CODEWITHSUNDEEP
google-chrome-app
ZuzEL
ZuzEL

Reputation: 13645

Distribution of a chrome app from outside Chrome Web Store

I can not find any info about possibility to host chrome app on my web site and provide it for user to download, avoiding google chrome store. Is it possible?

When I double click on downloaded extension it says "Apps, extensions, and user scripts cannot be added from this website", however I see some installed extensions have a notice that it was installed from outside Chrome Web Store. So maybe it is possible

Upvotes: 0

Views: 640

Answers (2)

Xan
Xan

Reputation: 77482

You can't do that anymore with extensions, but every announcement Google has done about was specifically about extensions. Apps are a different beast.

In the very first one they specifically mentioned:

Chrome Apps will also continue to be supported normally

Unless that changed unannounced, you should be able to host your app, including autoupdate, on your own website. The "drag the .crx" flow still works, also because apps are not restricted.

Update: Looks like as a collateral you can't initiate an install normally even for apps, because of the "Apps, extensions, and user scripts cannot be added from this website" error. I do believe Chrome still won't disable apps installed with the dragging way.

However, you should also consider using inline install; it's minimally disruptive as far as flow goes for your users.

Upvotes: 1

James Ko
James Ko

Reputation: 34489

Chrome extensions are just .crx files, so you should be able to just point them to a .crx file and tell them to drag it into their Extensions page.

Although, I think I heard a while back that after an update Chrome prevented users from installing .crx extensions into Chrome directly, so you may also have to address that in your instructions.

In summary: you have to download the .crx file locally and drag it into chrome://extensions for this to work.

Upvotes: 0

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