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      1 <div id="pageData-name" class="pageData">Packaging</div>
      2 <div id="pageData-showTOC" class="pageData">true</div>
      3 
      4 <p>
      5 This page describes how to package your extension.
      6 As the <a href="overview.html">Overview</a> explains,
      7 extensions are packaged as signed ZIP files
      8 with the file extension "crx" &mdash;
      9 for example, <code>myextension.crx</code>.
     10 </p>
     11 
     12 <p>
     13 <b>Note:</b>
     14 You might not need to package your extension.
     15 If you publish your extension using the
     16 <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/developer/dashboard">Chrome Developer Dashboard</a>,
     17 then the only reason to create your own <code>.crx</code> file
     18 would be to distribute a non-public version &mdash;
     19 for example, to alpha testers.
     20 </p>
     21 
     22 <!-- [PENDING: Refer to instructions on submitting an extension for inclusion in the gallery.] -->
     23 
     24 <p>
     25 When you package an extension,
     26 the extension is assigned a unique key pair.
     27 The public key is used as the identifier for the extension.
     28 The private key is kept private
     29 and used to sign each version of the extension.
     30 </p>
     31 
     32 
     33 <h2>Creating a package</h2>
     34 
     35 <p>To package an extension:</p>
     36 <ol>
     37   <li>
     38     Bring up the Extensions management page
     39     by going to this URL:
     40     <blockquote>
     41     <b>chrome://extensions</b>
     42     </blockquote>
     43   </li>
     44 
     45   <li>
     46     If <b>Developer mode</b> has a + by it,
     47     click the +.
     48   </li>
     49 
     50   <li>
     51     Click the <b>Pack extension</b> button.
     52     A dialog appears.
     53   </li>
     54 
     55   <li>
     56     In the <b>Extension root directory</b> field,
     57     specify the path to the extension's folder &mdash;
     58     for example, <code>c:\myext</code>.
     59     (Ignore the other field;
     60     you don't specify a private key file
     61     the first time you package a particular extension.)
     62   </li>
     63 
     64   <li>
     65     Click <b>OK</b>.
     66     The packager creates two files:
     67     a <code>.crx</code> file,
     68     which is the actual extension that can be installed,
     69     and a <code>.pem</code> file,
     70     which contains the private key.
     71   </li>
     72 </ol>
     73 
     74 
     75 <p>
     76 <b>Do not lose the private key!</b>
     77 Keep the <code>.pem</code> file secret and in a safe place.
     78 You'll need it later if you want to do any of the following:
     79 </p>
     80 <ul>
     81 <li><a href="#update">Update</a> the extension</li>
     82 <li>Upload the extension using the
     83 <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/developer/dashboard">Chrome Developer Dashboard</a></li>
     84 </ul>
     85 
     86 <p>
     87 If the extension is successfully packaged, you'll see a dialog like this
     88 that tells you where to find
     89 the <code>.crx</code> and <code>.pem</code> files:</p>
     90 </p>
     91 
     92 <img src="images/package-success.gif"
     93   width="554" height="208" />
     94 
     95 
     96 <h2 id="update">Updating a package</h2>
     97 
     98 <p>To create an updated version of your extension:</p>
     99 <ol>
    100   <li>
    101     Increase the version number in <code>manifest.json</code>.
    102   </li>
    103 
    104   <li>
    105     Bring up the Extensions management page
    106     by going to this URL: <b>chrome://extensions</b>
    107   </li>
    108 
    109   <li>
    110     Click the <b>Pack extension</b> button.
    111     A dialog appears.
    112   </li>
    113 
    114   <li>
    115     In the <b>Extension root directory</b> field,
    116     specify the path to the extension's folder &mdash;
    117     for example, <code>c:\myext</code>.
    118   </li>
    119 
    120   <li>
    121     In the <b>Private key file</b> field,
    122     specify the location of the
    123     already generated <code>.pem</code> file for this extension &mdash;
    124     for example, <code>c:\myext.pem</code>.
    125   </li>
    126 
    127   <li>
    128     Click <b>OK</b>.
    129   </li>
    130 </ol>
    131 
    132 <p>If the updated extension is successfully packaged, you'll see a dialog like this:</p>
    133 
    134 <img src="images/update-success.gif"
    135   width="298" height="160" />
    136 
    137 <h2>Packaging at the command line</h2>
    138 
    139 <p>
    140 Another way to package extensions
    141 is by invoking <code>chrome.exe</code> at the command line.
    142 Use the <code>--pack-extension</code> flag
    143 to specify the location of the extension's folder.
    144 Use <code>--pack-extension-key</code>
    145 to specify the location of the extension's private key file.
    146 For example:
    147 </p>
    148 
    149 <pre>
    150 chrome.exe --pack-extension=c:\myext --pack-extension-key=c:\myext.pem
    151 </pre>
    152 
    153 <p>
    154 To suppress the dialog,
    155 add <code>--no-message-box</code> to the command.
    156 </p>
    157 
    158 <h2>Package format and scripts</h2>
    159 <p>
    160 For more information on the format, as well as pointers to scripts you can use
    161 to create <code>.crx</code> files, see <a href="crx.html">CRX package format</a>.
    162 </p>
    163