Ever thought browsing was too easy? That you could just... click on any link and go anywhere? Well, those days are over, friend. Welcome to CostlyBrowsing - the Chrome extension that holds your entire internet experience hostage until you pay tribute to a cat. Yes, a cat.
CostlyBrowsing is a Chrome extension that blocks every single website by default. Want to visit Reddit? Locked. Need to check your email? Locked. Trying to do actual work? Sorry, locked.
The only way to unlock websites is by earning coins... and the only way to earn coins is by staring at a picture of a cat. We're not kidding. There's literally a page where coins spawn while you gaze upon feline majesty. It's simultaneously the best and worst productivity tool ever created.
- Google Chrome (or any Chromium-based browser like Edge, Brave, etc.)
- A sense of humor (mandatory)
- Low expectations for productivity (recommended)
-
Download the Extension
- Go to the Releases page
- Download the latest release ZIP file (e.g.,
V1.0.zip) - Extract the ZIP file to a folder on your computer
-
Open Chrome Extensions Page
- Open Chrome and navigate to
chrome://extensions/ - Or click the menu (⋮) → More Tools → Extensions
- Open Chrome and navigate to
-
Enable Developer Mode
- Toggle the "Developer mode" switch in the top-right corner
-
Load the Extension
- Click "Load unpacked"
- Navigate to the extracted
CostlyBrowsingfolder and select it - The extension should now appear in your extensions list
-
Witness the Carnage
- Try to visit any website. Go ahead, we'll wait.
- Enjoy your new coin-based economy!
When you first install CostlyBrowsing, you start with 100 coins. Seems generous, right? Wrong. Each website costs 20 coins to unlock permanently, so you can afford exactly 5 websites before you're broke.
- Navigate to Any Website → Gets immediately blocked
- See the Lock Screen → Displays the blocked domain and unlock cost (20 coins)
- Panic → Realize you can't access anything
- Click "Earn More Coins" → Opens the sacred cat viewing page
- Stare at the Cat → Coins spawn at a rate of 1 per second
- Accumulate Wealth → Wait until you have enough coins
- Unlock the Website → Return to the blocked page and click "Unlock"
- Repeat → Because you'll run out of coins again soon
- Manifest Version: 3 (we're modern like that)
- Permissions:
tabs,webNavigation,storage, and<all_urls>(yes, ALL of them) - Background Service Worker: Monitors navigation and redirects to the lock page
- Local Storage: Tracks your coins and whitelisted domains
- Cat Picture: Generates 1 coin per second of adoration
The extension uses Chrome's webNavigation API to intercept every page load, checks if the domain is in your allowed list, and if not, redirects you to the lock screen. The coin-earning mechanism is a simple interval that spawns animated coin elements while you bask in the glory of the cat.
- 🔒 Blocks Everything: All domains are locked by default
- 💰 Coin System: Earn currency by looking at a cat (the only ethical crypto)
- 🐱 Cat Tax: You must pay tribute to proceed (coins spawn at 1/second)
- 🌐 Permanent Unlocks: Once you unlock a domain, it stays unlocked (phew)
- 💾 Persistent Storage: Your coins and unlocked domains are saved
- 🎨 Beautiful UI: Gradient backgrounds and smooth animations
- 😭 Existential Crisis: Included free of charge
This is a joke extension. A prank. A gag. Do NOT install this on someone else's computer without their explicit permission.
While it's hilarious to watch someone try to use their browser and fail miserably, it's also mean. Use responsibly, and only on your own machine or with full consent from others. We are not responsible for any friendships ruined, productivity lost, or existential questions raised by this extension.
Also, the cat in the photos belongs to the original developer. Please appreciate the cat responsibly.
Found a bug? Want to make the experience even more ridiculous? Pull requests are welcome! Just remember: the goal is to make browsing hilariously inconvenient, not actually malicious.
- Original Developer: DaytimeDev
- Cat Model: India the Cat (unpaid, but compensated in treats)
- README Enhancement: Partially written by an AI assistant (Claude) because even AI thinks this is hilarious
- Inspiration: Every overly-complicated CAPTCHA ever created
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details. Use it, fork it, modify it, just don't blame us when your browser becomes unusable.
Remember: The internet was free, but now it costs coins. And coins cost time. And time is staring at a cat. This is the future we chose.