Extensions Vault

Important

I don't trust third parties and their security processes.

This is my private database of Chrome extensions. You might find this idea extreme or unusual —

BUT

I want 100% control over the extensions I use:

- Know when an extension was updated and decide how to handle it.

- Review new code before it is loaded by my browser.

Motivation

There are various reasons why extensions end up in this database.

Past Events

Some are due to past experiences:

• Extensions no longer available on the Chrome Web Store.
• Newer versions
  • Introduced features I’m not interested in.
  • Went in a direction that conflicts with my personal beliefs.
  • Requested excessive access rights.
• Added telemetry or analytics without proper transparency.

Future Concerns

Others are based on potential risks I want to avoid:

• Becoming a victim of an extension owner's decision to:

  • Monetize the extension by selling it.
  • Introduce malicious scripts from third-party buyers.

• being a victim of security breaches resulting malicious scripts being injected into the extension code, see Cyberhaven’s Chrome extension security incident

Extra benefits

• Offline installation: no reliance on online stores.
• No Google Account requirement: use extensions without needing to sign in.
• Backup: safeguard open-source extensions not distributed through the Chrome Web Store.

Project Structure

📁db

Contains approved extensions. There are two types of files:

crx - contains native Chrome extension package. Unmodified store package with correct signatures inside.

zip - contains updated extension build based on source code or crx.

Additional information can be found in README.md files in each catalog.

📁out

Initially empty. Running out.ps1 will unpack the most recent version of the extensions into this folder.

Extracting geddoclleiomckbhadiaipdggiiccfje-1.4.12.crx
        Deploying geddoclleiomckbhadiaipdggiiccfje-1.4.12.crx as'Quick Javascript Switcher'
        Removing existing folder
        Moving files to C:\vault\out\Quick Javascript Switcher
Extracting ompiailgknfdndiefoaoiligalphfdae-2.8.1.crx
        Deploying ompiailgknfdndiefoaoiligalphfdae-2.8.1.crx as'chromeIPass'
        Removing existing folder
        Moving files to C:\vault\out\chromeIPass

How it works

1. Run out.ps1 - script will unpack latest version of each extension from the db into the out folder.
2. Open any Chromium-based browser
3. Navigate to chrome://extensions
4. Enable Developer mode
5. Click Load unpacked and select the extensions one by one from the out folder.

   ├──📁 db
   └──📁 out
       ├──📁 chromeIPass
       └──📁 Quick Javascript Switcher
   

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🛡 Only extensions which have passed security check land here