Setup guide

Installed to organized in about two minutes

No account, no admin approval, no API tokens. It works at any school with Canvas.

1 · Install the extension

Select your browser

2 · Let it read your Canvas

Log into your school's Canvas and open the extension side panel (click the icon).
Browse your dashboard, a couple of courses and the grades pages. It builds from what is on screen and never clicks or submits anything.
Open each course's syllabus page once so it can read the grading weights.

3 · Optional: unlock the Solver and study tools

Create an account (only needed for the Solver and purchases).
On your account page, press Get a link code and paste it into the extension's Assist tab.
In Assist, pick a course and confirm its syllabus permits AI study help. It is required, per course, before any AI runs, and recorded permanently.
Buy a credit pack (from $1.99) or a Study plan ($9.99 a month) only when you need one.

4 · Optional: the desktop app (Windows)

The extension reads Canvas; the app shows what it found.

Download GradeGem for Windows (Windows 10 or 11, about 3 MB, no installer).
Unzip it anywhere and keep the two files together: GradeGem.exe needs WebView2Loader.dll beside it. Run GradeGem.exe.
The first time, Windows warns about a new publisher. Click More info, then Run anyway.
Sign in with your email and type the 6-digit code. Use the code, not the link: the link signs in your browser.
In the extension, open Settings and switch on Sync my dashboard to the desktop app. Class and assignment names, links, due dates and your progress sync to your account for the app; grades never leave your browser. Turn it off any time.

Mac: not yet.

Troubleshooting

The panel says “nothing here yet”

Browse a few Canvas pages: the dashboard, a course, its grades page. Data appears as you visit pages; nothing is fetched behind your back.

My school's Canvas is at its own domain

Usually nothing to do: GradeGem recognizes Canvas at any address, including something like canvas.yourschool.edu. If the panel stays empty there, open it on that page, accept the prompt to turn GradeGem on for your school's address, and reload.

Grades look wrong

Visit the course's Grades page in Canvas so the latest scores get read, and check that the syllabus page was visited once (weights come from there). The simulator is only as good as the weights it can see.

The extension turned off or disappeared

A .zip install stays on only while Developer mode is on, and it runs from the folder you picked. If Developer mode went off, switch it back on in chrome://extensions and GradeGem comes back as it was. If the folder moved or was deleted, unzip it again and load it with Load unpacked. The store versions, once they are out, need neither step.