Octopus

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  Vibe Selection

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  Interface

Inspiration

The idea for Octopus was inspired by how we browse online, opening multiple tabs, feeling overwhelmed, and struggling to know where to start. We all experience decision paralysis, and often the fear of missing out on something important makes it even harder to choose a single tab. This is natural human behavior. We try to take in as much as possible but often end up taking in nothing. Traditional search tools focus purely on relevance or popularity, but they dont consider how we feel while consuming content. I wanted to build a solution that helps users make that very decision and get started because many people waste days struggling to begin. Octopus is a tool that not only helps you choose what to read but also aligns the experience with your current mood and mental state.

What it does

Octopus helps you take control of your online browsing by analyzing the tabs and suggesting which one to start based on your current mood. It has three specialized modes: Calm, for a peaceful and simple reading experience; Clarity, for actionable and easy-to-understand content; and Spark, for motivation and inspiration when you feel unmotivated. Octopus can even adjust the tone of the content on a webpage to match the selected mood, making reading easier, more engaging, and aligned with how you feel.

How we built it

Building Octopus involved several key steps. I connected with Chrome’s Gemini Nano Prompt API and designed the three specialized modes, Calm, Clarity, and Spark, creating prompts for each mood. The system gathers content from the selected tabs, compares it, and applies it based on the chosen mode. I also focused on keeping the options in popup minimal to prevent decision paralysis for users.

Challenges we ran into

The main challenges I faced were designing AI behavior that genuinely aligns with a user’s mood. Since the model is small, it was harder for it to follow complex instructions. For example, in Spark Mode, I wanted to gamify the experience with motivational lines like “plus `10 points,” but the model did not always output them correctly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

To create my first ever Chrome extension :)

What we learned

Through this project, I learned a lot about creating Chrome extensions. This was my first one and I studied some human psychology to design three modes that cover most moods. I also worked extensively on prompt engineering to ensure the AI gives useful, mood-aligned responses. Additionally, I also deepened my understanding of other Chrome extension APIs.

What's next for Octopus

In the next update for Octopus, I plan to add simple images to webpages to further enhance the mood experience once multimodal output becomes available.

Built With

• css
• html
• javascript
• promptapi