Refresh options
Under the interval picker sits an Options accordion — six switches that change how each reload behaves. Set them before you press Start; you can also edit their defaults on the web dashboard under Time Interval.
Each option is a simple switch. Two are on out of the box (bypass form resubmit, restore scroll) — the rest wait until you need them.
At a glance
| Option | Tier | Default |
|---|---|---|
| ⚡ Hard refresh | FREE | Off |
| 📄 Bypass form resubmit | FREE | On |
| # Stop after N refreshes | FREE | Off |
| ↕ Restore scroll | FREE | On |
| 🖱 On interaction | PRO | Off |
| ⚠ Detect error pages | PRO | Off |
Hard refresh FREE
Chrome normally speeds up reloads by reusing files it already downloaded — its cache. With Hard refresh on, every reload bypasses the cache and fetches a truly fresh copy of everything.
When to use it: a page keeps showing an old price or yesterday's content even after reloading. Otherwise leave it off (the default) and let the cache do its job.
Bypass form resubmit FREE
You've seen the scary dialogs: "Confirm form resubmission" or "Leave site? Changes you made may not be saved." Chrome shows them on pages you reached through a form, or on pages that ask before you leave. They're harmless — but they freeze an auto-refresh dead, waiting for a click that never comes.
With this option on (it's on by default), Refresh Pilot quietly dismisses those prompts right before each reload, so refreshing never gets stuck. On a few protected pages it can't step in — it simply skips there, silently. Leave this one on.
Stop after N refreshes FREE
A built-in "that's enough" limit. Flip it on and a stepper appears, starting at
10 (minimum 1). Refresh Pilot counts completed refreshes and, when
the limit is reached, stops and shows a desktop notification:
"Refresh limit reached." A value of 0 means
unlimited — the same as leaving the option off.
Real life: stepping away from your desk? Let the page check 20 more times, then rest.
When the limit is hit, refreshing stops and a desktop notification tells you so.
Restore scroll FREE
A reload normally throws you back to the top of the page. With Restore scroll on (the default), Refresh Pilot remembers how far you'd scrolled and puts you right back there after each reload. On pages whose layout arrives late, it checks once more about half a second later — but never if you've already started scrolling yourself; you always win.
Real life: halfway down a long forum thread that refreshes every minute — you stay halfway down, not back at the top.
On interaction PRO
What should happen when you click, type or scroll on a page that's busy auto-refreshing? By default: nothing — the page can reload right out from under your cursor. This option gives you four choices:
- None (default) — keep refreshing no matter what.
- Pause — the countdown pauses the instant you interact, then auto-resumes after 4 seconds of no activity. Great for reading.
- Stop — one interaction stops the job entirely.
- Restart — once the page has been quiet for a number of seconds (a stepper, default 5, minimum 1), the countdown resets to a full interval. Every new interaction extends the quiet period, so the page never reloads mid-click.
Clicks on the countdown overlay itself don't count as interaction — pausing from the pill won't trigger this.
With Pause, clicking the page holds the countdown — it resumes on its own 4 seconds after you go quiet.
Detect error pages PRO
Sometimes a reload doesn't land on the page at all but on an error — a 404 Not Found or a 500 Server Error (any HTTP status of 400 or higher). With this option on, Refresh Pilot notices and reacts:
- Action — Stop (the default) halts refreshing so you don't hammer a broken site; Keep going carries on, useful for waiting out an outage until the page comes back.
- Alarm — an optional checkbox that also plays your alert sound, so an overnight failure actually wakes you.
Either way you get a desktop notification stating the error status. Error alerts are throttled to at most one every 20 seconds, so a flapping server can't flood you.