Plus Facile - French Text Simplifier

A Chrome extension that simplifies French text to different language learning levels (A1-B2) using local LLM processing.

Prerequisites

• macOS or Linux
• Python 3.8 or higher
• Google Chrome browser
• Terminal access

Installation Steps

1. Install Ollama

# On macOS
brew install ollama

# On Linux
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

2. Start Ollama Service

# Start the Ollama service
ollama serve

3. Download Required Model

# In a new terminal window
ollama pull mistral

4. Set Up Python Environment

Clone or download this repository

# Navigate to project directory

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

5. Install Python Dependencies (backend/requirements.txt)

flask==2.3.3
flask-cors==4.0.0
ollama==0.1.6
python-dotenv==1.0.0

Install:

pip install -r requirements.txt

6. The Extension Files

Make sure all provided files in their correct locations:

• backend/app.py - Flask server code
• manifest.json - Extension manifest
• popup.html - Extension popup interface
• popup.js - Popup logic
• content.js - Content script
• background.js - Background script
• styles.css - Extension styles

8. Icons

The /images directory holds icons for showing a connected or not connected server (greyscale)

Running the Extension

1. Start the Backend Server

# Make sure you're in the virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Start the Flask server (from the backend directory)
cd backend
python app.py

2. Install the Chrome Extension

1. Open Chrome
2. Go to chrome://extensions/
3. Enable "Developer mode" (top-right corner)
4. Click "Load unpacked"
5. Select the top directory from your project

Testing the Extension

1. Make sure both Ollama and the Flask server are running
2. Visit any French webpage
3. Select some French text
4. Right click for context menu and choose "Simplify French Text"
5. A popup should appear with the simplified version

Troubleshooting

Server Issues

• Check if Flask server is running (http://localhost:5001)
• Check if Ollama is running (http://localhost:11434)
• If port 5001 is in use, modify the port in app.py and content.js

Extension Issues

• Check the extension popup's server status indicator
• Check Chrome's developer console for errors
• Try reloading the extension from chrome://extensions/