API reference
Most extensions need access to one or more Chrome Extensions APIs to function. This API reference describes the APIs availablefor use in extensions and presents example use cases.
Common Extensions API features
An Extensions API consists of a namespace containing methods and properties for doing extensions work, and usually, but notalways, manifest fields for themanifest.json file. For example, thechrome.action namespace requires an"action" objectin the manifest. Many APIs also requirepermissions in the manifest.
Methods in extension APIs areasynchronous unless stated otherwise. Asynchronous methods return immediately, without waitingfor the operation that calls them to finish. Usepromises to get the results of these asynchronous methods.
Manifest V3 is supported generally in Chrome 88 or later. For extension features added in later Chrome versions, see the API reference documentation for support information. If your extension requires a specific API, you can specify a minimum chrome version in the manifest file.Chrome Extension APIs
- accessibilityFeatures
Use the
chrome.accessibilityFeaturesAPI to manage Chrome's accessibility features. This API relies on theChromeSetting prototype of the type API for getting and setting individual accessibility features. In order to get feature states the extension must requestaccessibilityFeatures.readpermission. For modifying feature state, the extension needsaccessibilityFeatures.modifypermission. Note thataccessibilityFeatures.modifydoes not implyaccessibilityFeatures.readpermission.- action
- Chrome 88+MV3+
Use the
chrome.actionAPI to control the extension's icon in the Google Chrome toolbar. - alarms
Use the
chrome.alarmsAPI to schedule code to run periodically or at a specified time in the future.- audio
- Chrome 59+ ChromeOS only
The
chrome.audioAPI is provided to allow users to get information about and control the audio devices attached to the system. This API is currently only available in kiosk mode for ChromeOS. - bookmarks
Use the
chrome.bookmarksAPI to create, organize, and otherwise manipulate bookmarks. Also seeOverride Pages, which you can use to create a custom Bookmark Manager page.- browsingData
Use the
chrome.browsingDataAPI to remove browsing data from a user's local profile.- certificateProvider
- Chrome 46+ ChromeOS only
Use this API to expose certificates to the platform which can use these certificates for TLS authentications.
- commands
Use the commands API to add keyboard shortcuts that trigger actions in your extension, for example, an action to open the browser action or send a command to the extension.
- contentSettings
Use the
chrome.contentSettingsAPI to change settings that control whether websites can use features such as cookies, JavaScript, and plugins. More generally speaking, content settings allow you to customize Chrome's behavior on a per-site basis instead of globally.- contextMenus
Use the
chrome.contextMenusAPI to add items to Google Chrome's context menu. You can choose what types of objects your context menu additions apply to, such as images, hyperlinks, and pages.- cookies
Use the
chrome.cookiesAPI to query and modify cookies, and to be notified when they change.- debugger
The
chrome.debuggerAPI serves as an alternate transport for Chrome'sremote debugging protocol. Usechrome.debuggerto attach to one or more tabs to instrument network interaction, debug JavaScript, mutate the DOM and CSS, and more. Use theDebuggeepropertytabIdto target tabs withsendCommandand route events bytabIdfromonEventcallbacks.- declarativeContent
Use the
chrome.declarativeContentAPI to take actions depending on the content of a page, without requiring permission to read the page's content.- declarativeNetRequest
- Chrome 84+
The
chrome.declarativeNetRequestAPI is used to block or modify network requests by specifying declarative rules. This lets extensions modify network requests without intercepting them and viewing their content, thus providing more privacy. - desktopCapture
The Desktop Capture API captures the content of the screen, individual windows, or individual tabs.
