The web dashboard
The web dashboard at dashboard.refreshpilot.com is a full-screen settings site
for Refresh Pilot. It shows the same data as the extension — change something
in one place and the other follows automatically. It's just a bigger, more comfortable view.
Free users can open it without an account (guest mode); signing in to a real
account turns on cloud storage and unlocks PRO.
The extension and the dashboard read and write the same copy of your settings.
Opening the dashboard (guest mode)
For free auto-refresh you don't need an account at all. Open
dashboard.refreshpilot.com (or use the extension's "Open dashboard" button) and it
starts in guest mode — the profile block in the sidebar reads
"Guest User / Not signed in".
In guest mode the dashboard live-syncs with the extension in the same browser
through a content-script bridge: whatever you change here is applied to the extension right away,
and vice-versa. Nothing is written to the cloud, so the save pill shows
● Live — not stored.
Signing in — the "Connect your device" screen
To store settings in the cloud and use PRO you sign in to a real account (email + password). Click the "Guest User" block in the sidebar, or the 👤 icon in the top-right corner, to open the "Connect your device" screen — titled "Sync settings across all your devices in one place." It offers two device cards:
Primary Device — sign in here
"Primary Device / Sign in here" is selected by default. Its sign-in card walks you through a short numbered stepper — Email → Password → Done:
- Enter your account email and press Continue.
- Enter your password and press Log in.
- A green check confirms you're signed in and the dashboard loads.
There's no Google or Microsoft sign-in and no two-factor step — just your Refresh Pilot email and password. Below the stepper are "Forgot password?" and, for newcomers, "Create an account". An FAQ accordion underneath answers the common questions (what a primary device is, how your password is handled).
Secondary Device — link with a code
The second card, "Secondary Device / Link with a code", is an explainer rather than a second login. It's for bringing another browser onto your account without typing your password there: sign in on one browser, open Synchronizing to generate a link code, then enter that code in the other browser's extension Options. Once linked, that browser is a full equal member of your account — there's no primary/secondary hierarchy. See Using PRO on more than one device.
The extension unlocks PRO by itself
Here's the part that saves you a copy-paste dance: once you sign in on the dashboard, the Refresh Pilot extension in that same browser automatically adopts your account and unlocks PRO — no code to fetch, no code to paste. (A manual link code still exists, but only for bringing another browser onto your account.)
opens automatically, live sync → 🔑 Sign in
email + password → ⭐ PRO unlocked
extension adopts your account
Free users start in guest mode; sign in and the extension in the same browser unlocks PRO by itself.
A map of the sidebar
The dashboard sidebar is split into two groups. Here's what lives where:
Admin Settings
- Overview — your plan, a short "how syncing works" explainer, and quick links to the other pages (cloud status, backups, device linking).
- Synchronizing — the health page for your cloud copy: its version and size, a "reload from cloud" button, full JSON backup download/import, and device linking (generate a link code a second browser's extension claims). When you're signed out it shows a "Login" pill — clicking it opens the sign-in screen. See Cloud sync & backups.
Extension Settings
- General — extension-wide preferences: the default interval (30 seconds), the badge countdown toggle, keeping your computer awake while refreshing, restoring jobs after a browser restart PRO, the overlay default and position, theme, and alert volume.
- Time Interval — the values the popup pre-fills: interval, refresh behavior, overlay, and error detection.
- Autostart PRO — "whenever I open a URL like this, start refreshing automatically." See Auto-start rules.
- Countdown & Schedules PRO — weekly timetables ("refresh this page Mon–Fri at 09:00"). See Weekly schedules.
- Page Monitor — the same monitoring settings as the popup's Monitor tab (keywords, scan options, match actions), with a template dropdown and AI help. Start at Watch a page for changes.
- Saved Expressions — a personal library of reusable monitor expressions (up to 100). The popup offers them as suggestions. See Keywords & expressions.
- Custom Scripts PRO — your own little JavaScript snippets that run on matching pages. See Scripts, marketplace & AI.
- Marketplace — browse ready-made community scripts and install them with one click (installing is PRO). Also on Scripts, marketplace & AI.
- Hotkeys — keyboard shortcuts for starting, stopping and pausing refreshes. See Keyboard shortcuts.
- Notification Settings — desktop notifications, alert sounds, and PRO webhook/email actions. See Sounds & alerts.
A profile block sits at the top of the sidebar (Guest User when you're signed out, or your email and plan when you're signed in — click it to open the account menu). At the bottom is the blue ⭐ Upgrade Plan button (hidden once you're PRO) — it opens the Free vs PRO comparison and the $2.99/year checkout — plus a Docs link. See Free vs PRO.
The save pill
A little pill in the dashboard corner always tells you where your changes stand. When you're signed in, saving happens by itself about 1.5 seconds after you stop editing — there is no Save button to remember. In guest mode there's no cloud copy, so the pill simply reads Live.
| Pill says | Meaning |
|---|---|
● Live — not stored | Guest mode: your changes go straight to the extension in this browser, but nothing is saved to the cloud. |
All changes saved | Everything is in the cloud. Relax. |
Saving… | Your edit is on its way up. |
Unsaved changes | You just edited something; the auto-save is about to run. |
Save failed — click to retry | The save didn't go through (bad connection, for example). Click the pill to try again. |
Read-only | A save was declined for this session (a transient permission or connection hiccup). Use "Reload from cloud" on Synchronizing and try again. |
PRO locks
On the free plan, PRO controls show a PRO badge. If you flip one anyway, it snaps back and an "Upgrade to PRO — $2.99/year" window explains what the feature does. Whole PRO pages (Autostart, Countdown & Schedules, Custom Scripts) show an upgrade screen instead of their content, and individual PRO controls elsewhere — restoring jobs after a restart, installing marketplace scripts, custom alert sounds, webhook/email actions — behave the same way. Nothing breaks; the locks are just gentle reminders. The full list is on Free vs PRO.
Read-only mode
Occasionally the save pill shows Read-only and an edit won't save — this just means
the server declined that one save (a transient permission or connection hiccup, not a device
setting). Use Reload from cloud on Synchronizing to pull
the latest version back in, then make your change again.
Log out vs Sign out everywhere
When you're signed in, the menu in the top-right corner (the FREE/PRO badge with the little arrow) holds your account actions, alongside a theme switcher (Auto / Light / Dark):
- 🔌 Log out — signs out just this browser. The session token stored here is cleared; your other devices stay signed in. You drop back to guest mode.
- 🚪 Sign out everywhere — revokes every session on all devices at once. Use it if a device is lost or shared.
Your login lives only in the browser where you made it, as a private session token. If that session ever stops being valid, the dashboard signs itself out with a "session no longer valid" message and returns to guest mode — just sign in again to pick up where you left off.