Microsoft releases toolkit for converting Chrome extension to Edge

Microsoft has put a Windows 10 app in its download store that allows developers to convert their Chrome extensions to run on the Edge browser as well. The implementation of Edge extensions is almost the same as that of Chrome appeared earlier.

The Microsoft Edge Extension Toolkit is 7.66MB in size and takes care of the necessary json-based files and porting the Chrome APIs to Edge. The fact that the extension modules for Edge and Chrome are relatively easy to exchange became apparent in March, when Microsoft made its first extensions available for Edge and these could be added to Chrome after minor adjustments. Microsoft probably chose this to make it easy for developers to reuse their code, something this toolkit should help with.

The Edge browser has support for running extensions since the release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Users can download it from the Windows Store. The range is still small, especially compared to the range of Chrome extensions. When the Anniversary Update was released, there were twelve extensions in the download store, including Pinterest and Adblock. No new expansion modules have appeared since last week.