- devtools.inspectedWindow
Use the
chrome.devtools.inspectedWindowAPI to interact with the inspected window: obtain the tab ID for the inspected page, evaluate the code in the context of the inspected window, reload the page, or obtain the list of resources within the page.- devtools.network
Use the
chrome.devtools.networkAPI to retrieve the information about network requests displayed by the Developer Tools in the Network panel.- devtools.panels
Use the
chrome.devtools.panelsAPI to integrate your extension into Developer Tools window UI: create your own panels, access existing panels, and add sidebars.- devtools.performance
- Chrome 129+
Use the
chrome.devtools.performanceAPI to listen to recording status updates in the Performance panel in DevTools. - devtools.recorder
- Chrome 105+
Use the
chrome.devtools.recorderAPI to customize the Recorder panel in DevTools. - dns
- Dev channel
Use the
chrome.dnsAPI for dns resolution. - documentScan
- Chrome 44+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.documentScanAPI to discover and retrieve images from attached document scanners. - dom
- Chrome 88+
Use the
chrome.domAPI to access special DOM APIs for Extensions - downloads
Use the
chrome.downloadsAPI to programmatically initiate, monitor, manipulate, and search for downloads.- enterprise.deviceAttributes
Use the
chrome.enterprise.deviceAttributesAPI to read device attributes. Note: This API is only available to extensions force-installed by enterprise policy.- enterprise.hardwarePlatform
- Chrome 71+ Requires policy
Use the
chrome.enterprise.hardwarePlatformAPI to get the manufacturer and model of the hardware platform where the browser runs. Note: This API is only available to extensions installed by enterprise policy. - enterprise.login
Use the
chrome.enterprise.loginAPI to exit Managed Guest sessions. Note: This API is only available to extensions installed by enterprise policy in ChromeOS Managed Guest sessions.- enterprise.networkingAttributes
Use the
chrome.enterprise.networkingAttributesAPI to read information about your current network. Note: This API is only available to extensions force-installed by enterprise policy.- enterprise.platformKeys
- ChromeOS only Requires policy
Use the
chrome.enterprise.platformKeysAPI to generate keys and install certificates for these keys. The certificates will be managed by the platform and can be used for TLS authentication, network access or by other extension through chrome.platformKeys. - events
The
chrome.eventsnamespace contains common types used by APIs dispatching events to notify you when something interesting happens.- extension
The
chrome.extensionAPI has utilities that can be used by any extension page. It includes support for exchanging messages between an extension and its content scripts or between extensions, as described in detail inMessage Passing.- extensionTypes
The
chrome.extensionTypesAPI contains type declarations for Chrome extensions.- fileBrowserHandler
- ChromeOS only Foreground only
Use the
chrome.fileBrowserHandlerAPI to extend the Chrome OS file browser. For example, you can use this API to enable users to upload files to your website. - fileSystemProvider
- ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.fileSystemProviderAPI to create file systems, that can be accessible from the file manager on Chrome OS. - fontSettings
Use the
chrome.fontSettingsAPI to manage Chrome's font settings.- gcm
Use
chrome.gcmto enable apps and extensions to send and receive messages throughFirebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).- history
Use the
chrome.historyAPI to interact with the browser's record of visited pages. You can add, remove, and query for URLs in the browser's history. To override the history page with your own version, seeOverride Pages.- i18n
Use the
chrome.i18ninfrastructure to implement internationalization across your whole app or extension.- identity
Use the
chrome.identityAPI to get OAuth2 access tokens.- idle
Use the
chrome.idleAPI to detect when the machine's idle state changes.- input.ime
- ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.input.imeAPI to implement a custom IME for Chrome OS. This allows your extension to handle keystrokes, set the composition, and manage the candidate window. - instanceID
- Chrome 44+
Use
chrome.instanceIDto access the Instance ID service. - loginState
- Chrome 78+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.loginStateAPI to read and monitor the login state. - management
The
chrome.managementAPI provides ways to manage installed apps and extensions.- notifications
Use the
chrome.notificationsAPI to create rich notifications using templates and show these notifications to users in the system tray.- offscreen
- Chrome 109+MV3+
Use the
offscreenAPI to create and manage offscreen documents. - omnibox
The omnibox API allows you to register a keyword with Google Chrome's address bar, which is also known as the omnibox.
