Chromium self-updating install (.crx)

This page is for Chromium users who want to keep using the GitHub build without replacing the package by hand every time. After you install the .crx, the browser fetches new versions from the update manifest on the release page.

Check whether you need this

If you can install from the Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons, or Firefox Add-ons, use the store build instead. The browser updates it automatically and no configuration is required.

A self-updating install only makes sense when at least one of these is true:

You use Chromium or Chrome on Linux.
You use a Chromium fork such as QQ Browser, a 360 browser, Brave, or Vivaldi that allows external extensions.
You are willing to configure an extension allowlist once on stock Chrome or Edge.

Why stock Chrome and Edge need extra configuration

Since Chrome 33 (Windows) and Chrome 44 (macOS), Google has progressively blocked browsers from installing extensions outside the Chrome Web Store. Without an administrator-level policy, Chrome will either:

refuse the .crx with CRX_REQUIRED_PROOF_MISSING, or
install it and then disable it as "not from the Chrome Web Store", with no durable way to re-enable it.

When the browser supports self-hosted installation and its device management prerequisites are met, the required policies allow the .crx to update through the release manifest. Windows Edge also requires domain membership as described below; importing a policy alone does not meet that requirement.

Installation source trust

The templates' ExtensionInstallSources permits both this project's GitHub pages and GitHub's shared download host, release-assets.githubusercontent.com, which also serves assets from other repositories. Both the CRX download URL and the referring page must match an allowed source, but a page under this project's path could still link to another CRX on the shared host.

ExtensionInstallAllowlist only exempts listed extensions from a blocklist; it does not restrict installation to this extension. The templates do not set a global ExtensionInstallBlocklist, so these source rules grant trust beyond this extension ID. Import only if you accept that scope, and verify the download source and installed extension ID. Ask your administrator to merge existing organizational policies rather than overwriting them.

Installation

1. Download the release asset

Open the latest release and download:

all-api-hub-chrome.crx

The file name carries no version because releases/latest always resolves to the newest stable release. Nightly users should download all-api-hub-nightly-chrome.crx from the Nightly release.

Do not install the ZIP build alongside it

The .crx build and the unpacked ZIP build have different extension ids, so their data is not shared. If you already installed the ZIP with "Load unpacked", export a backup, remove the old install, install the .crx, then import the backup.

2. Allow the browser to install an external extension

Linux

No configuration needed. Chromium and Chrome allow self-hosted extensions on Linux.

Windows

Edge device prerequisite: Microsoft's documentation requires Windows devices to be joined to a Microsoft Active Directory domain. Microsoft Entra joined devices are insufficient unless they are Microsoft Entra hybrid joined. Importing edge-install-policy.reg on an ordinary non-domain device does not meet the self-hosted installation requirements; use the Edge Add-ons build instead.

Write an administrator-level registry policy. Ready-made templates live in resources/crx-self-update/: chrome-install-policy.reg for Chrome, edge-install-policy.reg for Edge. The templates already carry this extension's id; import the file from an administrator shell, then fully quit and restart the browser.

The templates carry these two policies:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallAllowlist]
"1"="oligofghjlogjhmnhnhccnobbginfgmp"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ExtensionInstallSources]
"1"="https://github.com/qixing-jk/all-api-hub/*"
"2"="https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/*"

Edge users should replace both Google\Chrome segments with Microsoft\Edge.

The id oligofghjlogjhmnhnhccnobbginfgmp is derived from the signing public key and matches the appid in the release's updates.xml; you can also confirm it on the extensions page after installing.

macOS

Deploy the same policies (ExtensionInstallAllowlist, ExtensionInstallSources) through MDM or a configuration profile. Templates are provided as resources/crx-self-update/chrome-install-policy.mobileconfig and edge-install-policy.mobileconfig; push them through MDM or double-click to install as a system profile. Editing only a user-level plist is not treated as a forced policy, and the browser ignores it.

3. Install and confirm

Open chrome://extensions/ (or edge://extensions/) and enable developer mode.
Drag the downloaded .crx onto the extensions page and confirm the install.
Check that the extension card does not report "not from the Chrome Web Store".

4. Verify automatic updates

The browser checks update_url every few hours. To check immediately:

Open chrome://extensions/.
Click the "Update" button on the page.
When a newer version exists, the extension version changes.

You can also click "Check for updates" in Settings → About inside All API Hub. A self-updating install reports "the browser will install it automatically" instead of offering a ZIP download.

The browser only reads update_url at startup and on its periodic check, so a long-running session delays it.
A managed or corporate device may override extension policies.
Nightly .crx builds use a browser version derived from UTC build time (year.monthday.hourminute.secondmillisecond, for example 2026.1026.459.59999), while the display name retains the package version. The browser compares this numeric version; the extension's update reminder compares build commits.
To switch from the Nightly .crx to the Stable .crx, export a backup, uninstall, then install and restore the backup. Both use the same signing ID, but Stable has a lower version number and cannot replace Nightly directly.

How do I go back to the store build?

Export a backup, uninstall the .crx build, install from the store, then import the backup. The two builds have different extension ids, so their data does not migrate automatically.