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i would like to know if there's a way to scan for ALL of chrome's extenstions.
This includes extensions that are manually loaded(/added) by a user or a script.
For example, an extension loaded manually from a directory called ../Desktop/extension will appear in the scan.
By definition, all downloaded chrome extensions are located in: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions
But there is no default location for manually-added extenstions.
I confirmed this by creating a manuall extension that does nothing except then popping an alert.
The following shows that there is a custom path for the manually-loaded extension:
The extension's ID
The ID doesn't appear in the default location path
The extension has it's own path
TLDR;
Is there a way to get the custom extensions without scanning the entire system?
Thanks in advance :)
In the Chrome documentation, it states here that in your extension manifest, you should add the following:
{
"name": "My externally connectable extension",
"externally_connectable": {
// Extension and app IDs. If this field is not specified, no
// extensions or apps can connect.
"ids": [
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
"bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb",
],
"matches": [
"https://*.example.com/*",
],
},
}
It then goes on to say that to send a message from your website to your Chrome Extension, you need to pass the Extension ID as the first parameter of the sendMessage function
// The ID of the extension we want to talk to.
var editorExtensionId = "abcdefghijklmnoabcdefhijklmnoabc";
// Make a simple request:
chrome.runtime.sendMessage(editorExtensionId, {openUrlInEditor: url},
function(response) {
if (!response.success)
handleError(url);
});
Here's the issue. When a Chrome Extension is installed, it is given a random ID by Chrome. For example, in my development build, my PC install has a different ID to my macOS install. As such, the extension only works on the platform with the correct ID.
When I upload the extension to the Chrome store, how am I going to know the ID that it gets given in order to define that ID in my extensions manifest file and on my website?
I figured out how to do this.
What you need to do is to upload your .zip to the Chrome WebStore developer portal.
Once done, at the top is the generated ID that you can hardcode throughout your website or extension.
To then ensure that this ID is always used when developing though, you want to go to the Package section and then download the crx file.
Install that CRX file to your Chrome install, and then navigate to the install folder for that extension:
C:/Users/<User>/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data/Default/Extensions/<extension-id>/
Open the manifest.json file and inside there is a value called key. If you copy that into your development versions manifest.json, it tells Chrome to always use the ID that the webstore has given it.
Delete the webstore installed version and continue with development
The extension ID will not change after you have uploaded the extension to the Chrome Web Store (CWS). So, you'll only need to use that ID.
For example, Adblock's extension ID is gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom, which is present on its CWS' link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom.
Yes, it does change every time you load the extension in development mode though.
Your website should attempt to connect to a list of known extension IDs, and use whichever one succeeds. The Chrome Cast SDK does something similar.
This also enables uploading a beta version to the web store with the same codebase; the website will connect to it if that one is installed.
You'll have to upload the extension at least once in order to get an ID, which will remain stable for future versions on the web store.
You could predict the development ID, but you may as well just copy and paste it after Chrome generates it for you.
>>> t=str.maketrans('0123456789abcdef','abcdefghijklmnop')
>>> hashlib.sha256(b'/Users/josh/junk/26053434').hexdigest()[:32].translate(t)
'odalipbppffphnakilnfmbicajbmomim'
>>> hashlib.sha256(b'C:\\Users\\josh\\junk\\26053434').hexdigest()[:32].translate(t)
'ebikiconcdlacnflflaalbbeinepnnmf'
(For example, the windows path might well use forward slashes and begin with file://…)
The actual process to ping the extension could be the same runtime.sendMessage/runtime.connect code, but it could also use web_accessible_resources with either a fetch or a script tag (which is what the Cast SDK does)
If you must access a development extension from a production website, you're going to need some way to inject the extension ID. The simplest might be to pop open the console and write localStorage.myExtensionId='aaabbb' and reloading.
How can I convert json formatted bookmarks file (taken from /Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Bookmarks) into an bookmarks html file so Google Chrome can import it?
This has more or less been answered in comments by #Mr.P, but let me formalise:
In my example I have a current (OS root) drive called C:\\. I have a storage drive of F:\\ which has a previous install of Chrome on it which I want to retrieve the bookmarks from.
I did this in Powershell but you could easily do it in file explorer you would just need to either enter the path to <drive_name>:\\users\<account_name>\appdata manually/show hidden folders.
close all instances of Chrome currently running (maybe check in the process monitor to ensure all processes terminated).
navigate to <storage_drive_letter>:\\users\<account_name>\appdata\local\google\chrome\default.
On PowerShell you would select the previous install bookmarks file by entering $books = Get-Item bookmarks. On file explorer you would 'cut'
cd <os_drive_letter>:\\users\<account_name>\appdata\local\google\chrome\default or navigate to this path on file explorer
mv $books . or paste file
open up Chrome again and check the bookmarks: they should be visible all together.
