


Once you know how it’s actually pretty easy to download the CRX. Individual users can even double-click (or drag-drop) the CRX package to install the extension directly. Administrators can then install the extension via group policy. Sometimes, especially in enterprise environments where users might not have access to the Chrome Web Store, you’ll need to distribute the CRX file yourself. To see what CRX format is being used – you can check via the command-line: $ file foo.crxįoo.crx: Google Chrome extension, version 2įoo.crx: Google Chrome extension, version 3 How do I download the CRX? But if someone on Chrome 85 installs the Foo extension, Chrome will use the CRX3 package instead. So, if someone on Chrome 66 installs the Foo extension, Chrome will actually download and install the CRX2 package. So how does the Chrome Web Store handle this? Well, the Web Store actually hosts BOTH formats for all extensions. You will also receive an error if you try to install a CRX3 extension in older versions of Chrome. In fact, if you try to install a CRX2 extension in newer versions of Chrome, it will fail. However, starting in Chrome 73, the newer CRX3 format became the new default. The older one is CRX2 and was the default for a while. The CRX package actually comes in two formats. When you go to the Chrome Web Store and install an extension, Chrome is actually downloading and installing the extension’s.

crx file represents a web extension that has been signed by Google.
