Set-up guide

How to add the Sellhelm Chrome extension

Some shops refuse anything that is not a person, so Sellhelm reads them through your own Chrome. That needs a small extension. It takes about two minutes, once, and here it is click by click.

By Sellhelm. Updated

The quick way: let Sellhelm guide you

Open the Start menu, then Sellhelm, then Set up the Chrome extension. Sellhelm opens a window that does the fiddly parts for you: a button that opens Chrome's extensions page, a button that opens the right folder, your exact folder path to copy, and a box that turns green the moment the extension works. You can also start it from the Getting started list on Sellhelm's Overview.

The steps below are the same thing, with the reasons.

Chrome only lets you add an extension that is not in its store by choosing Load unpacked. That sounds technical, but it just means "pick this folder". The extension is a small folder of files inside your Sellhelm folder, and you can open and read every file in it.

  1. Open Chrome's extensions page

    In Chrome, type chrome://extensions into the address bar at the top and press Enter. Or click the three dots at the top right, then Extensions, then Manage extensions.

    In Sellhelm's guide there is a button that opens this page for you.

  2. Switch on Developer mode

    At the top right of that page is a switch called Developer mode. Turn it on. Three new buttons appear at the top left: Load unpacked, Pack extension and Update.

  3. Click "Load unpacked"

    It is the first of the new buttons. A window opens asking you to choose a folder.

  4. Choose Sellhelm's extension folder

    Sellhelm keeps the extension in a folder that Windows hides, so you do not browse to it. You paste its address in instead. Here is the address to paste:

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Sellhelm\app\extension

    Every Windows computer understands %LOCALAPPDATA% as “my own app data folder”, so this works for everyone as it is written. Copy it exactly, including the % signs.

    1. Click in the address bar at the top of the folder window Chrome opened.
    2. Paste the address (Ctrl+V) and press Enter.
    3. You should now see a file called manifest.json. Click Select Folder.
    That did not work? Use the longer address

    Paste this instead, but change YOUR-NAME to the name of your Windows user. If you are not sure what it is, open File Explorer, then This PC, then Local Disk (C:), then Users: the folder with your name on it is your user name.

    C:\Users\YOUR-NAME\AppData\Local\Sellhelm\app\extension

    For example, if your user folder is called sam, it becomes C:\Users\sam\AppData\Local\Sellhelm\app\extension.

    Sellhelm's own guide is easier still: it shows your exact address with a Copy button and an Open the folder button, and the Start menu has Sellhelm Chrome extension folder.

  5. Check that it worked

    Sellhelm now appears on Chrome's page with its switch turned on. In Sellhelm, the guide's box turns green and the Getting started list on the Overview ticks it off.

    Finally, click the puzzle-piece icon in Chrome's toolbar and pin Sellhelm, so it is one click away.

Good to know

Chrome may say "Disable developer mode extensions" each time it starts. That is normal for an extension added this way: choose to keep it.

After a Sellhelm update, press the small circular arrow on Sellhelm's card on the extensions page so Chrome picks up the new version.

Questions people ask

Chrome says "Manifest file is missing or unreadable".

You chose the wrong folder. Choose the folder called extension itself, the one that has a file called manifest.json inside it. Sellhelm's "Open the folder" button (or the Start menu shortcut "Sellhelm Chrome extension folder") opens exactly the right one.

I cannot find the folder, or Windows hides it.

The folder is inside a hidden Windows folder called AppData. You do not need to browse to it: in Chrome's folder window, click in the address bar at the top, paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\Sellhelm\app\extension and press Enter. Or press "Copy the path" in Sellhelm's guide.

I cannot see a "Load unpacked" button.

Turn on the Developer mode switch at the top right of Chrome's extensions page first. The button appears at the top left as soon as it is on.

Chrome asks whether to "Disable developer mode extensions" when it starts.

That message appears for any extension added this way. Choose to keep it (close the message, or choose Cancel). Nothing is wrong.

Sellhelm still says the extension is not installed.

Refresh Sellhelm's page (press F5) after adding it. Check the extension is switched on in Chrome, and that Sellhelm is open in Chrome on this computer. If you changed the port Sellhelm uses, the extension has a "Panel port" box that must match.

What do I do after a Sellhelm update?

Open chrome://extensions and press the small circular arrow on Sellhelm's card. Chrome then loads the new version. You do not need to add it again.

Does it work in Edge or Brave?

We test with Google Chrome, and that is what we support. Other Chromium browsers use the same idea on their own extensions page, but we have not tested them.

Is it safe? Does it see my browsing?

It runs only on the shop pages you have allowed and on Sellhelm's own page on your computer. It refuses to open eBay account pages. The whole extension is a small folder of files on your own computer that you can open and read.

Why is it not in the Chrome Web Store?

Not yet. Until it is, Chrome's "Load unpacked" is the way to add it. It takes about two minutes, once.

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