Manual Install

Install the Pyze extension and native host helper on a single machine for testing or personal use

Use this guide to install Pyze on one machine: your own device, a test machine, or an unmanaged browser that is not covered by an enterprise deployment. No admin rights are needed.

There are two steps: install the browser extension, then run the native host helper.

Prerequisites: Your Pyze contact or administrator has sent you:

  • The Chrome Web Store link, or the extension package pyze-<customer>-<version>.zip
  • The native host helper folder for your operating system: pyze-native-host-<customer>-windows or pyze-native-host-<customer>-macos

Step 1: Install the Extension

Use whichever applies: the store, or the package your Pyze contact sent you.

Option A: From the Chrome Web Store

Open the store link your Pyze contact gave you.

  • Chrome: click Add to Chrome.
  • Edge: if the link is an Edge Add-ons listing, click Get. If it is a Chrome Web Store listing, allow extensions from other stores when asked, then click Add.

Continue to Step 2.

Option B: From the Package

Extract the extension

Before installing, extract the extension files to a permanent location.

  1. Locate the downloaded ZIP file (pyze-<customer>-<version>.zip)
  2. Right-click the ZIP file and select Extract All
  3. Choose a permanent location, for example:
    • Windows: C:\Extensions\pyze-extension
    • macOS: ~/Extensions/pyze-extension

The package carries a pinned signing key, so the extension keeps the same ID that the native host trusts. Load only the package Pyze sent you. A store build loaded unpacked gets a different ID and the native host rejects it.

Load the extension

Select your browser below and follow the installation steps.

Enable Developer Mode

  1. Open Google Chrome
  2. Navigate to chrome://extensions/
  3. Toggle Developer mode ON (top-right corner)
Chrome extensions page with Developer mode enabled
× Chrome extensions page with Developer mode enabled

Load the Extension

  1. Click Load unpacked
  2. Navigate to and select the extracted pyze-extension folder
  3. The Pyze <Customer> extension appears in your extensions list
Chrome extensions page with Pyze extension installed
× Chrome extensions page with Pyze extension installed

If Chrome shows a “Disable developer mode extensions” message at start-up, close it. The extension stays on.

Enable Developer Mode

  1. Open Microsoft Edge
  2. Navigate to edge://extensions/
  3. Toggle Developer mode ON (bottom-left corner)
Edge extensions page with Developer mode enabled
× Edge extensions page with Developer mode enabled

Load the Extension

  1. Click Load unpacked
  2. Navigate to and select the extracted pyze-extension folder
  3. The Pyze <Customer> extension appears in your extensions list
Edge extensions page with Pyze extension installed
× Edge extensions page with Pyze extension installed

Step 2: Install the Native Host Helper

The native host is a small local helper that reads your OS username and hands the extension a hashed identifier (see Privacy note). Without it, the extension cannot identify the signed-in user.

You were given a folder for your operating system. Unzip it and keep all the files together. Do not move the files out of the folder.

  • Windows: pyze-native-host-<customer>-windows
  • macOS: pyze-native-host-<customer>-macos

  1. Open the unzipped folder
  2. Double-click install-windows.bat. If Windows SmartScreen warns you, click More info, then Run anyway
  3. Wait for “Installation complete”, then close the window
  4. Fully close Chrome or Edge (every window) and reopen it

  1. Open the unzipped folder
  2. Right-click install-macos.command and choose Open, then Open again. Right-click is needed only the first time
    • On macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later this shortcut no longer works. If macOS blocks the script, open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll to the message about the blocked script, click Open Anyway, then run it again
  3. Wait for “Installation complete”
  4. Quit Chrome or Edge with Cmd + Q and reopen it

Done

Pyze now runs automatically on the approved sites. Nothing else is needed.


Removing Pyze

  1. Remove the extension on chrome://extensions/ (Edge: edge://extensions/)
  2. Run uninstall-windows.bat (Windows) or uninstall-macos.command (macOS) from the same native host folder you installed from

Troubleshooting

Issue Solution
Extension not loading Verify the extracted folder contains manifest.json and Developer mode is enabled
Extension disabled after restart Re-enable Developer mode and reload using Load unpacked
Folder selection fails Ensure you’re selecting the folder containing manifest.json, not a parent folder
Extension not visible Check that the extension toggle is enabled in the extensions list
Users not identified Confirm the native host installer reported “Installation complete”, that the helper files are still in the unzipped folder, and that you fully closed and reopened the browser afterwards
“Access to the specified native messaging host is forbidden” The native host does not trust the extension’s ID. Load the package Pyze sent you (not a store build), re-run the native host installer, then fully restart the browser

Privacy Note

The native host reads your OS username and sends only a SHA-256 hash of it. The username itself is never sent. The hash is a stable pseudonymous identifier, so the same user gets the same ID on every machine.

Last modified 0001-01-01