How to ship your Chrome extension in 5 days

TL;DR: Most developers spend weeks just configuring Manifest V3, wrestling with Webpack, and setting up authentication before writing a single line of feature code. This 5-day plan flips the script. By starting with a battle-tested foundation that handles the infrastructure, you skip the "configuration hell" and focus purely on your unique value proposition. Day 1: Strategy & Instant Setup. Day 2: Building the Core Functionality. Day 3: UI/UX Polish & Wiring. Day 4: Testing & Store Assets. Day 5: Submission & Launch.

Here is your practical roadmap from zero to the Chrome Web Store in less than a week.

Day 1: The Foundation & MVP Definition

The biggest productivity killer is over-engineering on day one. You do not need a complex backend, five different features, or perfect branding right now. You need a Minimum Viable Product that solves exactly one user problem.

Define that one problem in the morning. Write it down on a sticky note and stick it to your monitor. If a feature doesn't directly address that note, cut it.

In the afternoon, set up your environment. If you try to configure a modern TypeScript, Tailwind, and Manifest V3 environment from scratch, you will lose the entire day to tooling. This is where using a starter kit is non-negotiable for a 5-day timeline. By using a boilerplate like ExtensionFast, your goal for Day 1 is simply to clone the repo, run npm install, and ensure you have a "Hello World" extension with hot-module replacement running locally. You end day one ready to code features, not config files.

Day 2: Building the Core Functionality

Today is for deep work. Forget how the extension looks; focus entirely on how it works. This is the day you build the engine under the hood—usually involving the background service worker or complex content scripts.

If your extension summarizes webpages, today you write the script that extracts the DOM text and sends it to an OpenAI API endpoint. If your extension automates form filling, today you write the logic that identifies input fields and injects data. Because your environment was stabilized yesterday, you can spend 8 full hours purely on business logic. By the evening, your extension should technically function, even if you have to trigger it via console logs.

Day 3: UI/UX Polish and Connecting the Pieces

Users judge extensions by their cover. An ugly popup makes people uninstall immediately, even if the backend logic is brilliant. Today, you turn your functional code into a usable product.

Leverage tools like Tailwind CSS (which comes pre-configured in modern boilerplates) to rapidly design a clean, professional popup or side panel. Don't reinvent design patterns; keep it simple and native-feeling. The crucial task for the afternoon is "wiring": ensuring that clicking a button in your shiny new popup UI successfully passes a message to your background script to trigger the "magic" you built yesterday. It needs to feel snappy and responsive.

Day 4: Stress Testing and Store Assets

Assume users will try to break your extension, because they will. Spend the morning actively trying to find bugs. What happens if the user is offline? What happens on a website with weirdly formatted HTML? What happens if an API call fails? Add basic error handling so the extension fails gracefully rather than crashing silently.

In the afternoon, shift gears to marketing. Google takes the Web Store listing seriously. You need a clear, benefit-driven title and description. More importantly, you need excellent screenshots (1280x800 pixels) that clearly show what the extension does. Do not skimp on these assets; they are the difference between a user clicking "Add to Chrome" and scrolling past.

Day 5: Submission and Initial Outreach

It’s launch day. Run your final production build command. A good tooling setup ensures this process minifies your code and removes unused assets to keep the extension lightweight.

Zip the output folder. Head over to the Chrome Developer Dashboard. If this is your first time, you’ll need to pay a one-time $5 developer registration fee. Upload your ZIP file, paste in the descriptions and assets you created yesterday, and set the privacy practices. Triple-check everything, then hit the "Submit for Review" button.

Review times vary, but while you wait, start making noise. Post your teaser screenshots on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, or relevant niche communities. You haven't just built software; you've shipped a product in five days.

You can skip the setup and start building your core vision today with ExtensionFast.