Whistle docs

Install from the Chrome Web Store

1. Open Chrome or Edge on your computer.
2. Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager, or use Add to Chrome on this website.
3. Click Add to Chrome (or Add to Edge), then confirm.
4. The first time, Whistle Settings opens on Getting started. Read the three short steps there.

Pin the icon so you can find it

Pinning puts the Whistle icon on the toolbar, next to the address bar. Then you can click it any time.

1. Click the puzzle-piece icon on the Chrome toolbar (Extensions).
2. Find Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager.
3. Click the pin so it stays visible on the toolbar.

How to open Whistle after that

• Click the Whistle icon to open search.
• Right-click the icon to open Library, Analytics, or Settings.
• Use the keyboard shortcuts below to search or open a pinned favourite.

Check your keyboard shortcuts (optional, but useful)

After Chrome updates, a shortcut can sometimes go missing. You can check it in two minutes.

1. Click the address bar at the top of Chrome.
2. Type chrome://extensions/shortcuts and press Enter.
3. Scroll to Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager.
4. If a row says Not set, click the pencil and press the keys you want.

Check your shortcut works

Press Command + Shift + Space on a Mac or Ctrl + Shift + Space on Windows and Linux. Search should open.

If 1Password or another app opens instead, one of you needs a different shortcut — see Shortcuts & pins below for known conflicts.

How to open search

• On a Mac: hold Shift and Command, then press Space.
• On Windows or Linux: hold Ctrl and Shift, then press Space.
• Or click the Whistle icon on the toolbar.
• To pick different keys, open Settings and click Customize shortcuts.

How to find and open a bookmark

1. Open search.
2. Start typing any part of the title, website, folder, or short name.
3. Use the up and down arrow keys to move through the list.
4. Press Enter to open it in a new tab. If that page is already open, Chrome switches to that tab instead.

Other ways to open a result

• Shift + Enter opens it in the tab you are already looking at.
• Command + Enter (Mac) or Ctrl + Enter (Windows) opens it in a background tab, so you stay where you are.

If nothing matches

You can still go somewhere without closing the window. Open the address you typed, or search the web, from the same list.

Narrow the list (optional)

Type these at the start of your search if the list is long:

• a: then a name — only bookmarks that have a short name.
• f: — only folders.
• host:github — only bookmarks on that website (change github to any site).

When the search box is empty

Whistle shows sites you open often with Whistle. If you are new, it shows a sample from the Bookmarks bar instead.

Buttons at the top of the search window

• Bookmark this page saves the tab you were on.
• Library, Analytics, and Settings open those full pages.

Give a search result a short name

1. Open search and find the bookmark.
2. Highlight it in the list.
3. Press Tab.
4. Type the short name.
5. Press Enter to save.
6. To remove the name later, open the same box, delete the text, and press Enter.

Give the page you are reading a short name

1. Right-click the page (or a link, or a tab).
2. Choose Whistle – Add alias.
3. If the page is not bookmarked yet, Whistle asks to save it first. Choose a folder, then continue.
4. Type the short name and save.

Change a short name later

• In Library, click the ⋯ menu on a bookmark, then Set or Change alias.
• Or open Settings and use the Aliases section.

Good to know

• Each short name belongs to one bookmark.
• Two addresses that differ only after a # (for example a page jump) are treated as different bookmarks, the same way Chrome treats them.
• The toolbar badge can show the short name of the page you are on, when that option is on.

Why these defaults?

Whistle avoids crowded system keys. macOS Spotlight is Command + Space; the emoji picker is Control + Command + Space. Windows language switching uses Windows + Space. Command + Shift + Space and Ctrl + Shift + Space are not default macOS or Windows shortcuts.

Known conflicts

1Password Quick Access uses the same default as Whistle (Command + Shift + Space / Ctrl + Shift + Space) and can capture the keys system-wide. Change 1Password under Settings → General → Shortcuts, or reassign Whistle at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains, Slack Huddles, Mattermost calls, Word, and Excel can use the same combo while that app is focused. Whistle works when Chrome has focus unless a global shortcut intercepts first.

Raycast and Alfred use Command + Space, not Command + Shift + Space. Discord mute is Command + Shift + M; Zoom mute is Option + A — different from Whistle.

Good alternatives if the default is taken

• Command + Shift + K / Ctrl + Shift + K
• Command + Shift + B / Ctrl + Shift + B
• Ctrl + Shift + O (Windows/Linux)
• Always verify a combo is free on your machine before committing.

How to pin three bookmarks

1. Open Settings (right-click the Whistle icon, then Settings — or use the gear in search).
2. Click Hotkey slots in the left menu.
3. Click a slot and type to find the bookmark you want.
4. Repeat for slot 2 and 3. Leave a slot empty if you do not need it.
5. Click Save slots.
6. From anywhere in Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + 1 (or 2 or 3) to open that site.

How to change the keys themselves

1. In Settings, open Keyboard shortcuts and click Customize shortcuts.
2. Or type chrome://extensions/shortcuts in the address bar and press Enter.
3. Find Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager.
4. Click the pencil next to a command and press the new keys.
5. If a shortcut says Not set, Chrome did not keep the default. Assign one here.

Pick your own keys on Chrome’s shortcuts page

Whistle can show you the current shortcuts, but Chrome is the place that actually stores them. Open a new tab, type chrome://extensions/shortcuts in the address bar, and press Enter. Find Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager, click the pencil next to a command, then press the key combination you want. You can change search and the three pin keys here.

