What features does the Complexity extension add to Perplexity.ai?

Updated

Complexity (cplx.app) is a browser extension that layers quality-of-life features onto Perplexity.ai, aimed at people who use the platform frequently and want to avoid digging through settings or losing their place in long threads. It is available for Chrome (Chrome Web Store) and Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons). If you only use Perplexity occasionally, the core benefits below matter less; if you live in it daily, they target the most repetitive friction points.

In-thread model and focus switching

The headline feature is changing your preferred models and focus modes on the fly, even within a thread, instead of navigating to the settings page. According to the site, this "ditch the settings page" approach is meant to remove the back-and-forth of reconfiguring Perplexity mid-conversation. A user review (Daily Focus, May 31, 2024) calls the model and collection selectors workflow-transforming and singles out mid-chat focus mode switching as "essential."

Spaces and long-thread navigation

  • Spaces from the homepage: Interact with Spaces without navigating away from the homepage to start a new thread.
  • Thread Toc: A table of contents for long threads, so you can jump around instead of scrolling.
  • Sticky toolbar: Keeps actions accessible without scrolling up and down.

Message actions and Markdown handling

From the sticky toolbar you can quickly reach a message's action items: Rewrite, Edit, Copy (with or without links), and similar. The Custom Markdown Block is aimed at coding use: no line wrap by default, plus syntax highlighting for languages Perplexity doesn't natively support.

Export and theming

  • Experimental thread export: Save an entire thread or individual messages in Markdown, with or without links.
  • Custom theme: An ADHD-friendly color scheme out of the box, plus your own accent color, fonts, and more.

What's in development

A Prompt Library is listed as in development — a system to create, manage, and share prompts. The site notes "many more" features that don't fit on the page.

Should you install it?

If you… Complexity is…
Use Perplexity daily for work or projects Likely worth it — the in-thread controls and thread navigation save repeated steps
Frequently write long threads Useful — Thread Toc and sticky toolbar address the scrolling problem
Care about prompt reuse Worth watching — Prompt Library is not yet shipped
Use Perplexity casually Lower value — most features optimize heavy, repeated use

One practical note from a review (Markus Weninger, Jul 2, 2024): the reviewer switched their default browser from Firefox to Brave specifically to use the extension, and mentions the developer is responsive to suggestions via the Perplexity Discord community. The same review anticipates an open-source release. If browser choice is fixed for you, confirm availability on your browser's add-on store before committing.