[optional] If you're brave close all Chrome windows once again (potentially save both files somewhere else before you do this) delete all files with 'bookmarks' at the start (you can use gci | where {$_.name -like "bookmarks"} | rm) then reopen the browser. In your filesystem Chrome should have automatically regenerated the bookmarks into one file.
If this doesn't work for other people let me know
If for whatever reason, you only have the JSON output of the Chrome bookmarks file, don't sweat it. Chrome will export bookmarks as HTML and import as HTML. But, sometimes you don't have the luxury of exporting from Chrome because of some issue with your Windows installation. But, you're resourceful and managed to at least get access to your Windows filesystem and backed up your Chrome bookmarks file. But, now how do you import it to Chrome on a working computer without it being in HTML format?
On Windows (this was tested on Win 10), all you have to do is Show Hidden Files and Folders and then paste and overwrite the Bookmarks file at:
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Don't run around in circles trying to convert JSON to HTML if you have a Windows computer. I'm not sure about Mac and Linux, but I'd bet it would work similarly.
Folder location of bookmark (on February 2021)
Chrome: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Edge: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default
Note: "Default" could be something else (e.g. Profile 1) if you are not currently logged in.
Finally i found it
Step 1: Goto Run --> enter - appdata to navigate to this folder
Step 2: You Needs to take backup/copy of your old bookmarks and keep it one place
Step 3 : then you need to navigate to below folder, you can find many profiles of yours.
Navigate to the needed gmail account profile which has your display pic or profile pic
[identify the account you want to import bookmarks]
Go back to the profile 12 [the account which i want to see the bookmarks]
Then replace your old bookmark file here[step 2:which you taken backup bookmark file]
Boooooom! just restart chrome
I think you are making this harder than it is. Save the JASON bookmark.file, first. Go to C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default to save the Bookmark.file somewhere on your computer. Then uninstall the browser (Chrome, for example). Make sure you check the box to remove all history, etc. before you click on Uninstall.
Reinstall the browser, then overwrite the Bookmark.file in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
DONE! Bookmarks restored. No need to save bookmark.file or convert it to an HTML file for restoral. Just overwrite the bookmark.file with the one you saved before uninstall of your browser.
If you're worried about modifying existing programs, or overwriting any other bookmarks you've currently got, then I found the following easiest:
Install a portable version of Chrome, for example from portableapps.com
Navigate to App\DefaultData\profile\Default inside the install directory
Replace the Bookmarks file with your json file
Launch Chrome Portable, and export the bookmarks as html
Delete Chrome Portable
I had same problem with opera. I simply copy pasted that json file into new location of new installation.
Just drag the .json to opened firefox window and the run bookmarklet
(create new bookmark, enter code in location)
CODE: SELECT ALL
javascript:(function(){var E=document.getElementsByTagName('PRE')[0],T=E.innerHTML,i=0,r1,r2;t=new Array();while(/("uri":"([^"]*)")/g.exec(T)){r1=RegExp.$1;r2=RegExp.$2;if(/^https?:/.exec(r2)){t[i++]='['+(i)+']:'+r2+'</a>';}}with(window.open().document){for(i=0;t[i];i++)write(t[i]+'');close();}})();
Thanks to dickvl
Clickable links result
Save webpage complete will save .htm
Save .json to desktop, drag browser window smaller from lower right edge till you can drag the .json into opened window., doubleclick titlebar to restore browser full size. In the tab that opens with .json data, click the bookmarklet. Another tab should open with links. You can save as .htm by right click "save page as" web page complete.
Anywhere in the opened window, like dragging a shortcut or html, it'll open
You can also do File > Open File > browse to .json > open
Using JSON
Backup your bookmarks as a JSON file.
Delete the bookmarks you do not want.
Export the ones you do want as an HTML file
Restore your bookmarks with the JSON file
To add mor in the JSON file in a text editor.
Create rows by finding and replacing ',{"title' with 'return{"title' (Don't type the single quotes and, in the replace field, use the appropriate substitute for return: ¶ or \r, for example. My search looked like this: Find: ,{"title Replace: \r,{"title Replace All gave me rows instead of a continuous stream of text.
Save the file as text and open it in a spreadsheet. Each bookmark will have its own row. The site name, URLs, and other data are in columns.
Create a bookmark by copying the URL, pasting it into Firefox, and going to the website.
Drag the URL from the toolbar to the desired location in the sidebar. Change the bookmark title if you don't like the website-assigned title.
Repeat as needed.
I'd like to be able to take a screenshot of a page and give the user the option to save it to their desktop (with a standard OS file save prompt). Is this possible from the Chrome Extension environment? I'm not worried about the image side, more the saving to the user file system.
