LaBrowser / Docs
Examples Console

Getting Started

What LaBrowser is, how to set up your first study, and system requirements.

What is LaBrowser

LaBrowser is a research browser that captures every participant interaction as structured data. Participants use it instead of their normal browser for the duration of a study. Everything inside LaBrowser is logged; everything outside is untouched.

LaBrowser is not a browser extension. It is a full standalone browser for research studies, which means event capture works reliably across websites without extension compatibility problems or site-specific workarounds.

LaBrowser is designed to capture study activity reliably across websites without the compatibility issues that often come with browser extensions.

If your study needs controlled changes to the page itself — for example hiding recommendation modules or labeling interface elements — use site augmentation templates in the Study Console. The changes are operator-configured and recorded as structured events, so downstream analysis knows what the participant saw.

Key Capabilities

  • Full event capture — navigation, clicks, scrolls, search queries, chat prompts, AI responses
  • Domain enforcement — whitelist which sites participants can visit
  • Experiment pane — show instructions or custom UI alongside browsing
  • Site augmentation — apply controlled, auditable changes to live pages: hide recommendation modules, label interface elements, or compare conditions
  • Structured parsers — auto-detect Google searches, ChatGPT conversations, and more
  • Local-first recovery — sessions persist locally and resume syncing after interruptions
  • Privacy boundary — everything in LaBrowser is logged, normal browser is not. Email addresses are anonymized automatically.
  • Multi-tab browsing — real tabs, real address bar, real back/forward navigation

Quick Start

Setup is usually handled for you

Most LaBrowser studies have their configuration and setup handled for you as a managed service — you typically won't build this by hand. The steps below describe the full setup so you can understand what's involved for your study, or do it yourself if you prefer.
  1. Create a study in the Study Console — set allowed domains, capture rules, and a start URL.
  2. Publish the study — this generates a join link for participants.
  3. Share the join link — participants receive a start code and download LaBrowser.
  4. Participants browse — events are captured automatically, stored locally, and uploaded in batches.
  5. Analyze data — view events in the console, run parsers, export to CSV or JSON.

For a real recruitment run, use the First Live Study guide as your study checklist. It covers study preflight, participant dry runs, live monitoring, and recovery handling.

System Requirements

LaBrowser app (participants)

  • macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon and Intel)
  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit)

Study Console (researchers)

  • Modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge

No special infrastructure is required. LaBrowser is available at labrowser.app.

Architecture Overview

LaBrowser has three main components:

  • LaBrowser app runs on the participant's computer. It captures study activity, keeps data safe if the session is interrupted, and uploads data automatically while the participant works.
  • Study Console is the researcher-facing workspace for creating studies, managing participants, reviewing session data, and exporting results.
  • LaBrowser service stores study data, manages sessions, and runs parsers that turn raw events into structured analysis outputs.

Data flows one way: from the participant's LaBrowser app into LaBrowser, and then into the Study Console for researchers to review.