Installing an app from the Chrome Web Store is a breeze. Yet there are times when you want to install a chrome app from outside of the Web Store. It might be ‘cause the app you want is no longer available or your PC might be offline or you might want an app your friend has. Whatever the cause, it’s good to know how you can manually install a Chrome app.

I’ll present you with two methods. Both methods will require you to have the needed files. I am assuming that we’ll be needing an app no longer available on the store, and thus will point you towards getting that CRX file. If you don’t have a CRX file but have an extracted app, proceed directly to method two. We start off by opening the needed app on the Chrome Web Store.

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Then go to This Site and enter the URL of the app you want. Then click on download

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A CRX file will be downloaded. Now this is where method one and two are defined. If you follow method one, open “chrome:extensions” on Google Chrome.

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Then drag and drop the CRX file onto that page. Your app should get installed. If you get an error saying that the app is only available through the Web Store, proceed to method two.

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In method two, we start by extracting the contents of the CRX file onto a folder. Use 7-zip to do so. I will be extracting to “C:ApplicationsChromeApps”. If you used an extracted CRX file or got the app’s folder, just stay put. Which ever method you followed, change the folder “_metadata” to “metadata” inside the extracted CRX file’s directory. (You have a folder inside the extracted directory called “_metadata”).

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Go to “chrome:extensions” again. Click on Chrome Apps. Toggle the Developer Mode switch. Then click “Load Unpacked Directory”.

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Point to the directory in which the app’s “manifest.json” file is situated.

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Done! Your app should now be installed.

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If you got a “No WebGL” error, read THIS.

Hope that helped 🙂

21 thoughts on “How to Install an External App in Google Chrome

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