Question

I have some design ideas for Google Chrome. I want to convert it into a theme.

I searched a lot, but did not find a satisfactory explanation on how to go about doing that. Do you know what needs to be done? Some link, perhaps?

Answer 1

Download any available theme for Chrome, like this one for instance.

Rename it so it has a .zip extension. Open it with your favorite archiving tool.

The theme is described in a file called manifest.json. It gives links to images used in the theme. They're in the "i" directory in the Greyscale one. The images are in PNG format.

Here is the format of the manifest.json file for Greyscale:

{
"version":"1.0",
"name":"Greyscale",
"theme":
{"images":
    {
    "theme_frame":"i/agxjaHJvbWV0aGVtZXNyDAsSBEZpbGUY6ZwBDA",
    "theme_toolbar":"i/agxjaHJvbWV0aGVtZXNyDAsSBEZpbGUY6pwBDA",
    "theme_button_background":"i/agxjaHJvbWV0aGVtZXNyDAsSBEZpbGUYtawBDA"
    },
"colors":
    {
    "frame":[32,32,32],
    "toolbar":[210,210,246],
    "tab_text":[0,0,0],
    "tab_background_text":[0,0,0],
    "bookmark_text":[0,0,0],
    "ntp_background":[235,235,235],
    "ntp_text":[0,0,0],
    "ntp_link":[0,0,120],
    "ntp_section":[210,210,210,1],
    "ntp_section_text":[0,0,0],
    "ntp_section_link":[0,0,120]
    },
"properties":
    {
    "ntp_background_alignment":"bottom",
    "ntp_background_repeat":"no-repeat"},
    "tints":
    	{
    	"buttons":[0.6,0,0.5]
    	}
    }
}

Use this as a template for your own themes.

You'll find more information here too.