How to publish a Chrome extension on the Chrome Web Store

Many guides that rank for this query describe limits and screens that have since changed. This one follows Chrome’s current publishing docs, checked in November 2026, including the parts older guides skip: 2-Step Verification, the trader declaration, the two-extension limit for new publishers, deferred publishing and percentage rollouts. If you are still building the extension, start with our Manifest V3 extension guide.

How do you publish a Chrome extension, step by step?

Register a Chrome Web Store developer account, zip your extension with manifest.json at the root, upload it in the Developer Dashboard, fill in the Store listing, Privacy and Distribution tabs, then submit it for review. It goes live after review, or when you choose.

1. 1

   Register

   Developer account, one-time fee and 2-Step Verification.

2. 2

   Package

   Zip with manifest.json at the root and a new version number.

3. 3

   Upload and list

   Upload the zip, then add the icon, screenshots and description.

4. 4

   Privacy

   Single purpose, a reason for each permission, data use answers.

5. 5

   Distribution

   Public, Unlisted or Private, and which countries.

6. 6

   Submit

   Review, then publish automatically or when you choose.

Step 1: How do you create a Chrome Web Store developer account?

• Turn on 2-Step Verification for the Google account first. Chrome’s policy says it is required for all developer accounts before publishing or updating an extension.
• Pick the account email carefully. The registration page says you cannot change it after the account is created. Use a shared company address.
• Accept the developer agreement, then pay the one-time registration fee.
• Declare whether you are a trader. Under EU consumer rules, Chrome may ask you to self-declare trader or non-trader status. Under the EU definition the page quotes, you are a trader if you publish for purposes related to your business. A trader’s verified details, such as legal name and contact details, are shown to store users.

Step 2: How do you package a Chrome extension for upload?

Zip all the extension’s files. Chrome’s preparation guide says manifest.json must sit in the root of the zip, not inside a folder. Check these manifest fields before you zip:

• name, version, icons and description. The description is at most 132 characters.
• version must be higher than any version you uploaded before. Starting low, such as 0.0.0.1, leaves room.
• manifest_version: 3. Chrome’s Manifest V2 timeline says the remaining Manifest V2 extensions were removed from the store on August 31, 2026.
• No comments inside manifest.json: they cause a “Cannot parse the manifest” error.

The name and the short description from manifest.json cannot be edited in the dashboard. To fix a typo there, you change the manifest, raise the version and upload again.

Step 3: How do you upload the extension and fill in the store listing?

In the Chrome Developer Dashboard, click Add new item and upload the zip. Chrome’s publishing guide allows packages up to 2 GB. If the manifest and zip are valid, you move on to the item’s tabs. The Store listing tab holds what users see: description, category, language, icon and screenshots.

Step 4: What goes in the Privacy tab?

Chrome’s privacy fields guide asks for five things:

• A single purpose that is narrow and easy to understand.
• A reason for every permission in your manifest. Remove any you do not use.
• Whether the extension runs remote code. Manifest V3 requires the extension’s logic to be in the package, so for most extensions the answer is no.
• Which kinds of user data it collects, and a certification that you follow the limited use policy.
• A link to your privacy policy.

Step 5: How do you choose who can see and install it?

In the Distribution tab you choose visibility and regions. You can publish to all regions or to chosen countries. The visibility options are compared in the private-publishing section below.

Step 6: How do you submit it and choose when it goes live?

If reviewers need to sign in, add a test account in the Test instructions tab. Then click Submit for Review. Leave the publish checkbox on to go live as soon as review passes, or turn it off for deferred publishing. With deferred publishing you have up to 30 days after approval to publish; after that, the submission goes back to draft and must be reviewed again.

Do you have to pay for a Chrome Web Store developer account?

Yes, once. Chrome’s registration page calls it a one-time fee, reported as $5 when Google began charging it at sign-up in 2020. Because the fee is one-time, you do not pay it again for each new extension or update.

You pay it once per developer account, after you accept the developer agreement, as the registration page explains. 9to5Google reported the amount. For how that compares with Edge and Safari, and what building the extension costs, read how much it costs to build a Chrome extension.

What do you need for a Chrome Web Store listing?

You must provide a 128×128 store icon and at least one screenshot, 1280×800 or 640×400. You also need a title and description, a single-purpose statement, a reason for each permission, data use answers and a privacy policy link if you handle user data.

The sizes come from Chrome’s image guidelines. Use all five screenshots if you can: each one is a chance to show a real feature, and the listing has to match what the extension actually does.

How long does it take to publish a Chrome extension?

Chrome’s review page says most reviews finish within a few days, but some take up to a few weeks. New developers, new extensions, risky permissions and large code changes get a closer look, so a first submission can take longer.

Chrome’s review process page also says reviews may take longer for extensions that ask for broad host permissions or sensitive permissions, and for those with more code. If an item has been pending for more than three weeks, it suggests contacting developer support.

Two things you control can shorten the wait: ask only for the permissions you use, with a clear reason for each, and load no code from a server. In our work, these remove two common causes of rejected or delayed reviews.

How do you publish a private Chrome extension?

Set visibility to Private in the Distribution tab, so only your trusted testers and the Google Groups you add can install it. For a company, publish it privately to your Google Workspace domain, or force-install it for staff through Chrome policies.

Chrome’s distribution guide notes that the trusted testers list belongs to your account, not to one item, and each tester needs a Google Account. Publishing to your domain only appears when your Google Workspace admin has turned it on. For company-wide rollout, Chrome’s enterprise publishing page adds that admins can set policies that install an extension automatically and silently for users.

How do you publish an update to a Chrome extension?

Raise the version number in manifest.json, upload the full new zip on the Package tab and submit it for review again. Users keep the old version until the update is published. Items with over 10,000 seven-day active users can roll out to a percentage first.

• Upload a zip with all files, changed and unchanged, using Upload New Package. The update guide says each version must be higher than the last.
• Updates go through the same review as new items. Until the update is published, users keep the current version.
• If the update asks for new permissions, Chrome asks users to accept them or disable the extension. Add permissions only when a feature needs them.
• Percentage rollout is open to published items with over 10,000 seven-day active users. You can raise the percentage later without a new review, but you cannot run two partial rollouts at once. Moving an old extension to Manifest V3? Follow our Manifest V2 to V3 migration checklist before you upload.

Why do Chrome extensions get rejected?

Typical reasons include code loaded from a server, permissions the extension does not use, missing or misleading listing details, collecting data without a privacy policy, and doing more than one unrelated thing. Each has a named violation code in the rejection email.

Rejection and warning emails name the problem with a code. Chrome’s troubleshooting page explains each one. These codes apply to most ordinary extensions:

Fix the named problem, raise the version, and submit again. If you think the decision is wrong, the troubleshooting page says to use the Appeal button on the item’s page in the dashboard.