How does one install an extension for Chrome browser from the local file system?

CW Holeman II

Posted 2011-02-18T21:22:20.693

Reputation: 1 845

Answers

Found a set of instructions online for loading your own custom extension:

Navigate to chrome://extensions

Expand the Developer dropdown menu and click “Load Unpacked Extension”

Navigate to the local folder containing the extension’s code and click Ok

Assuming there are no errors, the extension should load into your browser

paradd0x

Posted 2011-02-18T21:22:20.693

Reputation: 7 771

Thanks. Gots to click the "Developer" check box nowadays, too – Kirby – 2016-05-27T18:05:16.710

Note Your unpacked extension is somewhat „hot linked“ to its original place. It is NOT copied to the profile folder, changes e.g. on styles still have direct effect. That is GOOD for a developer (instant feedback on changes, little “deployment” hassle), this is BAD if you then remove the extension folder (believing, it got copied into the profile folder... Nope, it didn't.) – Frank Nocke – 2019-12-18T10:19:14.500

Ok, updated the answer to include the correct way to upload extensions into your browser. I tested it on my own and it worked. – paradd0x – 2011-02-18T21:50:59.187

Here is the link from where I got those instructions. http://www.blackweb20.com/2010/01/11/creating-your-own-google-chrome-extension/

– paradd0x – 2011-02-18T21:52:04.770

If this worked for you, please mark it as an answer! Thanks! – paradd0x – 2011-02-19T04:27:40.837

What kind of extension is it? Is it a .CRX file? A (possibly ZIP’d) folder? A .JS user-script? The process differs for each.

CRX:
1. Drag and drop the .CRX file onto the page chrome://extensions
2. Click the Install button in the prompt at the bottom of the screen
Folder:
1. If it is ZIP’d, extract the contents somewhere
2. In Chrome, open chrome://extensions/
3. Click + Developer mode
4. Click Load unpacked extension…
5. Navigate to the extension’s folder and click OK
6. Delete the (extracted) folder (the extension was copied)
User Script:
1. Exit Chrome (all windows)
2. Copy the .JS file to the User Scripts folder in your User Data folder
3. Run Chrome

Synetech

Posted 2011-02-18T21:22:20.693

Reputation: 63 242

@Synetech - Is this still a valid way? Can I use this to migrate extensions not available on App Store to new PC? – Alex S – 2015-08-20T11:39:47.057

Very nice @Synetech! That solved it for me. – EnocNRoll - Ananda Gopal – 2016-04-06T19:21:13.037

1Chrome doesn't by default allow you to install custom .crx extensions anymore. There must be an option for this, but I can't seem to find it. – agnoster – 2012-10-17T14:09:19.493

4@agnoster, you can still use extensions from other than the webstore, but you must drop it into chrome://extensions now. – Synetech – 2012-10-17T18:12:46.777

To install a user script, the file must have a suffix of .user, like my_script.user.js.

Caqu

Posted 2011-02-18T21:22:20.693

Reputation: 101