Install TubeBlock in Chrome, Edge, Brave or Opera

Before you start

Download the zip above.
Unzip it. You get a folder named tubeblock-0.1.0 with a file called manifest.json inside. If your unzip tool creates a folder within a folder, use the one that contains manifest.json.
Move that folder somewhere you will keep it, for example your Documents folder. The browser loads TubeBlock from this folder every time it starts, so do not delete or rename it later.

Then follow the steps for your browser:

Chrome
Edge
Brave
Opera

Install in Google Chrome

Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
Turn on Developer mode with the switch in the top right corner.
Click Load unpacked in the bar that appears.
Select the unzipped tubeblock-0.1.0 folder (the one that contains manifest.json) and confirm.
TubeBlock appears in the list. Open or reload a YouTube tab and it is working.

Install in Microsoft Edge

Type edge://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
Turn on Developer mode with the switch in the left-hand panel (on a narrow window, open the panel with the menu button).
Click Load unpacked.
Select the tubeblock-0.1.0 folder and confirm.
Reload any open YouTube tab.

Install in Brave

Type brave://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
Turn on Developer mode in the top right corner.
Click Load unpacked.
Select the tubeblock-0.1.0 folder and confirm.
Reload any open YouTube tab. Brave Shields can stay on; TubeBlock works alongside them.

Install in Opera

Type opera://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
Turn on Developer mode in the top right corner.
Click Load unpacked.
Select the tubeblock-0.1.0 folder and confirm.
Reload any open YouTube tab.

Pin the TubeBlock button

The toolbar button opens TubeBlock's popup with the Hide Shorts switch and quick keyword field. Browsers hide new extensions behind the extensions menu, so pin it once:

Chrome and Brave: click the puzzle-piece Extensions icon next to the address bar, then the pin next to TubeBlock.
Edge: click the Extensions icon, then the eye icon ("Show in toolbar") next to TubeBlock.
Opera: click the cube-shaped Extensions icon next to the address bar, then the pin next to TubeBlock.

"Developer mode extensions" warning

Chrome and some other browsers may show a message such as "Disable developer mode extensions", or a note that extensions in developer mode can be unsafe. It can appear when the browser starts.

It appears for every extension loaded from a folder, not because of anything TubeBlock does: the browser simply cannot vouch for files that did not come from its store. Close the message with the X. If you click Disable or Turn off by accident, open the extensions page and switch TubeBlock back on.

Work or school computers sometimes block developer mode by policy. In that case the switch is greyed out and TubeBlock can only be installed after the Chrome Web Store listing goes live.

Update to a new version

Download the new zip from this page and unzip it.
Replace the contents of your existing TubeBlock folder with the new files. Keep the same folder location: the browser identifies the extension by it, and your lists stay attached.
On the extensions page (chrome://extensions, edge://extensions, brave://extensions or opera://extensions), click the reload arrow on the TubeBlock card.
Reload your YouTube tabs.

Remove TubeBlock

If you want to keep your lists, open TubeBlock's settings and use Export first.
On the extensions page, click Remove on the TubeBlock card and confirm.
Delete the TubeBlock folder. YouTube looks exactly as it did before.

Permissions, explained

When you load TubeBlock the browser lists what it can access. There are only two permissions:

Permission	What the browser says	Why TubeBlock needs it
`storage`	Not shown as a warning	Saves your blocked channels, keywords, switches and PIN in the browser's extension storage.
Access to www.youtube.com	"Read and change your data on www.youtube.com"	To find video cards on YouTube pages and hide the ones that match your rules, and to add the Block channel button. It has no access to any other site.

The extension contains no analytics or tracking code, loads no code from the internet and sends nothing to us. Details are in the privacy policy.

Coming later

Chrome Web Store: coming soon. Then installation becomes one click and updates arrive automatically.
Firefox: planned after the Chrome Web Store release.
Phones and TVs: not planned, because the YouTube apps do not support extensions.

Stuck on a step? See help and troubleshooting or write to info@tubeblock.app.

Last updated 2026-11-03