What is a Chrome extension package?

A Chrome extension is usually a manifest-driven package that contains metadata, assets, and code for the browser to load. In most cases, the manifest file describes the extension name, permissions, background scripts, icons, and other settings.

Packed extensions may also be distributed as .crx files, which wrap the same archive contents in a Chrome-specific container. That means you can often learn a lot about an extension without running it.

Tool description

This tool inspects Chrome extension files and summarizes the manifest and package metadata. It accepts .crx, .zip, or raw manifest JSON and extracts the most useful details into a readable report.

Use it to quickly check permissions, icons, background configuration, and localized names before opening the package manually.

Examples

  • A signed .crx file from the Chrome Web Store
  • A plain manifest.json file from an unpacked extension
  • A zipped extension bundle containing manifest.json and assets

Features

  • Supports CRX v2 and CRX v3 metadata extraction
  • Resolves localized names and descriptions from _locales
  • Shows icon previews and the raw manifest content

Limitations

This tool performs best-effort inspection only. It does not execute extension code, verify trust chains, or perform security analysis.

If a package is incomplete or unusual, the report only reflects the metadata that can be read from the manifest and archive contents.