The latest versions of Chrome and Opera have a lot in common. Google has been hard at work on a new Webkit-based engine that will power them both, and one pleasant side effect is that it's now really easy to install Chrome extensions on Opera, and Opera extensions in Chrome. Here's how to do it.


For this to work, you'll need Opera Next 15 or higher, and Chrome 28 or higher (this also works in dev and beta builds, along with Canary).


Installing Chrome extensions in Opera 15 is easy: First, install the Chrome Extension Installer for Opera Next 15. Then go to the Chrome Web Store and install whatever you want. The Web Store won't complain that you need a supported browser or anything—it'll just work. The extension you want will download and install, and it'll work normally.

To install Opera Next extensions in Chrome, you'll need to download the Opera extension file, rename it, and install it in Chrome:

First, make sure Opera Next is installed. Then, go to the new Opera add-ons page When you find one, instead of clicking "Add to Opera," right-click the button and select "Save Linked Content As..." and save the .nex extension file somewhere you can get to it. Grab the .nex file and rename it to end in .crx. Open Chrome, and drag and drop the .crx file onto Chrome. You'll be prompted to review the permissions before installing it, but that should be all.

That's all there is to it. The process works pretty quickly, and the downside of going from Opera to Chrome is that you need both installed. Still, it's worth noting that the Opera add-ons page is pretty sparse when it comes to Opera Next add-ons right now, mostly because Opera 15 is still in active development. It'll fill up pretty quickly, and with time you'll be able to find extensions there you may not find for Chrome. Even so, right now this is a bit more useful for getting your favorite Chrome extensions into Opera if you want to give the new engine a whirl.

Ideally, with Chrome and Opera moving to share a rendering engine, we'll see more of this cross-platform cooperation in the future, but either party could easily put an end to this extension sharing with a software update. Give it a try while it works, and hit the link below for more detail.


Opera Users Can Now Install Chrome Extensions (And Vice Versa!) | OMG! Chrome!