CRX Starter – Install CRX & ZIP Extensions in Chrome

Install CRX & ZIP extensions in Chrome without developer mode.

Install CRX files and ZIP extension packages in Chrome without switching on developer mode. CRX Starter opens the package first and tells you, in plain English, what it will be able to access. Nothing gets installed until you click. Maybe you've got an extension that isn't in the Chrome Web Store: a test build from a developer, a .zip from a GitHub release, a .crx file a coworker sent over, or a tool from a download site. Usually that means turning on developer mode, unzipping folders and using "Load unpacked". CRX Starter makes it one step: drop the file in, read the check, click install. HOW IT WORKS 1. Drag a .crx or .zip into the workbench, or pick the file. Download links and one-click installs from crxstarter.com work too. 2. Read the check. Before anything runs, you see the extension's name, icon, version, where it came from, whether it can update itself and what it uses. 3. Click "Allow and install". Chrome then shows its own permission prompt, and that's the step that actually grants access. A PERMISSION CHECK YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ Every crx file and zip package gets the same three-part check, written for regular people, not developers: Sites it can access - the websites where it can read and change what's on the page Browser features it uses - things like tabs or cookies Its own settings only - storage it uses to remember its own data If a package asks for something CRX Starter can't pass through yet, the check tells you right away ("may not work"), so there are no surprises later. USE THE EXTENSION LIKE ANY OTHER Its popup opens from the CRX Starter toolbar icon. Its settings page opens inside the workbench, sub-pages included. Extensions made for the side panel run in Chrome's side panel. Background scripts and page scripts run on the sites it lists. Packages installed from a link that has an update address check for updates every day, and you can check manually anytime. "Remove" deletes its files and data and puts CRX Starter back the way it was. WHEN IT COMES IN HANDY Manually install a Chrome extension from a file you already have Install a Chrome extension from a ZIP file without unzipping it yourself Try out a developer's test build without touching the developer mode extensions settings Install an extension package offline that you saved earlier Check the permissions of a CRX extension before deciding whether to keep it WHY NOT JUST USE DEVELOPER MODE? Load unpacked does the job, but it makes you leave developer mode on, hang on to the unzipped folder and read a manifest to figure out what the extension does. CRX Starter is a Chrome extension installer for everybody else: it holds on to the package for you and sums up what it asks for in one sentence. GOOD TO KNOW One extension runs inside CRX Starter at a time. Installing a new one asks you before it replaces the current one. Manifest V3 packages are supported. Older Manifest V2 packages are not. A few browser features aren't passed through yet; the check lists them for each package. CRX Starter isn't a store and doesn't download extensions for you. Bring a package or a link you trust. CRX Starter may show a short list of other tools we make at the bottom of the workbench or the popup. CRX Starter is free, with no account and no sign-in. Got a question, or a package that won't install? Reach us at support@crxstarter.com or crxstarter.com/support.