Packaging Microsoft Edge extensions
Note
This documentation is for extensions for the legacy version of Microsoft Edge. For information on the new Microsoft Edge, see Microsoft Edge (Chromium) Extensions.
Important
The new Microsoft Edge program is now open to accept chromium-based extensions for the new Microsoft Edge (v77 or later). If you want to submit a new extension, visit Publish to Microsoft Edge (Chromium) Add-ons Store to learn about the submission process.
With this announcement, Microsoft is no longer accepting new extensions for the legacy version of Microsoft Edge. If you own an Extension for the legacy version, you should begin the process of porting your Extension to the new Microsoft Edge. The new Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, so Extensions designed for the legacy version of Microsoft Edge do not work with the new version.
So you've finally completed your extension and are ready to package it up. You might be wondering what the next steps are toward getting this in the hands of potential users. This guide is intended to teach you how to do just that.
The extension packaging guide is comprehensive in that it covers everything you'd want to know about packaging, even the finer, nitty gritty details. If you don't want to learn everything there is to know about packaging your extension, you're in luck. We've added support for extensions to ManifoldJS, an open source Node.js tool that takes the majority of your packaging woes away.
Note
Submitting a Microsoft Edge extension to the Microsoft Store is currently a restricted capability. Reach out to us with your requests to be a part of the Microsoft Store, and we’ll consider you for a future update.
Use the process outline below to map out your packaging adventure!
Extensions in the Windows Dev Center
No matter which package creation route you choose, manual or ManifoldJS, the first step is registering for a Windows Developer account and reserving the name(s) of your extension.
Once you've done this, you can either move on to Creating and testing extension packages to learn how AppXs are created and manually package your extension, or go the easier route and jump to Using ManifoldJS to package extensions.
Note
Once you've reached out to us and have been approved to have your extension in the Microsoft Store, check out the app submission checklist.
Creating and testing extension packages
This section of the guide walks through manual extension package creation once you've set up your Windows Developer account and reserved your extension name(s). If you're curious about the finer details of packaging an extension, give this a read.
Also included is info on how to test and unpack a packaged extension. This info is relevant even if you've gone the ManifoldJS packaging route.
Localizing extension packages
The package localization step falls between creating your appxmanifest.xml file and running the final command to package your extension.
This allows you to indicate which languages your extensions supports in your Microsoft Store listing, and what language your extension's name appears in Windows.
You can jump to Localizing name and description for the Microsoft Store in this section of the guide if your extension doesn't support multiple languages.
Using ManifoldJS to package extensions
The tool route for packaging your extension, ManifoldJS will package up your extension in a snap with minimal effort on your end. Provide a few Windows/Microsoft Store assets after filling out some AppXManifest properties and your extension will be packaged in no time.
Once your extension is packaged, see the testing section of Creating and testing your Microsoft Edge extension to learn how to sideload or unpack it.
Running the Windows App Certification Kit
Once you have a packaged extension, you can then run it through the Windows App Certification Kit. Doing so will run a number of tests on your extension package to ensure that it's ready for the Microsoft Store.