How to open Library

• In the search window, click the bookshelf icon.
• Or open Settings, then Library.
• Or right-click the Whistle toolbar icon and choose Library.

How to find and open a bookmark

1. Open Library. The search box is ready as soon as the page loads.
2. Type to filter, or click a folder on the left.
3. Click the title to open it, or click ⋯ and choose how to open it.

What the buttons do

• View: Tiles (picture cards) or List (rows).
• Folders: show or hide the folder list on the left.
• Dates: show when a bookmark was added, last visited in the browser, and how often you opened it with Whistle.
• Sort: newest added, title A–Z, last visit, last opened in Whistle, or most opened in Whistle.

The ⋯ menu on a bookmark

• Open in a new tab or in this tab.
• Copy the address.
• Edit the title or address.
• Set or change the short name.
• Remove the bookmark (Whistle asks you to confirm).

If you have a lot of bookmarks

Library shows 24 at a time. Click Show more to load the next batch.

How to open Analytics

• In the search window, click the chart icon.
• Or open it from Settings or Library.
• Or right-click the Whistle toolbar icon and choose Analytics.

Library tab — what you will see

• Recently visited: bookmarks you opened in the browser (needs History permission).
• Top sites: websites where you have the most bookmarks.
• Recently added: bookmarks you saved in the chosen period.
• Safe to delete: bookmarks you never opened with Whistle and have not visited in the browser in the last 90 days. Remove still asks you to confirm.
• You will also see how many have short names, how many look like duplicates, and how old the collection is.

Whistle tab — what you will see

• How many times you opened something with Whistle.
• How many different bookmarks that was.
• Lists of what you open most, and what you opened most recently.

Layout

• Grid puts pairs of lists side by side.
• List stacks everything in one column — handy on a smaller window.

Clean up duplicate bookmarks

Duplicates are the same page saved more than once. Whistle does not delete anything until you say so. When it can, it keeps the copy on the Bookmarks bar.

1. Open Settings and click Duplicates.
2. Click Scan if you need a fresh check.
3. Read each group. The copy to keep is marked Keep.
4. Remove the extras you do not want. You can hide the results when you are done.

Back up or restore your setup

A backup file can save appearance, pinned slots, and short names. You can also include every bookmark if you want a full copy.

1. Open Settings and click Backup.
2. Click Export to download a file.
3. Tick Also include all bookmarks if you want folders and links in the file too.
4. On another computer (or after a reset), click Import and choose that file.
5. Chrome will not let Whistle change keyboard shortcuts for you. After import, use Customize shortcuts if a key does not work.

Privacy

Settings → Privacy explains what Whistle sends to Nelstack: anonymous aggregate usage counts — launcher opens, tab opens, alias changes, backup exports, and page opens.

When something fails, Whistle may also send sanitized error diagnostics (error code, which part of the extension, browser and extension version, message, optional stack) so bugs can be fixed.

Never bookmark content, URLs, alias text, or history. Full policy: /whistle/privacy

Your first day

1. Install Whistle and read Getting started.
2. Open search and type a site you use every day.
3. Press Tab and give it a short name.
4. Open Settings → Hotkey slots and pin that bookmark to Slot 1. Click Save slots.
5. Press Ctrl + Shift + 1 to confirm it opens.
6. Open Library and browse your folders.
7. Open Analytics and glance at recently visited and Safe to delete.

Name the page you are reading

1. Right-click the page and choose Whistle – Add alias.
2. Save the bookmark if Whistle asks.
3. Type a short name and save.
4. Later, open search, type that name, and press Enter.

A weekly tidy-up

1. Open Analytics, choose 30 days, and stay on the Library tab.
2. Review Safe to delete and remove what you truly do not need.
3. Open Settings → Duplicates and clean groups of the same page.
4. In Library, search for messy titles and fix them with the ⋯ menu.

A new computer

1. Install Whistle while signed in to the same Chrome or Edge account. Short names and pins can come across if Sync is on.
2. Or copy a backup file: Settings → Backup → Import.
3. Check shortcuts once: type chrome://extensions/shortcuts in the address bar.

Whistle does not use content scripts, third-party analytics SDKs, or a Whistle backend for bookmark data.

Telemetry: anonymous aggregate usage counts plus sanitized error diagnostics to Nelstack — never bookmark content, URLs, alias text, or install ID. Full policy: /whistle/privacy

Whistle does not ask to read the content of websites. It does not add itself into Gmail, Slack, or any other page.

The shortcut does nothing

1. Click the Chrome address bar.
2. Type chrome://extensions/shortcuts and press Enter.
3. Find Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager.
4. If a row says Not set, click the pencil and press the keys you want.
5. If another extension already uses those keys, pick a different combination.

On a Mac, slot keys clash with screenshots

Use Control (Ctrl), not Command, for slots 1, 2, and 3. Change this on the Chrome shortcuts page if needed.

Recently visited looks empty, or Safe to delete seems wrong

Those features need History permission. Open Chrome’s extension details for Whistle and allow History, then try Analytics again.

A short name is missing

1. Check the spelling in search.
2. Open Library or Settings → Aliases and look for the name.
3. If you deleted the bookmark, the short name is gone too. Add it again.

The search window is in the wrong place

Drag it where you like. Whistle remembers the size and position on this computer.

Set or change keys on Chrome’s shortcuts page

The picture below is Chrome’s own keyboard shortcuts page. Type chrome://extensions/shortcuts in the address bar, find Whistle - Bookmark Launcher and Manager, click the pencil, and press the keys you want. Whistle cannot save a new combination for you — only this page can.