The website downloader Chrome extension
Site Downloader lives in the toolbar. It saves the tab you are looking at, or the section around it, without sending a single URL to anybody's server, because there is no server.
Install it in about twenty seconds.
Open the Web Store listing
Add to Chrome, then confirm the permission prompt.
Pin the icon
Click the puzzle piece in the toolbar and pin Site Downloader so it is one click away.
Open any page and click
The icon activates on http:// and https:// pages. Browser-internal pages stay disabled.
Why an extension, and not a paste-the-URL website.
Online downloaders are convenient right up to the moment they are not.
| This extension | Online downloader | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work happens | Your browser | Someone else's server |
| Who learns which sites you archive | Nobody | The service, in its logs |
| Pages that need a real browser | Rendered in the actual tab | Often comes back broken or empty |
| Queues and rate limits | None | Common on free tiers |
| Works while offline afterwards | Yes | Yes |
The honest counterpoint: an extension only exists inside your browser. There is no shareable link, no API, and no way to run it from a server on a schedule. If you need automated archiving in a pipeline, reach for wget --mirror instead. The guide covers it.
The permissions it asks for, in plain words.
Chrome shows you a list at install time. Here is what each entry does.
| Permission | What it does |
|---|---|
tabs | Read the active tab's URL so the extension knows which page you mean |
scripting | Run the snapshot function inside the page to read its rendered markup and asset list |
downloads | Write the finished .zip to your Downloads folder |
storage | Remember your mode and depth settings between sessions |
offscreen | Fetch assets and pack the archive in a hidden document, which a service worker cannot do |
alarms | Keep the worker awake so long multi-page jobs do not stall |
| Host access | Fetch pages and assets from whatever site you point it at |
Host access is the broad-looking one, and it is unavoidable: a downloader that can only reach a fixed list of domains is not a downloader. What it is not used for is collection. No analytics SDK ships in the extension, no identifier is assigned, and the URLs you save never leave your machine. Full detail in the privacy policy.
Questions people ask.
Is there a website downloader extension that works without an account?
This one. No signup, no email, no license key. Install from the Chrome Web Store and the first download works.
Does it work in Edge, Brave, Opera or Arc?
Yes. They are all Chromium browsers and install extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Firefox and Safari use different extension formats and are not supported.
Does the extension send my browsing history anywhere?
No. There is no backend to send it to. Your browser fetches the pages and packs them on your device, and the only outbound requests go to the site you chose to download.
Why is the icon greyed out on some tabs?
On chrome:// pages, the extensions manager and the Chrome Web Store itself. Chrome blocks every extension from those, so the icon disables itself rather than failing halfway.
How big can a download get?
Single pages are typically a few megabytes. Multi-page jobs grow with the page count, which the popup shows before it starts. Treat that number as your size warning.
Is it free?
Yes. Free to install, free to use, no page cap and no paid tier.
Related pages.
Put a website downloader
in your toolbar.
Free on the Chrome Web Store. No account, no server, no queue.
Available in theChrome Web Store