Electron supports a subset of the Chrome Extensions API, primarily to support DevTools extensions and Chromium-internal extensions, but it also happens to support some other extension capabilities.
Note: Electron does not support arbitrary Chrome extensions from the store, and it is a non-goal of the Electron project to be perfectly compatible with Chrome's implementation of Extensions.
Electron only supports loading unpacked extensions (i.e., .crx files do not
work). Extensions are installed per-session. To load an extension, call
ses.loadExtension:
const { session } = require('electron')
session.loadExtension('path/to/unpacked/extension').then(({ id }) => {
// ...
})Loaded extensions will not be automatically remembered across exits; if you do
not call loadExtension when the app runs, the extension will not be loaded.
Note that loading extensions is only supported in persistent sessions. Attempting to load an extension into an in-memory session will throw an error.
See the session documentation for more information about
loading, unloading, and querying active extensions.
We support the following extensions APIs, with some caveats. Other APIs may additionally be supported, but support for any APIs not listed here is provisional and may be removed.
All features of this API are supported.
All features of this API are supported.
All features of this API are supported.
The following properties of chrome.extension are supported:
chrome.extension.lastError
The following methods of chrome.extension are supported:
chrome.extension.getURLchrome.extension.getBackgroundPage
The following properties of chrome.runtime are supported:
chrome.runtime.lastErrorchrome.runtime.id
The following methods of chrome.runtime are supported:
chrome.runtime.getBackgroundPagechrome.runtime.getManifestchrome.runtime.getPlatformInfochrome.runtime.getURLchrome.runtime.connectchrome.runtime.sendMessagechrome.runtime.reload
The following events of chrome.runtime are supported:
chrome.runtime.onStartupchrome.runtime.onInstalledchrome.runtime.onSuspendchrome.runtime.onSuspendCanceledchrome.runtime.onConnectchrome.runtime.onMessage
Only chrome.storage.local is supported; chrome.storage.sync and
chrome.storage.managed are not.
The following methods of chrome.tabs are supported:
chrome.tabs.sendMessagechrome.tabs.reloadchrome.tabs.executeScriptchrome.tabs.update(partial support)- supported properties:
url,muted.
- supported properties:
Note: In Chrome, passing
-1as a tab ID signifies the "currently active tab". Since Electron has no such concept, passing-1as a tab ID is not supported and will raise an error.
The following methods of chrome.management are supported:
chrome.management.getAllchrome.management.getchrome.management.getSelfchrome.management.getPermissionWarningsByIdchrome.management.getPermissionWarningsByManifestchrome.management.onEnabledchrome.management.onDisabled
All features of this API are supported.
NOTE: Electron's
webRequestmodule takes precedence overchrome.webRequestif there are conflicting handlers.