Why there is no download button
The obvious thing to want is a file on this page, a .crx you drag
into your browser. That has not worked for years. Chrome blocks installing
extensions packaged from outside the Chrome Web Store on Windows and macOS: the
browser either refuses the file outright or disables the extension on the next
restart. Offering a download would mostly generate confused bug reports, so we
are not going to offer one.
Developer mode with Load unpacked is the other route people suggest. It works, but it needs the unpacked source, it turns on a warning banner every time the browser starts, and it does not update itself. It is a fine way to develop the extension and a poor way to run it.
The route that does work
The Chrome Web Store distributes pre-release builds itself, and an extension installed that way behaves like any other: it is signed, it updates automatically, and no browser flags or warning banners are involved. Two tracks exist and we expect to use both, in this order:
- Private, limited to trusted testers. The build is published to a named list of Google accounts. If your account is on the list, the store page installs normally; if it is not, the page is simply not there for you. This means we need the email address of the Google account you use with Chrome; that address is what the list is keyed on. It is also the track where we will change things fastest and break things occasionally.
- Unlisted. The build is published to anyone who has the link, but it does not appear in store search and is not browsable. Good for a wider round of testing without the item being generally discoverable, and it needs nothing from you but the link.
Both tracks are the same review process and the same package as a public listing. Neither requires developer mode, and neither lets us push anything to your browser that the store has not reviewed.
Microsoft Edge
Edge installs Chrome Web Store extensions, so an Edge user can join either track through the Chrome Web Store item. A separate Edge Add-ons listing is planned for the public release; there is no Edge-specific beta.
Joining
The opt-in link will be published here. When it opens, joining will mean giving us the email address of the Google account you use with Chrome, so it can go on the trusted-tester list, and nothing else. We will not ask for a GitHub token, and there is no form on this site.
Until then, the feedback page is the place to say you are interested, and the overview describes what the extension does today.
What a beta build means for your data
Nothing changes. A pre-release build handles credentials and repository content exactly as the released one does, and the privacy policy applies to it in full. If a beta ever collects something the policy does not describe, the policy changes first and the change is announced on this site.