Using LingoLark

How the extension handles your saved vocabulary day to day—backing up words for safekeeping and clearing your list when you want a fresh start.

How it works

When you save a phrase, LingoLark stores it locally in your browser using Chrome’s local storage. Your saved words, translations, and source page URLs stay on your device in that profile—they are not sent to a LingoLark cloud service as part of normal saving.

English translations can be filled in automatically or by hand, depending on your translation model. See AI Models to learn about Ollama, Chrome Nano, and manual entry.

Manual entry is the default translation mode; to use AI for automatic translations, Ollama or Chrome Nano must be set up separately — see AI Models for details.

Open the LingoLark toolbar popup (click the extension icon) to see saved-word counts, choose your translation model, and open the side panel for the full list.

Settings live behind the gear icon in the top-right corner of the popup header. Click the gear to open a small menu with Account and Backup. Choosing either option opens a full-page modal inside the popup:

The header title changes to Account or Backup.
The gear is replaced by an X close control.
The main popup content is hidden until you close the modal.

Click X to return to the main popup view and the gear icon.

Account holds sign-in and sign-out, your user id, Delete all words, and—only when you are signed in—Delete my account. The account control is hidden for guests so it cannot be triggered without a session.

Backup holds cloud backup status and actions, plus local export to JSON or CSV.

Signed-in users can also save a cloud backup of their current vocabulary list (see Backup & export below). Cloud backup today is a manual, one-shot snapshot you trigger from the Backup modal—there is no background sync between devices yet.

Backup & export

LingoLark offers two ways to keep a copy of your vocabulary: cloud backup (for signed-in accounts) and local export (download a file to your computer).

Open Backup from the gear menu to reach both options.

Cloud backup

Cloud backup is a manual snapshot, not automatic sync. You press a button, and LingoLark uploads a copy of your current vocabulary list—the active target language bucket (FR, DE, etc.) for your signed-in account—to LingoLark’s cloud storage. Nothing uploads in the background, and saves you make after a backup do not flow to the cloud until you press the button again. Each new backup replaces the previous cloud snapshot for your account; only one snapshot per account is kept at a time.

At the top of the Backup modal, a status panel shows:

Whether you are signed in (if not, you will be prompted to log in)
The date of your last cloud backup, when one exists
Word counts for the cloud snapshot and for your current device

Click Back up to cloud to upload the latest snapshot. You must be signed in. The status panel refreshes after a successful save.

Click Restore from cloud to replace this device's current vocabulary list with the saved cloud snapshot. If this device has more words than the cloud backup, LingoLark shows a warning that restore may remove local-only words; clicking Restore from cloud acknowledges that risk and proceeds.

Cloud backup is intended for safekeeping and moving words between devices when you sign in elsewhere. It is separate from the spreadsheet-style Export Words flow below, which downloads all account vocabulary across language buckets as a file.

Local export

Local export downloads a copy of your saved vocabulary so you can archive it, move words manually, or review them outside the extension.

Exports include account vocabulary only—words saved while you are signed in. Guest saves that exist only in the browser before sign-in are not included in the export file.

How to export

Open the LingoLark toolbar popup.
Click the gear icon, then choose Backup.
Click Export Words.
Choose JSON or CSV.
Click Download backup.

Chrome saves a file named like lingolark-vocab-backup-2026-05-21.json or .csv in your usual downloads folder. The popup status line shows how many words were included.

Click X in the header when you are finished to return to the main popup view.

JSON

Choose JSON when you want a structured backup that keeps LingoLark’s language buckets—FR, DE, and other target language codes you may use later.

The file is a single document with:

Metadata — app name, schema version, and export timestamp.
accountVocabRows — your words grouped by account, then by target language code, then as a list of saved entries.

Each saved entry includes the phrase, English translation, source page URLs, save time, and stable row id. Internal-only fields such as pending-translation flags and save-session ids are omitted so the file stays easy to read and share.

