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If I change the name in my extension's manifest.json, will it create a new extension or successfully change the name?

I'd like to rename (in order to 'rebrand' a bit) an existing extension, but don't want to create a distinct new one - because I want existing users to get other bundled updates. Just want to change the name users see in the store.

I checked in Chrome's developer's site, but didn't find anything related to this mentioned in any of the pages or FAQs, other than a statement saying the name is 'used to identify the extension' which makes me inclined to believe it's not possible.

Bricky
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    If there's a `key` property in manifest, the extension's id won't change, see [How to change chrome packaged app id Or Why do we need key field in the manifest.json?](https://stackoverflow.com/a/21500707) – wOxxOm Oct 20 '17 at 22:32
  • There's no `key` in the manifest (in github). Is that added by Chrome on upload? – Bricky Oct 20 '17 at 22:33
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    Are you using an unpacked extension? Then you need to generate the key as shown in the linked answer. Anyway, `name` is unrelated, it "identifies" in a human sense for the user to read it. – wOxxOm Oct 20 '17 at 22:36
  • Right now it's unpacked. I haven't gotten the chrome store credentials yet, but my manager asked if this is possible and I couldn't find a solid answer. Thanks for the help. If you want to add an answer I'll accept it. – Bricky Oct 20 '17 at 22:38
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    See also [Obtaining Chrome Extension ID for development](//stackoverflow.com/a/23877974) – wOxxOm Oct 20 '17 at 22:42
  • Please [edit] your question to include more details about your situation (a good portion of which is in comments). As it is, your question is lacking significant context. As a result, it's too broad. – Makyen Oct 21 '17 at 01:04
  • It's definitely not. There's a published extension with an existing name, and I asked about how to change that name. The fact that it doesn't have a key is just because I've not yet uploaded my code to the store, but not relevant to the question. – Bricky Oct 21 '17 at 02:06

1 Answers1

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Yes, if you change the name of the manifest file it will rename the entire extension. Same with the description. But the store ID will remain the same.

kaleazy
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