Getting started with BGP
BGP offers extensions, a Mac app, website visualizations, and a Student Portal. Choose the option that fits what you want to do.
The three products
The three installed tools below keep their data on your device and do not need a BGP account. The Student Portal is separate and uses an account.
For student accounts, open Education → Student Portal and read the Student Portal guide. For public demos, open Cognitive Qubit and read Website visualizations. Teaching resources live under Education → Educational Materials. Downloads and BGTP live under Tools.
| What it is | Best for | |
|---|---|---|
| BGP DNA Mission Control (Chrome extension) | Replaces your new tab with a personal home page for your inbox, calendar, AI daily brief, tasks, projects, notes, dates, and bookmarks. It also builds your Belief Genome as you answer probes. | Most people. Start here. |
| BGP DNA Anywhere (Chrome extension) | A lightweight overlay: a small belief-probe strip and your genome on the websites you choose, plus one-click Save to Brain on AI chat sites. No dashboard, no widgets, no AI key. | Answering probes while you browse, or a minimal setup. |
| BGP Mission Control for Mac (desktop app) | The dashboard as a native Mac app, with deeper local powers: AI agents, a media library, app launching, and email reminders. | Mac users who want the full desktop experience. |
You can run all three. The two extensions each keep their own Belief Genome, and you can combine them with a file. See Keep one genome across both extensions. You can also pull the Mac app's data into the extension in one click. See Import from the Mac app.
What happens on a fresh install
The extension starts with sample content so you can see how everything works: three tasks, two project cards ("Getting Started" and "Home"), two countdowns, three habits, a note, an Important Date, and seven bookmarks in two groups ("AI Tools" and "Favorites"). You can edit or delete any of it. Untouched samples are never copied to your other devices.
The first time, a short welcome walks you through three screens:
- Welcome to your home base explains the dashboard.
- Connect AI helps you choose an engine for features that need AI. The free Gemini option takes about two minutes. See Connect AI.
- Your data is yours explains where your data lives and what stays private.
You can reopen the welcome any time with the ? button in the top-right.
Your first ten minutes
- Install the Chrome extension. It takes about a minute.
- Connect AI for free with a Google account. Until you do, a small amber banner reminds you that AI features are off.
- Pick your widgets in Settings (gear icon at the top right) → Select Dashboard Widgets.
- Connect Google or Microsoft if you want your calendar and inbox on the page: Connect Google · Connect Microsoft.
- Answer a belief probe using the card on your dashboard. Each answer adds to your Belief Genome. See What "your brain" is.
- Using more than one computer? Turn on sync.