- pageCapture
Use the
chrome.pageCaptureAPI to save a tab as MHTML.- permissions
Use the
chrome.permissionsAPI to requestdeclared optional permissions at run time rather than install time, so users understand why the permissions are needed and grant only those that are necessary.- platformKeys
- Chrome 45+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.platformKeysAPI to access client certificates managed by the platform. If the user or policy grants the permission, an extension can use such a certficate in its custom authentication protocol. E.g. this allows usage of platform managed certificates in third party VPNs (seechrome.vpnProvider). - power
Use the
chrome.powerAPI to override the system's power management features.- printerProvider
- Chrome 44+
The
chrome.printerProviderAPI exposes events used by print manager to query printers controlled by extensions, to query their capabilities and to submit print jobs to these printers. - printing
- Chrome 81+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.printingAPI to send print jobs to printers installed on Chromebook. - printingMetrics
Use the
chrome.printingMetricsAPI to fetch data about printing usage.- privacy
Use the
chrome.privacyAPI to control usage of the features in Chrome that can affect a user's privacy. This API relies on theChromeSetting prototype of the type API for getting and setting Chrome's configuration.- processes
- Dev channel
Use the
chrome.processesAPI to interact with the browser's processes. - proxy
Use the
chrome.proxyAPI to manage Chrome's proxy settings. This API relies on theChromeSetting prototype of the type API for getting and setting the proxy configuration.- readingList
- Chrome 120+MV3+
Use the
chrome.readingListAPI to read from and modify the items in theReading List. - runtime
Use the
chrome.runtimeAPI to retrieve the service worker, return details about the manifest, and listen for and respond to events in the extension lifecycle. You can also use this API to convert the relative path of URLs to fully-qualified URLs.- scripting
- Chrome 88+MV3+
Use the
chrome.scriptingAPI to execute script in different contexts. - search
- Chrome 87+
Use the
chrome.searchAPI to search via the default provider. - sessions
Use the
chrome.sessionsAPI to query and restore tabs and windows from a browsing session.- sidePanel
- Chrome 114+MV3+
Use the
chrome.sidePanelAPI to host content in the browser's side panel alongside the main content of a webpage. - storage
Use the
chrome.storageAPI to store, retrieve, and track changes to user data.- system.cpu
Use the
system.cpuAPI to query CPU metadata.- system.display
Use the
system.displayAPI to query display metadata.- system.memory
The
chrome.system.memoryAPI.- system.storage
Use the
chrome.system.storageAPI to query storage device information and be notified when a removable storage device is attached and detached.- systemLog
Use the
chrome.systemLogAPI to record Chrome system logs from extensions.- tabCapture
Use the
chrome.tabCaptureAPI to interact with tab media streams.- tabGroups
- Chrome 89+MV3+
Use the
chrome.tabGroupsAPI to interact with the browser's tab grouping system. You can use this API to modify and rearrange tab groups in the browser. To group and ungroup tabs, or to query what tabs are in groups, use thechrome.tabsAPI. - tabs
Use the
chrome.tabsAPI to interact with the browser's tab system. You can use this API to create, modify, and rearrange tabs in the browser.- topSites
Use the
chrome.topSitesAPI to access the top sites (i.e. most visited sites) that are displayed on the new tab page. These do not include shortcuts customized by the user.- tts
Use the
chrome.ttsAPI to play synthesized text-to-speech (TTS). See also the relatedttsEngineAPI, which allows an extension to implement a speech engine.- ttsEngine
Use the
chrome.ttsEngineAPI to implement a text-to-speech(TTS) engine using an extension. If your extension registers using this API, it will receive events containing an utterance to be spoken and other parameters when any extension or Chrome App uses thettsAPI to generate speech. Your extension can then use any available web technology to synthesize and output the speech, and send events back to the calling function to report the status.- types
The
chrome.typesAPI contains type declarations for Chrome.- userScripts
- Chrome 120+MV3+
Use the
userScriptsAPI to execute user scripts in the User Scripts context. - vpnProvider
- Chrome 43+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.vpnProviderAPI to implement a VPN client. - wallpaper
- Chrome 43+ ChromeOS only
Use the
chrome.wallpaperAPI to change the ChromeOS wallpaper. - webAuthenticationProxy
- Chrome 115+MV3+
The
chrome.webAuthenticationProxyAPI lets remote desktop software running on a remote host intercept Web Authentication API (WebAuthn) requests in order to handle them on a local client. - webNavigation
Use the
chrome.webNavigationAPI to receive notifications about the status of navigation requests in-flight.- webRequest
Use the
chrome.webRequestAPI to observe and analyze traffic and to intercept, block, or modify requests in-flight.- windows
Use the
chrome.windowsAPI to interact with browser windows. You can use this API to create, modify, and rearrange windows in the browser.
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Last updated 2025-07-03 UTC.