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Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 4:51 pm
by AnoPem
Hello, i would like a tutorial on how i can install a google chrome extension via my application.

Hope someone can help :)

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 7:08 pm
by CodenStuff
:duh; I don't know if you can do this due to security in chrome.

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 7:41 pm
by AnoPem
CodenStuff wrote:
:duh; I don't know if you can do this due to security in chrome.
I believe adobe does it with their pdf reader, so it should be possible

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:49 pm
by comathi
My Avast! antivirus does it as well, so it's definitely possible.

According to this link you need to have your app published on the Chrome Web Store for this to be possible.

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:31 pm
by CodenStuff
I have been doing some research but haven't yet come across a solid way on how to do this directly from software.

I imagine it could be a bit of a security risk because people would be able to install whatever they want on to your browser. On the other hand if it were possible then I'd assume Chrome would throw up a install permission alert of sorts to verify the user wants it installed but as I said I've not yet found a fool proof way of accomplishing it. :duh;

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 5:13 pm
by AnoPem
CodenStuff wrote:
I have been doing some research but haven't yet come across a solid way on how to do this directly from software.

I imagine it could be a bit of a security risk because people would be able to install whatever they want on to your browser. On the other hand if it were possible then I'd assume Chrome would throw up a install permission alert of sorts to verify the user wants it installed but as I said I've not yet found a fool proof way of accomplishing it. :duh;
Since the extension has to be hosted on the chrome extension store, google removes it if it looks suspicious, so i dont think its that much of a security risk

Re: Installing chrome extension as part of application

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 9:14 am
by visualtech
It indeed is possible, and many applications use it. Just to get you started, here is a simple how-to: http://smus.com/chrome-media-keys-revisited/ Should you need a more complicated example, feel free to drop me a message. The principle behind this application is rather simple: you open a web-socket at a port (say 8080) on your application and wait for connections. If there is a connection request, and some sort of handshake to verify the extension, you can be sure that the client has indeed downloaded the extension. After what, you can do pretty much anything - send the data to the web socket server on the external application, and let the external application parse and execute whatever you send. Simple. At least in theory.