How to unpack a chrome theme?

How to unpack a packed chrome theme(*.crx)? Their FAQ states how to pack, but not how to unpack.

6 Answers

I got the solution: apparently, a .crx file is just a renamed .zip file. Additionally, when you install it, the theme is decompressed into the chrome install directory...

2

On Mac OS X, you can use unzip to decompress the .crx file:

unzip extension.crx

Here's the result:

2

Actually it's more than a zip. When you unzip -l you'll see a message:

warning [extension.crx]: 306 extra bytes at beginning or within zipfile

So the crx file is 306 bytes of something plus a zip archive.

Chrome extension install directory:

Mac:

/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions

Windows 7:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions

Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default

1

This video explains everything about what a .crx is. In addition to a .zip holding all the extension's resources, it includes a public key and a signature, to ensure integrity and authenticity of the file: Antony Sargent explains .crx files Hosted by: youtube.com

The details of the .crx package format are published here.

Yep aviraldg is right. rename it to a .zip and use your favorite extraction tool. XPIs for firefox, etc, are the same process.

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy