Chrome Extension Permission Diff Monitor

What does Chrome Extension Permission Diff Monitor do?

Download Chrome Web Store extension packages, parse manifest.json, and emit permission baseline snapshots or diff events when permissions or version change between runs. Uses Google's public CRX update endpoint (with open-source release fallback when Google returns HTTP 204). No login, no API keys.

Unofficial. This Actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or maintained by Google, the Chrome Web Store, or any extension author.

Dashboards: connect Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio, or Qlik to the dataset API — see Export to Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio & Qlik near the end. AI agents: paste this Actor's Store page URL into an Apify-capable agent (MCP / Claude / Cursor with Apify), create an Apify account and API token once, and the agent can run the Actor and wire up the output.

Why use this extension permission monitor?

• 🔐 Track permissions, host_permissions, and version over time
• 📦 Direct CRX download — lightweight HTTP, no browser
• 🔄 Baseline + scheduled diff mode with KV store persistence
• 🛡️ Fail loud when an extension cannot be fetched

How to monitor extension permissions

1. Open this Actor in Apify Console.
2. Click Start on the prefilled uBlock Origin id (maxItems 5) to emit a baseline row.
3. Schedule later runs with monitorMode: true to receive only permission/version diffs.
4. Export the dataset or pull via API.

{
  "extensionIds": ["cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm"],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "emitBaseline": true,
  "monitorMode": false,
  "proxyType": "none"
}

How much does it cost?

Pay per event (PPE): Actor start + each dataset result row. On Free, results are about $0.49 / 1,000; paid plans are lower (see the Pricing tab).

Input

Field	Description
extensionIds	Chrome Web Store extension IDs
maxItems	Cap on rows emitted
emitBaseline	Emit full snapshot rows (changeType: baseline)
monitorMode	Emit only diffs when baseline exists
baseline	Optional baseline map; otherwise loaded from KV PERMISSION_BASELINE
proxyType	Optional proxy

Sample output

{
  "extensionId": "cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm",
  "name": "uBlock Origin",
  "version": "1.74.0",
  "permissions": ["alarms", "contextMenus", "privacy", "storage", "tabs", "unlimitedStorage", "webNavigation", "webRequest", "webRequestBlocking"],
  "hostPermissions": ["<all_urls>"],
  "changeType": "baseline",
  "detail": "initial snapshot",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-09T10:00:00+00:00",
  "sourceUrl": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx?..."
}

FAQ

Is this official Google software?

No. It is unofficial and not affiliated with Google or the Chrome Web Store.

Why might an extension fail to download?

Some extensions return HTTP 204 from Google's update endpoint. Known open-source extensions (e.g. uBlock Origin) fall back to the author's GitHub release CRX.

Can AI agents call this?

Yes — Actor ID bakos_bence/chrome-extension-permission-monitor via Apify API or MCP.

Something broke?

Open the Issues tab on this Actor's page.

Related Actors

Actor	Use together when…
Domain Typosquat Scanner	Brand / domain risk monitoring alongside extension supply-chain checks
Public Document Finder	You need regulatory filings alongside security monitoring

Profile: bakos_bence on Apify.

For AI agents & LLM apps

Paste this Actor's Apify Store URL into an agent that can use Apify (MCP, Claude, Cursor, etc.). With an Apify account and API token, the agent can set input, run the Actor, and fetch the dataset.

Export to Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio & Qlik

1. Run the Actor (or open a finished run).
2. Open the Dataset → API / Export.
3. Copy the dataset items URL (JSON or CSV).
4. In your BI tool, add a web / API data source with that URL (and your Apify token as a header or query param if required).
5. Refresh on a schedule that matches your extension monitoring cadence.

Permission facts come from public extension manifests — verify critical security decisions against your own review process.