I've looked at the following pages (among others):
Making a Chrome Extension download a file
http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/file/filesystem/#toc-support
Take a look at this HTML5Rocks update: http://updates.html5rocks.com/2011/08/Saving-generated-files-on-the-client-side
Here's a demo of this in action: http://eligrey.com/demos/FileSaver.js/
I'm not sure in which languages those extensions are, I think the are written in Html, Javascript or JSON. As far as I know they are "compressed" in a .CRX file.
It is possible to directly modify the html, js, json of a Chrome Extension (or whatever language they use)?
Installed Chrome extension directories are listed below:
Copy the folder of the extension you wish to modify. ( Named according to the extension ID, to find the ID of the extension, go to chrome://extensions/). Once copied, you have to remove the _metadata folder.
From chrome://extensions in Developer mode select Load unpacked extension... and select your copied extension folder, if it contains a subfolder this is named by the version, select this version folder where there is a manifest file, this file is necessary for Chrome.
Make your changes, then select reload and refresh the page for your extension to see your changes.
Chrome extension directories
Mac:
/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions
Windows 7:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Ubuntu 14.04:
~/.config/google-chrome/Default/Extensions/
I searched it in Google and I found this:
The Google Chrome Extension file type is CRX. It is essentially a compression format. So if you want to see what is behind an extension, the scripts and the code, just change the file-type from “CRX” to “ZIP” .
Unzip the file and you will get all the info you need. This way you can see the guts, learn how to write an extension yourself, or modify it for your own needs.
Then you can pack it back up with Chrome’s internal tools which automatically create the file back into CRX. Installing it just requires a click.
A signed CRX file has a header that will cause most/all unzippers to barf. This is not the easiest way to go about it, but here's how to do it from a bash command line.
The basic idea is to find where the original unsigned zipfile begins, then copy the CRX file to a zip file but exclude the CRX header.
hexdump -C the_extension.crx | more
Look in the output for the start of the zip file, which are the ASCII bytes "PK". In the sample I tried, the PK was at offset 0x132. (From reading the CRX spec, I think this number will vary from file to file because of different signature lengths.) That number is what we'll use in the next step.
dd if=the_extension.crx of=the_extension.zip bs=1 skip=0x132 (For the skip parameter, substitute the offset you found in the previous step.)
Now unzip the .zip that you just created.
Fiddle with the files in the unzipped directory, then either install the unsigned/unpacked extension into your Chrome installation, or else repackage it just as you would any other Chrome extension.
I'm sure that there is a more concise way to do this. Bash experts, please improve on my answer.
Note that some zip programs have trouble unzipping a CRX like sathish described - if this is the case, try using 7-Zip - http://www.7-zip.org/
I have read the other answers and found it important to note a few other things:
1.) For Mac users: When you click "Load unpacked extension...", the Library folder is by default hidden and (even if the Show Hidden files option is toggled on your Mac) it might not show up in Chrome's finder window.
2.) The sub folder containing the extension is a random alpha-numeric string named after the extension's ID, which can be found on Chrome's extension page if Developer flag is set to true. (Upper right hand checkbox on the extensions page)
(Already said) I found this out while making some Chrome themes (which are long gone now... :-P)
Chrome themes, extensions, etc. are just compressed files. Get 7-zip or WinRar to unzip it. Each extension/theme has a manifest.json file. Open the manifest.json file in notepad. Then, if you know the coding, modify the code. There will be some other files. If you look in the manifest file you might be able to figure out what the are for. Then, you can change everything...
.CRX files are like .ZIP files, just change the extension and right click > Extract Files and you are done.
Once you have extracted files --> modify them and add to zip and change extension back to .crx.
Other way around --> Open Chrome --> Settings --> Extensions --> Enable Developer Options --> Load unpacked Extension (modified extracted files folder) and then click pack extension.
Source
Now Chrome is multi-user so Extensions should be nested under the OS user profile then the Chrome user profile, My first Chrome user was called Profile 1, my Extensions path was C:\Users\ username \AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\ Profile 1 \Extensions\.
To find yours Navigate to chrome://version/ (I use about: out of laziness).
Notice the Profile Path and just append \Extensions\ and you have yours.
Hope this brings this info on this question up to date more.
It's possible to modify the code of .CRX extension, because it's a simple .zip archive. You can download extension, extract it's source code, modify it (test and debug it as it's on your side), and package back into .CRX file.
I googled out this tool to simply download .CRX extension and extract the source code and it worked for me: http://crxextractor.com
Everything it does is parses .CRX file format and extracts actual .zip containing the source code.
If you have installed the Portable version of Chrome, or have it installed in a custom directory - the extensions won't be available in directory referenced in above answers.
Try right-clicking on Chrome's shortcut & Check the "Target" directory. From there, navigate to one directory above and you should be able to see the User Data folder and then can use the answers mentioned above