Finally: Google Chrome Extensions Turned On By Default In Dev Releases

Martin Brinkmann
Sep 10, 2009
Updated • Dec 27, 2017
Google Chrome, Google Chrome extensions
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Not many users understood why the Google Chrome development team decided to implement some functionality using startup switches.

Google Chrome supports a number of startup parameters that add, remove, or modify features. Integrating options in the browser natively instead, for instance in the browser's preferences or a separate page for advanced options, would improve accessibility and make those features or modifications available to a larger audience.

Users who wanted to turn on the extension engine had to launch the web browser with a parameter up until now. Google Chrome supports browser extensions, but only if a specific startup parameter is added to the browser's start.

The same is true for adding userscript support, bookmark syncing and dozens of other features that are available as launch parameters.

The reason for selecting this method of implementing new features in Chrome is unknown, as most users would probably prefer that Google would  add options to enable or disable these features in the web browser's settings which would make the whole process more comfortable and discoverable.

There are some launch parameters that are used more often than others. The parameter to enable extensions is definitely in the top list especially with the recent increase in extensions that get released for the Google browser.

Google finally made the decision to turn on extensions by default in all Google Chrome dev releases that are released in the future (Google Chrome 4.x). Users of the latest stable release of the web browser (Google Chrome 2.x) and those of the development builds of Google Chrome 3.x are still stuck with either no extension support at all or the need to enable it by launching Google Chrome with the command line parameter.

It is also not clear if the developers will enable extension support by default when they release Google Chrome 3 final.

Update: Extensions are supported by all recent versions of the Chrome browser. It is no longer required to use a startup parameter to add support for them. The same is true for userscripts by the way which are supported by default as well.

Summary
Finally: Google Chrome Extensions Turned On By Default In Dev Releases
Article Name
Finally: Google Chrome Extensions Turned On By Default In Dev Releases
Description
Google started to add native support for web browser extensions to the Google Chrome Dev web browser back in November 2011.
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Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. lol said on December 17, 2009 at 6:45 pm
    Reply

    Vanillaman you’re an idiot.

  2. gobo said on September 11, 2009 at 9:10 am
    Reply

    Firefox 4.0 has to be a game changer or its heading down.

  3. Vanillaman said on September 10, 2009 at 6:50 pm
    Reply

    Anything has to be better than the overhyped Mozilla “No response”, “Freeze”, “Crash” Firefox!!!

    Firefox is “thankfully” on its way out. People are jumping ship on Firefox now. Its had its day.

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