Kriko

Guide

Kriko, step by step.

Each part is filmed in the real app with an invented product, so what you see is what you get. Nothing here needs an account.

Not installed yet? Four steps on the home page get you started.

01Check a listing

Open a product page.

On any shop or marketplace, press Alt + K or the toolbar button. Kriko's panel opens beside the page and lists what is known to go wrong with that exact product.

  • The top line counts what is known: serious, to check and minor.
  • Each finding says how well it is supported: Solid, Partial or Thin.
  • Open a finding to read what was found, its source and a What to ask line: a question to put to the seller.

No findings is not proof that nothing is wrong. It means nothing sourced is known yet.

A shop page for an invented e-bike. Kriko's panel slides in beside it and lists four findings. A cursor opens the first one, which shows what was found, its source and a question to ask the seller.
The panel opens beside the listing, and one finding opens to show its source. The product is invented.

02Research something new

Ask about a product Kriko does not know.

When no catalog covers the product, the panel says Not in your catalogs yet and offers Research this product. Pick the Quick Look agent that does the reading, add context if the listing leaves something out, and start.

  • Kriko reads pages about that exact product and shows what it found, each finding with the words it quotes and where.
  • A local agent is free and runs on this computer. An online agent is sent your question and the pages it read, and if it is a paid service it bills your own account.
  • A finished quick look is saved on your computer, so it is there when you come back.
Kriko's panel on a page for an invented air fryer. It says the product is not in your catalogs yet. A cursor presses Research this product, then starts the research, and three findings appear, each with a quote from its source.
A product no catalog holds, researched from the panel. The product is invented.

03Find a check again

Your checks are kept.

Every check is saved on your computer. Open the app and your recent checks are on the start screen. Open one to see all its findings, then open Evidence to read each source and its quote.

  • Ask about the product below its findings, or choose Ask for fresh evidence to research the exact product again for current prices and availability.
The Kriko desktop app. A cursor opens a saved check for an invented e-bike, then opens the evidence behind its first finding, which lists three sources.
A saved check, and the evidence behind one finding. The product is invented.

04Compare

Line up the ones you are torn between.

Press Add to compare in the panel on each product, then open Compare in the app. Each product is a column. A finding that shows up in more than one product says so, for example Also in 1 of 2 others.

  • Turn on Differences only to hide what the products share.
  • Rank these for me asks your agent to weigh the risks, the price history, the seller and what you told Kriko you need, and to name one.
  • Look at each column's coverage first: a missing finding can mean nothing is known, not that nothing is wrong.
The Compare screen in the Kriko desktop app, with three invented e-bikes side by side. A cursor turns on Differences only, the shared findings drop away, and then it turns the switch off again.
Three invented e-bikes side by side, with Differences only turned on and off.

05How much doubt to see

Choose how much doubt to see.

Some findings rest on little: one site alone says it, its best source is low in trust, its quote only partly matches its page, or it depends on a detail the listing does not state. Kriko marks those Thin.

Open Settings and, under Information sensitivity, choose Show everything, Hide thin or Strict. Hidden findings are counted, with a button to show them. This changes what is drawn, never what is stored.

A saved check for an invented e-bike with three findings, one marked Thin. A cursor opens Settings and chooses Hide thin. Back on the check, the thin finding is gone and a line says one thin finding is hidden, with a button to show it.
Choosing Hide thin hides one finding and counts it. The product is invented.

06Keep it up to date

Catalogs and the app, kept current.

Catalogs you have installed update themselves about once a week. To add more, open More, then Catalogs, and choose Find release catalogs. On Windows, when a new version of the app is out, a notice appears in the corner of the window and you choose when to install it.

Closing the window does not stop Kriko, because the browser extension needs it. To stop it, choose Quit from its icon in the system tray.

07Your data and keys

It stays with you.

Your checks, history, shortlist and settings live on your computer. Keys you add stay there too. More, then Backup and restore, saves a copy of your work; the key files are left out of it.

Online research is the one thing that leaves your computer, and only to the provider you chose. The privacy policy covers every case.

Stuck, or something missing?

Open an issue on GitHub and say what you were doing when it went wrong.

Install Kriko Help and feedback