Factsheet
Where does Chrome store extensions? - Stack Overflow
What are some of the most surprisingly useful Chrome extensions you have?
How to see all extensions/themes by author in chrome web store?
Install Chrome extension form outside the Chrome Web Store - Stack Overflow
Where are Chrome extensions stored?
Chrome extensions are stored in a specific directory on your computer’s file system. On Windows, they are stored by default in C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions, but is the user name you’re logged into Windows with.
Do Chrome extensions work on mobile?
They don’t work on the Chrome browser on mobile, but you can use extensions on some Chromium-based browsers. We’ve got a full guide to the topic here.
Can you export Chrome extensions?
You can export Chrome extensions as CRX files, but you need to enable Developer mode in Chrome and then pack the extension in a CRX file.
Videos
Storage Location for Unpacked Extensions
Extension engine does not explicitly change their location or add a reference to its local paths, they are left in the place where there are selected from in all Operating Systems.
Ex: If I load a unpacked Extension from E:\Chrome Extension the unpacked Extension is still in the same location
Storage Location for Packed Extensions
Navigate to chrome://version/ and look for Profile Path, it is your default directory and Extensions Folder is where all the extensions, apps, themes are stored. (If you have several browser profiles set up in Chrome, you will want to view the chrome://version/ page from the profile where the extension is installed.)
Examples
Windows
If my Profile Path is %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default then my storage directory is:
C:\Users\<Your_User_Name>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions
Linux
~/.config/google-chrome/Default/Extensions/
MacOS
~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions
Chromium
~/.config/chromium/Default/Extensions
Since chrome has come up with the multiple profiles you will not get it directly in C:\Users\<Your_User_Name>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions but you have to first type chrome://version/ in a tab and then look out for Profile path inside that and after you reach to your profile path look for Extensions folder in it and then folder with the desired extension Id
Some of my favorites that might not be that well known and are super useful. What are yours?
Hover Zoom+
Workona
Reddit load images directly
Enhancer for YouTube
Extensity
For regular Windows users who are not skilled with computers, it is practically not possible to install and use extensions from outside the Chrome Web Store.
Users of other operating systems (Linux, Mac, Chrome OS) can easily install unpacked extensions (in developer mode).
Windows users can also load an unpacked extension, but they will always see an information bubble with "Disable developer mode extensions" when they start Chrome or open a new incognito window, which is really annoying. The only way for Windows users to use unpacked extensions without such dialogs is to switch to Chrome on the developer channel, by installing https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/index.html?extra=devchannel#eula.
Extensions can be loaded in unpacked mode by following the following steps:
- Visit
chrome://extensions(via omnibox or menu -> Tools -> Extensions). - Enable Developer mode by ticking the checkbox in the upper-right corner.
- Click on the "Load unpacked extension..." button.
- Select the directory containing your unpacked extension.
If you have a crx file, then it needs to be extracted first. CRX files are zip files with a different header. Any capable zip program should be able to open it. If you don't have such a program, I recommend 7-zip.
These steps will work for almost every extension, except extensions that rely on their extension ID. If you use the previous method, you will get an extension with a random extension ID. If it is important to preserve the extension ID, then you need to know the public key of your CRX file and insert this in your manifest.json. I have previously given a detailed explanation on how to get and use this key at https://stackoverflow.com/a/21500707.
For Windows, you can also whitelist your extension through Windows policies. The full steps are details in this answer, but there are quicker steps:
- Create the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallAllowlist. - For each extension you want to whitelist, add a string value whose name should be a sequence number (starting at 1) and value is the extension ID.
For instance, in order to whitelist 2 extensions with ID aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb, create a string value with name 1 and value aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, and a second value with name 2 and value bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb. This can be sum up by this registry file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallAllowlist]
"1"="aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
"2"="bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb"
EDIT: actually, Chromium docs also indicate how to do it for other OS.
EDIT (06/05/2022): ExtensionInstallWhitelist is deprecated since Chrome 100, it has been renamed to ExtensionInstallAllowlist (answer updated)
