Extensions
Acira runs extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Open an extension's page in the store, choose Add to Acira, review what it can access and confirm. Of 26 popular extensions we checked, 20 work, 4 work in part and 2 do not.
Add an extension
From the Chrome Web Store
- Open the extension's page on
chromewebstore.google.com. Choose Get extensions in the extensions panel to open the store. - Find the Add to Acira bar on the page. The store's own Add to Chrome button stays disabled, because it needs Chrome's private install interface.
- Choose Add to Acira. The bar reads Adding…, then Added to Acira. If something fails it reads Try again.
- Acira shows its own review dialog, Add {name} to Acira?. It says For the {profile} profile. and lists what the extension can access. Choose Add extension, or Cancel. Cancel is the default.
The bar also shows the tested result for that extension, for example Tested in Acira: works., when Acira has a result for it. The bar appears on store pages that start with chromewebstore.google.com/detail/. It adds the extension to the profile you are in, and it does not appear in private windows.
From a link or an ID
- Open the extensions panel and choose Add from a Web Store link…. In Settings › Extensions the field is labelled Add from a link.
- Paste a link from
chromewebstore.google.com, or the extension's 32-letter ID, into Chrome Web Store link. Anything else shows Paste a link from the Chrome Web Store, or the extension’s ID. - Choose Add and review it as above.
From another browser
When you import from another browser, Acira lists the extensions it found in that profile. Choose any to add from the Chrome Web Store. You review each one's access before it is added. An extension in an older format that Chrome no longer supports is not offered. See Bring your data.
The review dialog
Each line says what the extension can do, in plain words. Typical lines are:
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Read and change every website | It can read and change all pages you visit. |
| Read and change {site} | It can read and change one named site. |
| Use the page you open it on | It gets access when you click it on a page, and not before. |
| See your open tabs, See which pages you visit, Read your history | It can see your browsing. |
| Read and change cookies | It can see and change sign-in cookies. |
| Read and change your bookmarks, Manage downloads | It can use your bookmarks and downloads. |
| Block or change requests | It can block or change what a page loads (ad blockers). |
| Change how you connect to websites | It can set a proxy. |
| Capture what a tab shows and plays | It can record a tab. |
| Keep its own settings, Add right-click items, Show a side panel | Ordinary housekeeping. |
The list is followed by It cannot open files on this PC. If the extension asks for nothing special, the list reads It asks for no special access. If an extension later asks for more, Acira asks again with Allow {name} this additional access?.
Manage extensions
Open the extensions panel with the Extensions button on the toolbar (shown by default), with Extensions in Acira menu › More tools, or open Settings › Extensions. In Settings the list is headed Extensions for {profile}.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open | In the toolbar panel, the extensions that can act on the current page are listed under this heading. In Settings the heading is Open an extension. Choose one to open its popup. The popup opens under the extension's icon and stays inside the window and the screen. |
| Pin to toolbar / Unpin from toolbar | Shows or hides its button on the toolbar. Settings shows Pin and Unpin. Right-click a pinned button for Options and Unpin from toolbar. |
| Turn off / Turn on | Switches the extension off without removing it. A row reads On, Off or Unavailable. |
| Allow in private tabs | Shown in Settings, as Allow in private tabs: Off or On. Off by default. Turning it on asks Allow {name} in private tabs? and says It can see what you do in private tabs and windows. Choose Allow to confirm. It applies to private tabs and windows you open afterwards. What the extension keeps there stays apart from your regular profile and goes when private browsing ends. If it cannot start, Acira says {name} couldn't start in private. |
| Check for update | Looks for a newer version of an extension from the Chrome Web Store. |
| Reload | Shown instead of Check for update for an extension loaded from a folder. It restarts the extension. |
| Remove | Asks Remove {name} from Acira? and removes it. |
| What it can access | Shows the access it was given. |
| Allow user scripts | Shown in Settings, for an extension that can run user scripts. Lets the extension run scripts you add on websites. Turn it on for a userscript manager you trust, and for no other extension. |
| Use as New Tab page | Shown in Settings, for an extension that provides a new tab page. Shows the extension's page on new tabs instead of Acira's. Private and Tor windows keep Acira's page. |
Each row shows the version and whether it is on. For an extension Acira has a result for, the toolbar panel adds Tested: works, Tested: limited or Tested: does not work. Settings shows Tested: works in Acira. or the matching line, followed by a short note. An extension that asks to be removed by itself, or that another extension asks to remove, shows a confirmation before it acts.
Extensions are kept separately for each profile. Add one in every profile that needs it. See Profiles.
Developer tools: load an unpacked extension… in the toolbar panel, and Developer in Settings, offer Load from folder… for an extension you are building from a folder on this PC. See Building and testing extensions.
Where extensions do not run
- Private tabs and windows, unless you allow an extension there with Allow in private tabs. A private window says Extensions run in private windows only if you allow them. Open a regular window to manage them.
- Tor tabs and windows.
- Locked workspaces (beta): Extensions don’t run in a secured workspace. They work in your other workspaces. See Locked workspaces.
Which extensions work
We checked 26 popular extensions on Windows 11 in October 2026. For each one we checked that it installs, that its popup and settings open, that its page scripts run where it has any and that it survives a restart. "Works" does not promise that every feature works.
| Result | Count |
|---|---|
| Works | 20 |
| Limited | 4 |
| Does not work | 2 |
Works (20)
Bitwarden, 1Password, Proton Pass, LastPass, uBlock Origin Lite, Privacy Badger, Dark Reader, Google Translate, Zotero Connector, Return YouTube Dislike, SponsorBlock for YouTube, Vimium, Momentum, Notion Web Clipper, Todoist, Adobe Acrobat, ColorZilla, Rakuten, Honey and Video Speed Controller.
Limited (4)
| Extension | What is limited |
|---|---|
| Tampermonkey | Turn on Allow user scripts for it. A .user.js address opens its install page, and its popup and settings open. Its popup says it has no access to ordinary pages. |
| Violentmonkey | Turn on Allow user scripts for it. Its popup and settings open. A .user.js address does not reach its install page, and running a script was not checked. |
| Grammarly | Its popup and text-box button appear. Writing checks need a Grammarly account, which was not used in the check. Its desktop app link does not work. |
| Google Docs Offline | It runs in the background and needs a signed-in Google account. |
Does not work (2)
| Extension | Why |
|---|---|
| React Developer Tools | Acira does not show extension panels in its developer tools. |
| Loom | It needs a Loom account, and its recording did not work in the check. Acira has since added tab and screen capture for extensions, and Loom has not been checked again. |
Password managers: you sign in inside the extension's own popup and Acira never sees your vault. For Bitwarden, opening the vault with the desktop app or biometrics was not checked.
How blocking extensions work with Acira
An ad blocker's rules (declarativeNetRequest) run after Acira's own blocker. They apply even when you have turned Acira's blocking off for a site. See Ads and trackers. Extensions that record a tab, window or screen use the same Choose what to share picker that websites use, and a pill shows while anything is shared.
Limits
- There are no extension panels in developer tools, and no
chrome.identitysign-in through a Google account, because Acira has no account. - Native messaging with a desktop app is supported, but the link to a desktop app did not work for Grammarly or Adobe Acrobat in the check.
- Extensions run in private tabs and windows only if you allow them one by one. They cannot run in Tor.
- There is no Chrome Sync. Add each extension again on another computer.
- Acira adds extensions from the Chrome Web Store, or from a folder for developers.
Last updated November 7, 2026