I’m having trouble with downloading Chrome extensions programmatically and could use some guidance.
I’ve been attempting to use Google’s service endpoint to fetch CRX files directly from the Chrome Web Store, but I’m running into issues. The API call completes without throwing any errors, however it’s not actually returning the extension file I’m expecting.
I’ve double checked that the extension ID is correct and the extension is definitely available in the web store (I can install it manually through the browser). The curl command runs without errors but the downloaded file isn’t what I expect.
Has anyone encountered similar problems when trying to download extensions this way? What are some debugging steps I should try? Any alternative approaches that might work better?
Everyone’s right about Google blocking this, but there’s a solid workaround that doesn’t need browser automation or manual downloads.
I hit this same problem building deployment pipelines for extension testing. Instead of fighting deprecated Chrome APIs, I built an automated workflow that handles the whole extension lifecycle.
The trick? Use an automation platform that can handle browser interactions, file management, and API calls together. Set up a flow that launches a browser, goes to the Chrome Web Store, triggers the download through the actual UI, grabs the file, and processes it however you want.
This works because you’re using real browser sessions Google sees as legit. No more user agent spoofing, broken endpoints, or signature headaches.
I’ve used this in production for months - way more reliable than trying to reverse engineer Chrome’s internal APIs. Runs headless and plays nice with CI/CD pipelines.
Check out Latenode for this kind of workflow. Handles all the browser automation and file processing without the Selenium complexity.
Chrome changed their security policies around 2018 and broke most programmatic extension downloads. You’re probably getting an empty response or HTML redirect instead of the actual CRX file. I spent weeks debugging this exact issue when maintaining internal tooling. Your curl syntax isn’t the problem - Google intentionally blocks these requests now. Even when I got a file back, it was corrupted or missing proper headers. Your extension ID looks right, but the endpoint just doesn’t serve files anymore. If you really need the CRX file, try intercepting the download with browser automation like Selenium, though it’s hacky and unreliable. Most developers have ditched this approach entirely.
That endpoint’s been deprecated for ages, and Google blocks automated CRX downloads now. I ran into this exact issue a few years back when building an extension management tool. The API call usually returns nothing or just redirects you to the Chrome Web Store instead of giving you the actual CRX file. Google did this to stop unauthorized distribution and force extensions through their normal install process. Even if you get past the initial roadblocks, the downloaded file won’t install because of signature verification issues. Best solution I’ve found is using the chrome.management API if you’re building extensions, or just tell users to install manually from the store. There’s no official way to download CRX files programmatically anymore.
Yeah, this won’t work. I hit the same wall building automated tests for browser extensions a few years ago.
Google completely locked down extension downloads. Even when that endpoint worked, it needed specific user agent strings and failed randomly. Now it just returns junk or redirects.
I switched to Chrome DevTools Protocol instead. Launch Chrome with developer flags and load unpacked extensions straight from folders - no CRX downloads needed.
If you really need the CRX file, you’ll have to download it manually through a real browser. But honestly, most people don’t actually need the CRX anymore. What’s your end goal? There’s probably a better way to do it.