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Script to fetch Google Chrome extensions installed on Mac

Organizations consider Google Chrome a necessary utility that improves users’ browsing experience. However, as an administrator, if you want to exert more control over the Chrome browser and determine the extensions installed on the macOS devices, you can get it done quickly with the help of scripts. The Execute Custom Script action enables you to execute customized scripts for performing necessary operations tailored for your needs.

Disclaimer:

The sample scripts provided below are adapted from third-party open-source sites.

Get the list of extensions

Like every app, browser extensions also have a unique ID associated with them, where each extension ID is 32 characters long. The following scripts fetch the complete list of extension IDs installed on the devices.

#!/bin/bash 
currentUser=$(ls -l /dev/console | awk '{print $3}') 
ext_dir="/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/" 
for i in $(find "$ext_dir" -name 'manifest.json'); do 
    ue=$(basename "$(dirname "$(dirname "$i")")") 
    echo "$ue" 
done

#!/bin/bash

currentUser=$(ls -l /dev/console | awk '{print $3}')

ext_dir="/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/"

for i in $(find "$ext_dir" -name 'manifest.json'); do

ue=$(basename "$(dirname "$(dirname "$i")")")

echo "$ue"

done

The script iterates through each Chrome extension’s manifest.json file in every folder within the directory “/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/”. It extracts the extension ID from the .json file and lists them, along with the user account, in the Action History of the Hexnode portal.

Extension IDs of the installed Chrome extensions are displayed

Find if a given extension is installed on Mac

The following scripts help you to determine if a specific extension is installed on Mac. You can search for a given extension on the device using its extension ID.

#!/bin/sh 
currentUser=`ls -l /dev/console | cut -d " " -f 4` 
if [ -d "/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/extension_ID" ] ; then 
    STATUS="The given extension is installed." 
else 
    STATUS="Not installed." 
fi 
echo "<result>$STATUS</result>"

#!/bin/sh

currentUser=`ls -l /dev/console | cut -d " " -f 4`

if [ -d "/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/extension_ID" ] ; then

STATUS="The given extension is installed."

else

STATUS="Not installed."

echo "<result>$STATUS</result>"

For example,

#!/bin/sh  
currentUser=`ls -l /dev/console | cut -d " " -f 4`  
if [ -d "/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/ nmmhkkegccagdldgiimedpiccmgmieda" ] ; then  
    STATUS="The given extension is installed."  
else  
    STATUS="Not installed."  
fi  
echo "<result>$STATUS</result>"

#!/bin/sh

currentUser=`ls -l /dev/console | cut -d " " -f 4`

if [ -d "/Users/$currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions/ nmmhkkegccagdldgiimedpiccmgmieda" ] ; then

STATUS="The given extension is installed."

else

STATUS="Not installed."

echo "<result>$STATUS</result>"

Find if a specific Chrome extension is already installed on the device

The script checks whether the provided extension ID, “nmmhkkegccagdldgiimedpiccmgmieda”, is present within the Chrome extension directory. If the ID is found, it will display ‘The given extension is installed’. If it is not found, it will display ‘Not installed’.

To obtain the extension ID,

Open Google Chrome on the device.
Type in chrome://extensions on the search tab. It lists all the extensions installed on the device.
Click on the Details button corresponding to the required extension. It appends the extension ID in the search bar.

get extension id from chrome
Or,

Navigate to /Users/currentUser/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions on the macOS device by running the ‘open /Users/currentUser/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions’ command in the Terminal app.
Ex: /Users/Darwin/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions
All the installed extensions can be found there, and the names of the folders found in this directory denote extension ID.

In the Chrome extension directory, all the folders denote the extension IDs of the installed extensions

Notes:

It is recommended to manually validate the script execution on a system before executing the action in bulk.
Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the script.

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