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How do I activate a Chrome extension found as a *.crx file?

So far, what I have seen is that Chrome does not allow you to install extensions that aren't found on Chrome Web Store, at least on its stable channel.

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3 Answers 3

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You should be able to unpack the crx to a directory by opening it with an unzip program, for example 7-Zip, Windows Explorer, or WinZip. If you are having a hard time opening it in your zip program of choice, just rename the .crx to a .zip and try again.

Extract the contents to a directory. Then in Chrome, under Settings, go to Extensions, then click "Load unpacked extnesion..." and pick your directory. That should install it. If you get an error, post exactly what error you get.

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  • Its working. But there is one error, and some elements look like they are missing(not sure, i.e. Scroll bar). The error is : There were warnings when trying to install this extension: Support for manifest version 1 is being phased out. Please upgrade to version 2. Aug 28, 2012 at 14:02
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    Sounds like the extension is incompatible with the version of Chrome you're running, due to the extension being too old / Chrome too new. Aug 28, 2012 at 14:49
  • @iamcreasy, You need to modify the manifest to version 2. Then try the steps above again, it will work.
    – Pacerier
    Apr 23, 2015 at 7:14
  • @allquixotic, However, "Load unpacked extension..." loads the extension from the folder you supplied, it is not copied over to \Default\Extensions directory like all the other "normal" extensions that we download. How can we make our own extension akin to these "normal" extensions?
    – Pacerier
    Apr 23, 2015 at 7:16
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Download the extension, go to chrome://extensions, and drag the downloaded file onto the window.

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Adding the extension ID, previously HKLM-SOFTWARE-Policies-Google-Chrome-ExtensionInstallWhitelist and since May 2022 to HKLM-SOFTWARE-Policies-Google-Chrome-ExtensionInstallAllowlist has allowed me to install and use some essential non-store extensions.

Go to chrome://extensions, drag the downloaded file onto the window. If the extension gets disabled, run a REG file like this for 2 browsers:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallWhitelist]
"1"="myextension1id"
"2"="myextension2id"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallAllowlist]
"1"="myextension1id"
"2"="myextension2id"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ExtensionInstallWhitelist]
"1"="myextension1id"
"2"="myextension2id"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ExtensionInstallAllowlist]
"1"="myextension1id"
"2"="myextension2id"

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