Frequently Asked Questions

Journal Genie is a Chrome extension that makes it incredibly easy to switch between multiple accounts on journal websites like Dreamwidth, InsaneJournal, LiveJournal, and other LJ-compatible sites.

Instead of manually logging out and back in every time you want to switch accounts, Journal Genie lets you do it with just one click. It's perfect for managing character accounts for roleplay, personal blogs, community moderation, or any situation where you need multiple accounts.

Installing Journal Genie is quick and easy:

• Visit the Chrome Web Store and search for "Journal Genie"
• Click the "Add to Chrome" button
• Confirm the installation by clicking "Add extension"
• Look for the Journal Genie icon in your browser toolbar
• Click the icon to start adding your accounts!

Journal Genie supports all the major journal platforms:

• Dreamwidth - Full support including automatic API key generation
• InsaneJournal - Complete functionality
• LiveJournal - Full support
• Custom LJ-compatible sites - Any site that uses the LiveJournal interface

If your favorite journal site uses the LJ interface, it should work with Journal Genie!

Adding your first account is simple:

• Click the Journal Genie icon in your browser toolbar
• Click "Add Account"
• Select your journal site from the dropdown
• Enter your username and password
• Optionally add a display name (like "My RP Account")
• Click "Save & Login"

Journal Genie will test your credentials and save them securely on your device.

Switching accounts is incredibly easy:

• Click the Journal Genie icon while on any journal site
• You'll see all your saved accounts for that site
• Simply click on any account to switch to it instantly
• Journal Genie will log you in automatically

The whole process takes just seconds!

Yes! There's a handy "Show All Sites" toggle in the popup that lets you see accounts from all your journal sites at once, regardless of which site you're currently on.

This is especially useful when you're managing accounts across multiple platforms or want to quickly jump to a different site entirely.

Journal Genie offers several ways to organize your accounts:

• Display Names - Give each account a memorable name like "Main Journal" or "RP Character"
• Custom Order - Use the Manage Accounts page to drag and drop accounts into your preferred order
• Sorting Options - Sort by username, display name, domain, or your custom order
• Domain Grouping - Accounts are automatically grouped by site when using "Show All Sites"

Absolutely! Journal Genie is fully compatible with LJ Juggler:

• Open the Manage Accounts page
• Go to the Import & Export section
• Click "Choose File" and select your LJ Juggler export file
• Click "Import Accounts"

All your LJ Juggler accounts will be imported and ready to use immediately!

Backing up your accounts is easy:

• Open the Manage Accounts page
• Go to the Import & Export section
• Choose your export format (Journal Genie or LJ Juggler compatible)
• Click "Export Accounts"

This creates a JSON file with all your account data that you can save as a backup or share between devices.

Journal Genie comes with 8 beautiful themes to match your style:

• Default - Purple/blue gradient (original Journal Genie look)
• Dark - Sleek dark theme for night owls
• Light - Clean, bright theme
• Blue - Professional blue theme
• Green - Natural green theme
• Red - Bold red theme
• Yellow - Warm yellow/orange theme
• Pink - Vibrant pink theme

You can change themes anytime from the popup or Manage Accounts page!

The "Reload Tabs" setting automatically refreshes other open tabs for the same journal site when you switch accounts.

For example, if you have multiple Dreamwidth tabs open and switch accounts, all those tabs will refresh to show the new account. This ensures you don't accidentally post or comment from the wrong account.

You can toggle this on or off based on your preference.

Journal Genie includes special support for Dreamwidth that automatically generates and manages API keys for you:

• When you add a Dreamwidth account, Journal Genie automatically generates an API key
• This provides more secure and reliable authentication than passwords
• API keys are stored locally and reused for future logins
• If an API key expires, Journal Genie automatically generates a new one

This all happens behind the scenes - you just enter your regular username and password once!

If an account shows invalid credentials:

• Double-check your password - Make sure you're using the correct current password
• Update the account - Click "Edit" next to the account and re-enter your credentials
• Try the "Test" button - This will verify your credentials without switching accounts
• For Dreamwidth - The extension will automatically try to generate a new API key

If you recently changed your password on the journal site, make sure to update it in Journal Genie too!

For custom journal sites:

• Make sure the site uses the LiveJournal interface (has an /interface/flat endpoint)
• When adding the account, select "Custom LJ-compatible site"
• Enter just the domain name (like myjournal.com) without http:// or paths
• Some very old or heavily modified LJ installations might not be compatible

If the popup isn't appearing:

• Make sure the extension is enabled in Chrome's extensions page
• Look for the Journal Genie icon in your browser toolbar
• If you don't see the icon, click the puzzle piece icon and pin Journal Genie
• Try refreshing the page you're on
• Check that you're on a supported journal site

If account switching is having issues:

• Check your internet connection - Authentication requires connecting to the journal site
• Clear your browser cookies for the journal site and try again
• Disable other extensions temporarily to check for conflicts
• Try the account validation using the "Test" button first
• For Dreamwidth, try editing the account to regenerate the API key

If your accounts disappeared:

• Check if Chrome sync is enabled - Your data might be syncing from another device
• Look for backup files - If you exported your accounts before, you can re-import them
• Check the Manage Accounts page - Sometimes accounts are there but not showing in the popup
• Try the "Show All Sites" toggle - This might reveal accounts that were hidden

This is why we recommend regularly exporting your accounts as a backup!

Absolutely! Journal Genie is designed with privacy as a top priority:

• Local storage only - All your account data is stored locally on your device
• No external servers - Nothing is sent to external servers or third parties
• No tracking - Journal Genie doesn't track your usage or collect analytics
• Open communication - Only communicates directly with the journal sites you use

Your passwords and account information never leave your computer except to authenticate directly with your journal sites.

Your passwords are stored securely:

• Local storage only - Passwords are stored only in your browser's local storage
• Chrome's security - Protected by Chrome's built-in extension security systems
• No cloud sync - Passwords are never synced to Google's servers
• API keys for Dreamwidth - Uses more secure API keys instead of passwords when possible

Only you have access to your stored credentials on your specific device.

Journal Genie requires these permissions to function:

• Storage - To save your account information locally
• Active Tab - To detect which journal site you're on
• Cookies - To manage login sessions for account switching
• All URLs - To work with any journal site, including custom ones

These permissions are used only for the extension's core functionality and never for tracking or data collection.

Each device needs its own setup:

• Install separately - Install Journal Genie on each device you want to use it on
• Export/Import - Use the export feature to transfer accounts between devices
• No automatic sync - For security reasons, accounts don't automatically sync between devices
• Backup recommended - Regular exports ensure you can restore accounts on new devices