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Troubleshooting

Having issues with the extension? Find solutions to common problems below.

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Camera Issues

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Camera Permission Denied

Problem: The camera won’t start or shows a permission error. Solutions:

1. Check browser permissions
   • Chrome: Go to chrome://settings/content/camera and ensure the extension is allowed
   • Firefox: Go to about:preferences#privacy, scroll to Permissions > Camera, and check settings
2. Grant permission when prompted
   • When you first click “Start” in the Options page, your browser will prompt for camera access
   • Click “Allow” to enable posture tracking
3. Check if another application is using the camera
   • Close other apps that might be using your webcam (Zoom, Skype, etc.)
   • Some operating systems only allow one application to access the camera at a time
4. Reload the Options page
   • Close and reopen the Options page
   • Try starting the camera again

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Camera Shows Black Screen

Problem: The camera starts but only shows a black screen. Solutions:

1. Check camera connection
   • Ensure your webcam is properly connected
   • Try unplugging and reconnecting external webcams
2. Test camera in other applications
   • Open your camera in another app to verify it’s working
   • If it doesn’t work elsewhere, it’s a hardware/driver issue
3. Try a different camera
   • If you have multiple webcams, use the dropdown menu in the Options page to switch cameras
   • Select a different device from the list
4. Update camera drivers
   • Ensure your webcam drivers are up to date
   • Check your computer manufacturer’s website for driver updates

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Wrong Camera Selected

Problem: The extension is using the wrong webcam. Solution:

• Open the Options page
• Look for the camera selection dropdown at the bottom of the options panel
• Select your preferred camera from the list
• The extension will automatically switch to the selected device

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Tracking Issues

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Tracking Not Starting

Problem: You clicked “Start” but tracking doesn’t begin. Solutions:

1. Wait for model to load
   • The TensorFlow.js MoveNet model needs to download and initialize on first use
   • This can take 10-30 seconds depending on your connection
   • Wait until you see the canvas overlay with skeleton tracking
2. Ensure Options page is active
   • The Options window must be visible/active at least once for tracking to initialize
   • After initialization, you can minimize it
3. Check browser badge
   • The extension icon should show an “ON” badge when tracking is active
   • If it shows “OFF”, tracking has not started
4. Check browser console for errors
   • Right-click on the Options page and select “Inspect”
   • Look for errors in the Console tab
   • Common errors include WebGL issues or model loading failures

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Model Loading Failures

Problem: The pose detection model fails to load. Solutions:

1. Check internet connection
   • The TensorFlow.js model downloads from CDN on first use
   • Ensure you have an active internet connection
   • The model is cached after first download
2. Clear browser cache and reload
   • Sometimes cached model files become corrupted
   • Clear your browser cache and reload the extension
   • Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data
   • Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
3. Check if WebGL is enabled
   • The extension uses WebGL for accelerated model inference
   • Test WebGL: Visit https://get.webgl.org/
   • If WebGL is disabled, enable it in your browser settings
4. Disable hardware acceleration temporarily
   • Paradoxically, sometimes disabling hardware acceleration helps
   • Chrome: Settings > System > Use hardware acceleration when available
   • Firefox: Settings > General > Performance > Use hardware acceleration when available
   • Try toggling this setting

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Tracking Not Detecting Posture Changes

Problem: The blur effect doesn’t activate when you slouch. Solutions:

1. Ensure good lighting
   • The pose detection model needs clear visibility of your face and upper body
   • Add more light to your workspace
   • Avoid backlighting (sitting in front of a bright window)
2. Position yourself in frame
   • Make sure your face and upper body are visible in the camera view
   • The model specifically tracks your right eye position
   • Sit at a comfortable distance (2-4 feet from camera)
3. Reset your baseline
   • Your baseline might have been set incorrectly
   • Sit with good posture
   • Click “Reset Posture” in the Options page
   • The next detected position will be your new baseline
4. Check the canvas overlay
   • The Options page shows a canvas with keypoints and skeleton
   • Verify that keypoints are being detected (you should see dots on your body)
   • If no keypoints appear, the model isn’t detecting your pose

