App Center User Guide

User-oriented guide for managing extensions and plugins. Covers store apps, team apps, automatic download, file checks, local persistence, and manual import. No code, only concepts and operations.

📌 Key Highlights

• Recommended workflow: Recommended Apps → Add/Download → Team Apps unified management → Enable in environments.
• All download and extraction steps run automatically. You can view all tasks in the top Download Manager.
• When files are missing or corrupted, first run “Check downloaded files” in the Download Manager, then re-download in “Team Apps”.
• Private/enterprise extensions use Manual Import. After import, they are also managed under “Team Apps”.

🧭 Feature Overview

• Store Apps (Recommended Apps): Centralized list of third-party or official recommended apps. Supports search, card/table view, details drawer, and one-click add.
• Team Apps: Team-wide management for added apps. Shows enabled status, remove, download status, and re-download.
• Automatic download and extraction: After adding, download tasks are created automatically. You can track progress and status. Once completed, the app is extracted and ready to use.
• Download check and cleanup: One-click check whether downloaded app files are missing or damaged, automatically cleaning invalid records.
• Local persistence: Download records, states, and app lists are stored locally and remain after restart.
• Manual import: Supports importing from URL or local package, parsing extension info and adding it to Team Apps for unified management.

Entry: App Center page, with two tabs “Team Apps” and “Recommended Apps”, and a shortcut at the top to “Open Chrome Web Store search”.

🛒 Store Apps (Recommended Apps)

• Browse and search: Search by name or description, with card/table view toggle.
• View details: Open the app detail drawer to see name, version, description, icon, URL, etc.
• Add app: Click the “Add/Download” button to add the app to “Team Apps” and trigger automatic download.
• Download status: The top-right shows downloading progress, downloaded, not downloaded, etc. The operations column in the list also shows context-aware buttons (Add/Download, progress, disable).

Note: When adding an app, the system first creates a record in “Team Apps”, then downloads and extracts the extension package. After completion, it can be enabled in environments.

👥 Team Apps

• List management: Shows app name, description, provider, enabled status, and download status.
• Download status: Shows “Downloading”, “Downloaded”, “Not downloaded/Missing”, and supports one-click re-download.
• Remove app: Remove records and local files (when applicable) for apps you no longer need to keep the environment clean.
• View toggle: Supports card/table view for different usage scenarios and centralized management.

Note: The Team Apps page supports search and pagination, suitable for centralized management when your team has many apps.

⬇️ Automatic Download and Extraction

• Trigger: When you click Add in “Recommended Apps”, the system automatically creates a download task without additional operations.
• Progress and status: You can view download progress in the top-right tag in “Recommended Apps”, in the operations column, and in the top Download Manager.
• Completion behavior: After download, the system automatically extracts files to a local directory and updates the app status in “Team Apps” to Downloaded so it can be used directly.
• Failure handling: You can remove and retry failed tasks; check network, disk space, and permissions before trying again.

Note: In the top “Download Manager”, you can view all core and extension download tasks, and you can cancel, remove, and check files.

🔍 Download Check and Cleanup

• Purpose: Check whether the local files of downloaded apps still exist (for example, they were manually deleted or corrupted).
• Operation: In the top “Download Manager”, click “Check downloaded files”. The system validates each one and cleans invalid records.
• Result: After cleanup, the app status becomes “Not downloaded/Missing”, and you can click re-download in “Team Apps” to restore it.

Note: It is recommended to run download checks regularly to keep the app list and local files in sync.

💾 Local Persistence

• Scope: Downloading tasks, downloaded app list, progress and status, team app data, etc.
• Purpose: Preserve the state of the App Center after restart so you do not need to configure everything again.
• Note: If local files are deleted externally, persistence records still exist, but you can run “Check downloaded files” to clean invalid entries.

📥 Manual Import

• Method 1: Import from link
  • In App Center, choose “Add App” and fill in the download URL (such as an official recommended URL or Chrome Web Store package link).
  • The system parses extension information, adds it to Team Apps, and downloads and extracts it automatically.
• Method 2: Import from local package
  • Choose a local extension package (such as zip/crx) and fill in app information, then import.
  • The system extracts it to a local directory and registers it into Team Apps for management.
• Extension recognition and validation
  • The system attempts to parse the extension identifier (such as extension ID) for later management and version recognition.
  • After import, you can see its status in Team Apps and enable/remove it.

Note: Manual import is suitable for enterprise internal plugins or private distribution scenarios. Ensure the source is trusted and security-scanned.

🧰 Common Operations and Suggestions

• Cannot find an app via search: Click the shortcut at the top to open Chrome Web Store, copy the download link, and then add it.
• Download failed: Remove the failed task in the Download Manager, check network/space/permissions, then retry or change network.
• Files missing: Run “Check downloaded files” to clean invalid records, then re-download in Team Apps.
• Cleanup and disk space: Regularly remove unused apps and packages to keep enough disk space.
• Team collaboration: Use Team Apps to unify commonly used enterprise tools, keep versions aligned and compliant.

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🛡️ Security and Compliance (For Users)

• Trusted sources: Only obtain apps from trusted channels to avoid unknown extensions.
• Least privilege: After installation, only enable necessary permissions and review them periodically.
• Version management: Stick to stable versions of frequently used extensions. For upgrades, validate in a gray/test environment first.
• Privacy and compliance: Avoid apps that directly access or collect sensitive data. Comply with corporate and regional regulations.

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For more advanced enterprise-level management (review processes, signature verification, permission allow/deny lists), please contact your maintainer for detailed policies and operation manuals.

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🧱 Operation Step Cards

🛒 Add a store app

• Open “Recommended Apps”, search and select the target app.
• Click “Add/Download”. After confirmation, the app is added to “Team Apps”.
• The system automatically starts download and extraction. You can see the status in the top-right tag and in the Download Manager.
• Once completed, the status becomes “Downloaded”, and you can enable it in environments.

📥 Manually import an app

• In “Team Apps”, open “Add App”, fill in app info and download URL, or choose a local package file.
• After confirming import, the system parses extension info and adds it to “Team Apps”.
• After automatic download and extraction, the app is ready to use.

🔁 Re-download an app

• In “Team Apps”, when the status shows “Missing/Not downloaded”, click “Re-download”.
• The system fetches and extracts it again, then the status becomes “Downloaded”.

🔍 Check downloaded files

• Open the top “Download Manager” and click “Check downloaded files”.
• The system verifies whether downloaded apps still exist locally.
• It automatically cleans missing entries so you can easily re-download them.

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⚠️ Failure Handling Tips

• Network failure
  • Symptom: Download progress stops or reports errors.
  • Handling: Remove failed tasks, check network and proxy connectivity, retry later or switch network.
• Insufficient disk space
  • Symptom: Extraction fails or prompts insufficient space.
  • Handling: Clean unused apps and packages, free space, then retry.
• Permission issues
  • Symptom: Unable to write or delete local files.
  • Handling: Check folder permissions or security software blocks. Use allowed directories for download and extraction.
• Invalid link
  • Symptom: Prompt “App download link does not exist” or cannot parse.
  • Handling: Confirm the link is valid (prefer official or trusted channels), then submit again.
• Missing/damaged files
  • Symptom: Status shows “Not downloaded/Missing”.
  • Handling: Run “Check downloaded files” to clean invalid records, then click “Re-download”.

💡 Suggestion: Centralize all download-related issues in the “Download Manager” to keep the list clean and reduce repeated operations.