Chrome Browser Setup

Connect the Claude Chrome extension so JFM can read live JS-rendered career pages.

Why Chrome?

Most company career boards — Greenhouse, Ashby, Workday, and many custom React SPAs — serve their job listings as JavaScript-rendered pages. A plain HTTP fetch returns only a loading skeleton with no actual roles. When Chrome is running with the Claude extension connected, JFM can navigate to these pages in a real browser and extract the fully rendered content.

The difference is significant: a Greenhouse or Samsara careers page that returns 0 results with a direct fetch typically returns 20–30 director-level roles when browsed via Chrome.

Prerequisites

  • Google Chrome — download here
  • Claude for Chrome extension — install from the Chrome Web Store (search “Claude for Chrome”)
  • Cowork — the Claude desktop app you already have

Chrome is an enhancement, not a requirement. If Chrome isn’t available during a search, JFM automatically falls back to Google site: searches, which index the rendered versions of JS career pages.

One-Time Setup

1. Install the extension

  1. Open Chrome → go to the Chrome Web Store
  2. Search “Claude for Chrome” by Anthropic → Add to Chrome
  3. The Claude icon will appear in your Chrome toolbar

2. Launch Chrome once and confirm the connection

Open Cowork and run /jfm:search or ask “check if Chrome is connected.” JFM calls the extension internally — if it responds, you’re ready. If not, make sure Chrome is open and the extension icon is visible in the toolbar.

For the extension to be available during scheduled or background searches, Chrome should start automatically when you log in.

macOS — Login Item:

  1. System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions
  2. Under Open at Login, click +
  3. Select /Applications/Google Chrome.app → Open

Windows — Startup folder:

  1. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, press Enter
  2. Create a shortcut to chrome.exe in that folder

4. Skip the profile picker on startup

If Chrome shows a profile chooser on launch, it waits for a click before loading — which means the extension isn’t active until you interact with it. Fix this:

  1. In Chrome, go to chrome://settings/ → search “On startup”
  2. Select Continue where you left off or Open the New Tab page

Or: in the profile picker itself, uncheck “Show this on startup”.

Lightweight Option: Background App Mode

For Safari-primary users who don’t want Chrome in the dock, enable background mode:

  1. chrome://settings/ → search “Continue running background apps”
  2. Toggle on

Chrome will stay running as a menu bar icon even after you close all windows, keeping the extension always available without occupying screen real estate.

Fallback Behavior

If Chrome isn’t connected when a search runs, JFM logs it and falls back automatically:

FallbackHow it works
Google site: searchQueries like site:job-boards.greenhouse.io/company "director" remote — Google indexes rendered pages
Aggregator mirrorsbuiltin.com, himalayas.app, and remotive.com re-host JDs as plain HTML

The search brief will note which sources used a fallback and which used live Chrome browsing.

Privacy

When connected, JFM opens URLs in a temporary Claude-managed tab group. It only visits URLs that are part of your configured search sources. It does not read your existing tabs, browsing history, passwords, or any other browser data. The tab group is cleaned up after each search sweep.