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Blur Effect Stuck On

Problem: The blur effect won’t go away even when sitting up straight. Solutions:

1. Reset your posture baseline
   • Click “Reset Posture” in the Options page or browser action menu
   • Sit with good posture and let the extension recalibrate
2. Stop and restart tracking
   • Click “Stop” in the Options page
   • Wait a few seconds
   • Click “Start” again
   • Reset your baseline after restarting
3. Check if extension is responding
   • Open the Options page
   • Verify that the canvas overlay is updating in real-time
   • If frozen, reload the Options page

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Browser-Specific Issues

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Chrome: Extension Not Loading

Problem: The extension doesn’t appear or work in Chrome. Solutions:

1. Check extension is enabled
   • Go to chrome://extensions/
   • Find “Posture!Posture!Posture!”
   • Ensure the toggle is ON (blue)
2. Reload the extension
   • Go to chrome://extensions/
   • Click the reload icon on the extension card
3. Reinstall from Chrome Web Store
   • Remove the extension
   • Reinstall from the Chrome Web Store

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Firefox: Extension Not Loading

Problem: The extension doesn’t appear or work in Firefox. Solutions:

1. Check extension is enabled
   • Go to about:addons
   • Find “Posture!Posture!Posture!”
   • Ensure it’s enabled
2. Restart Firefox
   • Completely close and reopen Firefox
   • Sometimes extensions need a fresh browser session
3. Reinstall from Firefox Addon Marketplace
   • Remove the extension
   • Reinstall from the Firefox Addon Marketplace

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Developer Mode Installation Issues

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Build Fails

Problem: npm start or npm run build fails. Solutions:

1. Check Node.js version
   • The extension requires Node.js >= 20.0.0
   • Check your version: node --version
   • Update Node.js if needed from nodejs.org
2. Clean install dependencies
   rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
   npm install
   
3. Check for missing dependencies
   • Ensure all dependencies in package.json are installed
   • Run npm install again

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Extension Won’t Load in Developer Mode

Problem: Chrome/Firefox won’t load the unpacked extension. Solutions:

1. Build the extension first
   • Run npm install
   • Run npm start or npm run build
   • Load the build folder, not the source folder
2. Check manifest errors
   • Look for errors when loading unpacked extension
   • The manifest.json must be valid JSON
3. Ensure build folder exists
   • Verify the build folder was created
   • It should contain manifest.json and bundled files

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Performance Issues

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High CPU Usage

Problem: The extension causes high CPU usage. Why this happens: The extension runs pose detection every 100ms, which requires continuous video processing and machine learning inference. Solutions:

1. Stop tracking when not needed
   • Click “Stop” in the Options page when you’re done working
   • The badge will show “OFF”
2. Close the Options page
   • While tracking continues, closing the Options page reduces rendering overhead
   • The canvas overlay isn’t needed for tracking to work
3. Enable hardware acceleration
   • Ensure WebGL hardware acceleration is enabled
   • This offloads processing to your GPU

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Browser Lag or Stuttering

Problem: The browser becomes slow or unresponsive. Solutions:

1. Close unnecessary tabs
   • Reduce overall browser memory usage
   • The extension adds to existing resource usage
2. Restart the browser
   • Sometimes memory leaks accumulate
   • A fresh start can help
3. Check system resources
   • Open Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac)
   • Verify your system isn’t resource-constrained
   • Close other resource-heavy applications

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Still Having Issues?

If you’ve tried these solutions and still experience problems:

1. Check the GitHub repository
   • Visit github.com/killa-kyle/posture-posture-posture-chrome-extension
   • Search existing issues to see if others have reported similar problems
2. Open a new issue
   • Create a detailed bug report on GitHub
   • Include: browser version, extension version, steps to reproduce, error messages
   • The developer and community can help troubleshoot
3. Review the source code
   • The extension is open source
   • You can inspect the code to understand how it works
   • Advanced users can debug or modify the extension locally