Unable to install Chrome Web Store extensions

[toastyy00]

Summary

I am trying to use CloakBrowser Manager on Windows 11 with Docker Desktop / WSL2 for persistent browser profiles that can load Chrome Web Store extensions, especially wallet extensions such as OKX Wallet.

I ran into two related issues:

1. Chrome Web Store extension installation is blocked because CloakBrowser is detected as non-Google Chromium.
2. Downloading a .crx through the Google update endpoint does not behave like a normal CRX install. The downloaded file is saved as a UUID-like filename without .crx, opening it does not trigger installation, and it cannot be loaded through the extension UI.
3. I also tried using the new launch_args support with an unpacked OKX Wallet extension, but it still did not appear in chrome://extensions.

I am not sure whether this is expected behavior, a missing setup step, or a Manager/Docker limitation.

Environment

• Host OS: Windows 11
• Runtime: Docker Desktop with WSL2 backend
• Image: cloakhq/cloakbrowser-manager:latest
• Container command:

What I tried

• Chrome Web Store shows Switch to Chrome to install extensions and themes, and the install button is disabled.
• Setting chrome://flags/#extension-mime-request-handling to Always prompt for install still results in CRX files being downloaded instead of installed.
• Downloaded CRX files are saved as UUID-like filenames without .crx.
• Renaming the downloaded file to .crx and opening it through file:// does not trigger an install prompt.
• Load unpacked cannot load the CRX because it expects an extracted folder.
• I copied an unpacked extension folder into /data/extensions/..., confirmed it contains manifest.json, then added: --load-extension=/data/extensions/example-extension

After saving the profile, stopping it, launching it again, and checking chrome://extensions, the extension still did not appear

[evelaa123]

Hey! What you're hitting is expected behavior, not a CloakBrowser bug. Quick breakdown:

Web Store + .crx are dead ends. Google blocks Web Store installs on all non-Chrome Chromium builds (Brave, ungoogled, AdsPower, CloakBrowser — same story). And Chromium disabled .crx file installs globally around v75, so the chrome://flags toggle and renaming the UUID file to .crx won't bring it back. Only unpacked extensions via --load-extension=<folder> (or the new extensionPaths option) work.

Why your unpacked load failed — check these:

1. manifest.json must be in the root of the folder you point to. If you unzipped a .crx and got okx-wallet/3.x.x/manifest.json, point to 3.x.x/, not okx-wallet/.
2. Path must be visible inside the container. Run docker exec <c> ls /data/extensions/okx-wallet/manifest.json — if it's missing, your bind-mount is wrong.
3. Headless breaks MV3 wallets. OKX is Manifest V3 with a service worker — run with headless: false, the old headless mode won't init the worker.
4. Wipe the profile once. If the profile was launched before without the extension, its Preferences can block it. Delete the profile folder and start clean.
5. File permissions on Windows → WSL → container mounts. Sometimes Chromium can't read the files. Fix with docker exec -u root <c> chmod -R a+rX /data/extensions.

Two working ways to load an extension (per the [README](https://github.com/CloakHQ/cloakbrowser#launch_persistent_context)):

1. extensionPaths option (recommended, added in v0.3.31):

```js
import { launchPersistentContext } from 'cloakbrowser';
import path from 'path';
import fs from 'fs';

const profileDir = './profiles/okx-profile';
const extDir = path.resolve('./extensions/okx-wallet'); // unpacked folder

// Sanity check — manifest must be in the root of extDir
if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(extDir, 'manifest.json'))) {
  throw new Error(`manifest.json not found in ${extDir}`);
}

const ctx = await launchPersistentContext({
  userDataDir: profileDir,
  headless: false,            // MV3 wallets need headed mode
  extensionPaths: [extDir],   // <-- official way to load extensions
  humanize: true,
});

const page = await ctx.newPage();
await page.goto('chrome://extensions');
```

2. Classic --load-extension flag (works on any version, supports multiple extensions comma-separated):

```js
import { launchPersistentContext } from 'cloakbrowser';
import path from 'path';

const exts = [
  path.resolve('./extensions/okx-wallet'),
  path.resolve('./extensions/capmonster'),
].join(',');

const ctx = await launchPersistentContext({
  userDataDir: './profiles/okx-profile',
  headless: false,
  args: [
    `--disable-extensions-except=${exts}`,
    `--load-extension=${exts}`,
  ],
});
```

Debug trick: open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, then open DevTools on that page. The console prints the real reason a load failed (bad manifest, missing key, wrong MV version, etc.).

If it still doesn't show up after this, attach the output of docker exec <c> ls -la /data/extensions/okx-wallet/ and a screenshot of chrome://extensions with Developer mode on — the cause is always visible there.