Installation and Updating

This page covers installing Screen Tools from a release zip, updating it, the home page that opens after each install or update, and the permissions the extension asks for. You install Screen Tools in Chrome from the zip attached to each GitHub release, as an unpacked extension. For Firefox, see Firefox.

Requirements

Screen Tools needs Chrome 116 or later, set by minimum_chrome_version in wxt.config.ts. Some behaviour depends on newer versions:

• Chrome 127 or later reopens the toolbar menu by itself when you click the icon after the recorder window has closed mid-recording. On older versions, the next click opens the menu.
• MP4 recording needs a Chrome that can record H.264 through MediaRecorder. Where it can't, the format select shows "MP4 (not supported)" and recordings fall back to WebM. See Recording.

Installing

These steps are for Chrome. Firefox has its own zip and steps on the Firefox page.

1. Download screen-tools-vX.Y.Z.zip from the latest release.
2. Unzip it into a folder you'll keep. Chrome loads the extension from that folder every time it starts, so don't unzip it into a temporary location.
3. Open chrome://extensions.
4. Turn on Developer mode (top right).
5. Click Load unpacked and pick the folder.
6. Pin the extension: click the puzzle piece in the Chrome toolbar, then the pin next to Screen Tools.

Expect: a new tab opens with the Screen Tools home page.

v1.0.0 has no zip attached. Install v1.0.1 or later. Troubleshooting and FAQ explains why.

Updating

Chrome doesn't update unpacked extensions on its own. To update:

1. Download the new zip from the latest release.
2. Unzip it over your current folder, replacing the old files.
3. Open chrome://extensions and click the reload button on the Screen Tools card.

Your settings, latest videos, screenshots and connections survive an update. Chrome keeps the extension's storage while its ID stays the same:

• Settings live in the extension's localStorage.
• Recordings, screenshots and the upload history live in its IndexedDB database.
• Connected Google Drive and Dropbox accounts and upload servers, with their sign-in tokens and access tokens, live in the browser's local extension storage (browser.storage.local). See connections.ts.

Up to v1.5.0, the ID comes from the folder you load the extension from, so loading the new version from a different folder gives it a new ID and empty storage. Update in place. Releases after v1.5.0 pin the ID in the manifest, so it's the same whichever folder you use. Going from v1.5.0 or earlier to a later release changes the ID once, so save any recordings and screenshots you want to keep before that update.

Home page on install and update

The background service worker opens the home page in a new tab when the extension is installed and whenever its version changes. Reloading an unpacked extension at the same version doesn't open it. The logic is in the onInstalled listener in background.ts.

The home page has shortcuts to each part of the app, three quick-start steps, and the changelog entries for the installed version. You can open it again from the Screen Tools logo at the top of any app page. The version number next to the title opens the full changelog. See home.tsx.

Permissions

The manifest permissions are set in wxt.config.ts. The extension asks for no host permissions at install, so it can't read or change pages until you click the toolbar icon on one.

Permission	What uses it
desktopCapture	The screen picker, where you choose a whole screen, a window or a tab to record, with its audio. Chrome only: Firefox doesn't have it and uses its own sharing prompt.
activeTab	Screenshots. Clicking a screenshot action in the toolbar menu grants temporary access to the current tab, which lets the extension capture it.
scripting	Screenshots. The extension injects the area picker and the scrolling helper for full-page captures into the current tab.
notifications	The "Can't capture this page" notice when Chrome refuses a screenshot.
storage	Remembers which window holds the recorder, so a second click focuses it instead of opening another. Also keeps your connected accounts and upload servers.

Optional permissions for uploads

Uploading needs more access, but only for the service you use. These are optional permissions: the browser doesn't ask for them at install, only when you click Connect or add an upload server in Settings. See Uploading.

Permission	When it's asked for	What uses it
identity	Connect for Google Drive or Dropbox	Opens the service's own sign-in page.
https://www.googleapis.com/*, https://oauth2.googleapis.com/*	Connect for Google Drive	Uploads to Drive, and revokes the sign-in when you click Disconnect.
https://api.dropboxapi.com/*, https://content.dropboxapi.com/*	Connect for Dropbox	Uploads to Dropbox and makes share links.
The upload server's host	Add upload server	Asks the server where to put each file. Only that server's host is asked for, on any port.

Disconnect, or Remove for an upload server, gives back that service's host permissions. identity goes too once no Google Drive or Dropbox account is connected. See auth.ts.

Camera and microphone access aren't manifest permissions. Chrome asks for them the first time you record with a camera or microphone, or when you open Settings, which checks access so it can list your devices by name. If you deny access, see Troubleshooting and FAQ.

Firefox asks for the same permissions, minus desktopCapture. See Firefox.

Uninstalling

Click Remove on the Screen Tools card at chrome://extensions. Chrome deletes the extension's stored settings, recordings, screenshots and connections with it. Videos and images you saved stay in your downloads folder.

Files you uploaded stay in your Google Drive, your Dropbox or on the upload server, and their share links keep working. Delete them there if you don't want them any more. Removing the extension deletes its stored sign-ins but doesn't revoke them with Google or Dropbox. To do that, click Disconnect in Settings before you remove it, or remove Screen Tools from your Google or Dropbox account's connected apps.