are unavailable there.
Why isn't HTTPS filtered on my bank's website? By default, HTTPS traffic of payment systems and banks is not filtered. You can enable filtering for such a site yourself: click the yellow "lock" icon in the popup.
The popup says "Trial has expired". Filtering is disabled until the AdGuard license is renewed or purchased in the desktop app.
| Browser | Version |
|---|---|
| Chromium-based browsers | ✅ 88 |
| Firefox | ✅ 109 |
| Opera | ✅ 74 |
This software wouldn't have been possible without:
For a full list of all npm packages in use, please take a look at
package.json file.
- Development — build, test, and release workflows
- Changelog — version history
- Firefox beta signing — signing Firefox beta builds
- LLM agent rules — AI-assisted development guidelines