Example shape (simplified):

json

{
  "app": "LingoLark",
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "exportedAt": "2026-05-21T20:00:00.000Z",
  "vocabState": {
    "accountVocabRows": {
      "your-user-id": {
        "FR": [
          {
            "id": "…",
            "word": "bonjour",
            "translation": "hello",
            "urls": ["https://example.com/article"],
            "savedAt": 1716321600000
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Use JSON when you may want to restore data in a future LingoLark version, archive a full snapshot, or work with the same nested structure the extension uses for multi-language vocabulary.

CSV

Choose CSV when you want a spreadsheet-friendly flat list—one row per saved word.

Columns:

Column	Meaning
`store_kind`	Always `account` for exported rows
`user_id`	Your LingoLark account id
`target_language_code`	Language bucket (`FR`, `DE`, etc.)
`id`	Stable row id
`word`	Saved phrase in the target language
`translation`	English translation
`saved_at`	Save timestamp (milliseconds)
`urls_json`	JSON array of source page URLs

Use CSV to sort and filter in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers; print a study list; or merge vocabulary with other tools.

Which format should I use?

If you want…	Choose
Language buckets preserved for future restore or multi-language archives	JSON
A simple table to open in a spreadsheet	CSV

Both formats export the same underlying vocabulary. Pick the one that fits how you plan to use the file.

Delete all words

The Delete all words control is in the Account modal (gear icon → Account), at the bottom of the screen. Use it when you want to wipe your saved vocabulary and start fresh.

Deletion is permanent. There is no undo and no recovery from LingoLark after you confirm.

How to delete

Open the LingoLark toolbar popup.
Click the gear icon, then choose Account.
Scroll to the bottom and click Delete all words.
Read the warning, then type delete all my words exactly into the confirmation field.
Click Delete all words again to confirm, or Cancel to go back.

The final button stays disabled until the phrase matches exactly. Click X in the header to close the Account modal without deleting.

What gets removed

This clears saved vocabulary for your current list—the active target language (FR, DE, etc.) and whether you are browsing as a guest or a signed-in account. Words saved under other language buckets are not removed.

It does not sign you out, reset extension settings, or remove your account.

Back up first

If you might want the words later, open Backup from the gear menu and use Back up to cloud and/or Export Words before deleting. LingoLark does not keep a copy after deletion.

Delete account

Delete my account lives at the bottom of the Account modal (gear icon → Account), and is only visible when you are signed in. Guests do not see it, and the underlying request will be rejected if it ever runs without a valid session.

Deleting your account is permanent. There is no undo.

How to delete

Open the LingoLark toolbar popup.
Click the gear icon, then choose Account.
Scroll to the bottom and click Delete my account.
Read the warning, then type yes delete my account exactly into the confirmation field.
Click Delete my account again to confirm, or Cancel to go back.

The final button stays disabled until the phrase matches exactly.

What it does and does not touch

Account deletion removes:

Your LingoLark cloud account (sign-in identity).
Your cloud backup snapshot, if you had one.

Account deletion does not remove:

The vocabulary saved in your browser’s local storage on this device.

If you also want to wipe the words on this device, use Delete all words in the same Account modal—before or after deleting the account. The two controls are independent: Delete all words clears local vocabulary only and leaves your account alone; Delete my account clears the account and cloud backup and leaves local words alone.

Back up first

If you might want the words later, Export Words to JSON or CSV before deleting your account—cloud backups are deleted along with the account.

Manual entry — save without automatic translation
Glossary — terms used in the app

Using LingoLark ​

How it works ​

Popup layout ​

Backup & export ​

Cloud backup ​

Local export ​

How to export ​

JSON ​

CSV ​

Which format should I use? ​

Delete all words ​

How to delete ​

What gets removed ​

Back up first ​

Delete account ​

How to delete ​

What it does and does not touch ​

Back up first ​

Related pages ​

Using LingoLark

How it works

Popup layout

Backup & export

Cloud backup

Local export

How to export

JSON

CSV

Which format should I use?

Delete all words

How to delete

What gets removed

Back up first

Delete account

How to delete

What it does and does not touch

Back up first

Related pages