What is inoxunpack?

gcarq/inoxunpack — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-14 · repo last pushed 2018-08-04

★ 36PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Downloads Chrome extensions
      Unpacks to folders
      Works offline
    How to use
      Run from terminal
      Pass extension name or ID
      Load unpacked in Chrome
    Built-in presets
      uBlock Origin
      HTTPS Everywhere
      Postman
    Use cases
      Offline installation
      Audit extension files
      Manage extensions manually
    Tech stack
      Python
      Command-line tool

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Downloads Chrome extensions Unpacks to folders Works offline How to use Run from terminal Pass extension name or ID Load unpacked in Chrome Built-in presets uBlock Origin HTTPS Everywhere Postman Use cases Offline installation Audit extension files Manage extensions manually Tech stack Python Command-line tool

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Download Chrome extensions for offline installation on machines without internet access.

USE CASE 2

Inspect an extension's files before installing it to check for suspicious code.

USE CASE 3

Grab popular extensions like uBlock Origin by name without looking up their IDs.

USE CASE 4

Manage extensions outside the normal Chrome Web Store installation flow.

What is it built with?

Python

How does it compare?

	gcarq/inoxunpack	tomribbens/factorios	gnipbao/whiteboard-video-engine
Stars	36	36	35
Language	Python	Python	Python
Last pushed	2018-08-04	—	—
Maintenance	Dormant	—	—
Setup difficulty	easy	hard	moderate
Complexity	2/5	4/5	3/5
Audience	developer	ops devops	vibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires Python installed and basic familiarity with the terminal.

The explanation does not mention the license, so it is unclear what permissions apply.

So what is it?

Inoxunpack is a small command-line tool that downloads browser extensions from the Chrome Web Store and saves them as unpacked folders on your computer. The main benefit is that it lets you install extensions completely offline, or inspect and modify an extension's files before loading it into your browser. You run it from a terminal by passing the name or ID of an extension you want. It fetches the extension package from the Web Store and unpacks it into a normal directory. From there, you open Chrome's extensions page, enable Developer mode, and use "Load unpacked extension" to point at that directory. The README includes step-by-step instructions for that part. The tool comes with a handful of built-in presets for popular extensions like uBlock Origin, HTTPS Everywhere, and Postman, so you can grab those by name without looking up their IDs. You can also specify any other extension by its ID and choose where on your computer the files get saved. This is useful for anyone who wants to run Chrome extensions without a live internet connection, audit what an extension actually contains before installing it, or manage extensions outside the normal Web Store flow. It's written in Python and kept deliberately simple, the README doesn't go into much detail beyond the basic usage and install steps.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Using the inoxunpack Python tool, write a script that downloads the uBlock Origin extension by its preset name and saves it to a specific folder path.

Prompt 2

I have an extension ID abc123 from the Chrome Web Store. Show me the exact inoxunpack command to download and unpack it into a directory called my_extensions.

Prompt 3

Explain how I would use inoxunpack to download an extension offline, then load it into Chrome using the Load unpacked extension option.

Prompt 4

Show me how to use inoxunpack to download the Postman extension by name and save the unpacked files to my Downloads folder.

Frequently asked questions