# Anouk

> Anouk is a lightweight, MIT-licensed framework from Skelf Research for building AI-powered browser extensions. It plugs into any OpenAI-compatible provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Together.xyz, Ollama, Hugging Face Inference) and ships a CLI scaffold, a per-request response cache, a per-provider rate-limit queue, and a runtime settings panel.

Anouk targets Chrome / Chromium-style Manifest V3 extensions today. It is distributed on npm as `anouk` and developed in the open at github.com/skelf-research/anouk. The architectural bet: the model call belongs in the extension, not a backend you operate — the user supplies their own provider URL, key, and model in the settings panel, and the extension calls the provider directly over fetch. No server on the critical path.

## Product

- [Home](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/): Overview, what-is, code showcase, and providers
- [Features](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/features/): Provider adapter, cache, rate-limit queue, settings panel, CLI
- [How it works](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/how-it-works/): Architecture — config, cache, queue, direct fetch
- [Quickstart](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/quickstart/): From npm install to a loaded extension in six steps
- [FAQ](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/faq/): Providers, config, caching, browser support, scope
- [Glossary](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/glossary/): AIService, configManager, cache key, providerUrl, and more
- [About](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/about/): Why a framework for the AI half of a browser extension

## Use cases

- [All use cases](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/use-cases/): Writing assistant, page summarizer, local Ollama, inbox copilot
- [AI writing assistant in the sidebar](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/use-cases/ai-writing-assistant/): A sidebar that rewrites selected text with the user's own model, cache, and queue — no backend
- [One-click page summarizer](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/use-cases/page-summarizer/): A toolbar button that summarizes the current page, URL-keyed cache, article text stays off any server you run
- [Private, local-only extension with Ollama](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/use-cases/local-ollama-extension/): Point providerUrl at a local Ollama server for AI features with no cloud call at all
- [Inbox copilot for webmail](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/use-cases/inbox-copilot/): Draft replies inside webmail, thread-keyed cache and per-provider queue, no server

## Compare

- [All comparisons](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/compare/): Side-by-side of Anouk against other extension frameworks
- [vs Plasmo](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/compare/plasmo/): Anouk is the AI runtime; Plasmo is the build framework — they compose
- [vs WXT](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/compare/wxt/): Anouk is not a build tool; import it into a WXT-built extension

## Blog

- [All posts](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/blog/): Notes on distribution, scaffolding, and client-side AI
- [Browser extensions as AI app distribution](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/blog/browser-extensions-as-ai-app-distribution/): Why an extension is one of the best-shaped distribution channels for an AI feature
- [What ships in 5 minutes of scaffolding vs 5 days of hand-rolling](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/blog/scaffold-in-5-minutes-vs-5-days/): A line-by-line accounting of the AI plumbing anouk init gives you instead of hand-rolling
- [Why AI features belong in the extension, not the backend](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/blog/ai-belongs-in-the-extension-not-the-backend/): The architectural argument for client-side AI calls — latency, privacy, and cost

## Key facts

- Runtime: AIService.call(instruction, content, requestId, cacheKey?) returns a plain string.
- Cache is keyed by `${requestId}_${cacheKey}`.
- Providers: any OpenAI chat-completions-compatible endpoint (OpenAI, Anthropic, Together.xyz, Ollama, Hugging Face Inference).
- Config: runtime settings panel (persists to chrome.storage.local) or a code-supplied aiConfig.js.
- CLI: `anouk init <name>`, `anouk generate extension|service|config`, `anouk help`. Build via esbuild (src/* → dist/).
- Not a build tool; does not target Firefox/Safari today. License: MIT. Author: Skelf Research.

## Official documentation

- [Full docs](https://docs.skelfresearch.com/anouk/): API reference, configuration, recipes

## Organisation

- [Skelf Research](https://www.skelfresearch.com): the org behind Anouk and sibling projects

## Optional

- [RSS](https://anouk.skelfresearch.com/rss.xml): Blog feed
- [GitHub](https://github.com/skelf-research/anouk): Source code, issues, PRs
- [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/anouk): Published package