Extension help
Setting it up, and what it tells you.
Everything the extension can say to you, and what to do about it. If you are just looking at what it does, the extension page is the shorter read.
First run
Three steps. Badges stay off until step two passes.
- Where's your BotShark? Pre-filled with the hosted app. Only change it if you run your own server.
- Paste your API key, then press Test connection. It tells you which account and plan the key belongs to before you go anywhere near X.
- Choose what happens to flagged posts — badges only, dim, or hide. Dim and hide can be undone per account at any time.
Firefox asks for permission to run on x.com at this point rather than at install. Safari asks per site the first time you visit.
What each badge means
Colour only when there is a reason.
When there is no score yet
Three things the popover says instead of a verdict.
Not scanned yet.A scan uses one monthly check. The extension is included with Pro.
This score is getting old.Accounts change. Rescan for a current read — the old report stays where it is.
When something is wrong
Four different problems, four different messages. It never just shows a question mark.
- You're offline. Badges come back on their own when you are. Nothing to do.
- Can't reach the server. Check the server address in settings. If you are on the hosted app and this persists, it is us, not you.
- Your API key was rejected. Badges pause until it is fixed, and nothing is sent in the meantime. Paste a fresh key in settings and press Test connection.
- Monthly check limit reached. Accounts that were already scored keep their badges. New scans wait until the allowance resets. Pro includes 1,000 checks and the extension.
Hiding and un-hiding
Anything that disappears can be brought back.
Hidden posts leave one line behind, not a gap. "Never hide this account" is remembered across devices.
Opening a badge to look at an account never counts as engaging with it. Only replying, liking or following does.
Which browsers
One codebase, four targets.
- Chrome — supported.
- Edge — supported; the Chrome build runs unchanged.
- Firefox — supported. Firefox asks for permission to run on x.com at first run rather than at install.
- Safari — in progress. Safari asks for permission per site the first time you visit.
What it sends
Handles, and nothing else.
The extension sends the handles it sees on the page so it can look up scores for them. It does not send post text, your timeline, your own posts, or anything from any other site. It only runs on x.com.
Layout-drift reports — which tell us when X changes its markup and breaks the badges — contain the page type only, never handles or text, and can be turned off in settings at any time.