How to Deploy Helperbird in ChromeOS Kiosk Mode for Exams

This guide is for school IT administrators who manage shared Chromebooks used for exams and want to run Helperbird in ChromeOS kiosk mode.

The short answer is no. A kiosk session hides the browser UI, so students would have no way to open Helperbird. This page explains why the Kiosks tab rejects Helperbird, what the error message means, and where to go instead.

⚠️ Read this first: "Selected app is not enabled for kiosk mode"

If you tried to add Helperbird under Devices → Chrome → Apps & extensions → Kiosks and got this error, here is why.

The Kiosks tab only accepts items whose manifest declares kiosk_enabled. That key belongs to Chrome Apps, not to browser extensions. Helperbird is a standard MV3 browser extension, so it has no kiosk_enabled key and the console rejects it. The same happens with every ordinary extension.

This does not mean extensions can never run in a kiosk. They can, but only in a narrow way that does not suit Helperbird. See the section below.

Before you go further, check you actually need a kiosk. Most schools asking this question do not:

• Students sign in with their school accounts and take assessments in Google Forms locked mode? You do not need a kiosk or a managed guest session. Force-install Helperbird for the student OU instead. See How to Use Helperbird in Locked Mode on Chromebooks.
• Shared devices with no sign-in at all? Use a Managed Guest Session.

Can Helperbird Run in a Kiosk Session?

Not usefully, and it is worth understanding exactly why, because the answer is more nuanced than a flat no.

Extensions can be attached to web-app kiosks

Google does support adding extensions to a kiosk, but only to a web-app kiosk (one added by URL as a website, PWA, or Isolated Web App, not a Chrome App). You do it from the kiosk entry's own settings panel:

1. Devices → Chrome → Apps & extensions → Kiosks
2. Click the row of the URL you want to attach an extension to
3. Open Extensions → Add extension → Add from Chrome Web Store
4. Select the extension → Save

Note that this is a different flow from adding a kiosk app. You are attaching a companion extension to an existing web-app kiosk, not installing the extension as the kiosk itself.

Why that still does not work for Helperbird

A kiosk session has no browser toolbar and no extension icons. Google's own guidance for kiosk extension developers is explicit that extensions in kiosk must be built so that no direct user interaction with a popup or options page is required.

Extensions in kiosk are designed as headless companions: a background service worker that the kiosk web app talks to through message passing. There is no button for a student to press.

Helperbird is driven by its panel and toolbar icon, so in a kiosk session a student would have no way to open it. Even installed, it would be unreachable.

What to use instead

Start with locked mode. If your students sign in to their own Chromebooks and you only need Helperbird available during assessments, force-installing it for the student OU is all you need. No kiosk, no managed guest session, no extra license.

Set Up a Managed Guest Session Instead

Most schools describing a "kiosked exam Chromebook" actually need a Managed Guest Session. It gives you the things you wanted from a kiosk: no sign-in, device-level policy that follows the Chromebook's organizational unit, a subscription key pushed to the device rather than typed by a student, and a wipe between students. Unlike a kiosk, it keeps a real browser window with a visible toolbar, so Helperbird is reachable.

One point to check before you plan around it: Managed Guest Sessions need an Enterprise Upgrade or Education Upgrade. A Kiosk & Signage Upgrade does not cover them, so devices licensed for kiosk will need upgrading first.

The setup steps, license requirements, JSON policy examples, exam-day flow and troubleshooting are all on one page:

How to Deploy Helperbird in a Managed Guest Session

⚠️ Chrome App Kiosks Are Ending in ChromeOS 151

If any of your kiosks run a Chrome App, this affects you and the timing is tight.

• ChromeOS 150 (rolling out from July 2026) is the last release that supports Chrome Apps in kiosk sessions.
• From ChromeOS 151, Chrome Apps stop working in kiosk sessions entirely.
• The LTS channel extends this to April 2027.
• Chrome Apps force-installed for Managed Guest Sessions and user sessions are not affected and continue to work.

If your exam or assessment platform ships as a Chrome App kiosk, check with that vendor about their migration plan before your next testing window, and consider moving those devices to the LTS channel to buy time.

Web-app kiosks (URL, PWA, IWA) are unaffected. They are the format Google is moving kiosk mode toward.

Reference: End of support for Chrome apps (opens in a new tab)

What Is Kiosk Mode?

Kiosk mode is a ChromeOS feature that locks a managed Chromebook into a single app or web experience. When a Chromebook is in kiosk mode:

• The device runs a single app or opens a specific URL (for example, docs.new for exam use).
• There is no personal Google account signed in to the device itself.
• The Chromebook uses a special kiosk session that is managed through your Google Admin Console.
• Students can still sign in to Google services (like Google Docs) through the browser, using their own school email, but the device-level session is the kiosk account.

Kiosk mode is commonly used in schools for exam Chromebooks where students with IEP accommodations or 504 plans need accessibility tools during assessments. For that use case, a Managed Guest Session is the setup you want.

Related Guides

• How to Deploy Helperbird in a Managed Guest Session
• How to Use Helperbird in Locked Mode on Chromebooks
• How to Enable the Helperbird Floating Button
• How to Use the Floating Helperbird Button (User Guide)
• How to Set Up a Child Organizational Unit for Helperbird
• How to Deploy Helperbird to Your School
• How to Deploy Helperbird to an Entire School District
• How to Provision Helperbird with SDS, SFTP, or Clever

References

• End of support for Chrome apps - Google Help (opens in a new tab)
• Manage Chrome kiosk app settings - Google Help (opens in a new tab)
• Connecting an Extension from a Kiosk PWA - ChromeOS.dev (opens in a new tab)
• Add web apps to Chrome kiosks - Google Help (opens in a new tab)
• Kiosk apps on ChromeOS - ChromeOS.dev (opens in a new tab)
• Check policies in kiosk mode - ChromeOS.dev (opens in a new tab)
• Kiosk mode and public sessions - Chromium Docs (opens in a new tab)
• Use Chromebooks for student assessments - Google Help (opens in a new tab)