Easiest path: sign in at animevocab.com/app — the app walks you through download and install with copy-paste links. No GitHub account needed.
Direct download: animevocab-chrome-extension.zip
- Download the zip from the link above (or from the Cloud app).
- Unzip — Windows: right-click → Extract All. Mac: double-click the zip. Open the folder and confirm manifest.json is inside.
- In Chrome, go to
chrome://extensions(paste in the address bar). - Turn Developer mode ON (top-right toggle).
- Click Load unpacked → select the unzipped folder (not the zip file).
- Pin the AnimeVocab icon. Open YouTube, Netflix, or Crunchyroll and watch with subtitles on.
Developer mode is required until the Chrome Web Store listing is approved. This is the same extension — just installed manually.
Open YouTube → play any anime clip → turn on Japanese captions (CC menu) → within a minute or two a vocabulary card should appear.
- Click the toolbar icon for stats, streak, and recent words.
- Settings (popup footer): cooldown, difficulty, export, reset.
- Pause mode (default) for interactive cards; switch to Notify or Off in the popup.
- YouTube (Japanese caption track)
- Netflix (Japanese subtitles in player)
- Crunchyroll and others via Listening Mode (transcribes audio)
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Load unpacked greyed out | Enable Developer mode first |
| Invalid manifest | You picked the .zip — select the folder with manifest.json |
| No cards on Crunchyroll | Use Listening Mode; JP subs often unavailable outside Japan |
| Cloud app not linking | Refresh animevocab.com/app while signed in after installing |