Script to Remove Google Chrome Extensions on macOS

IT administrators often need to remove Chrome extensions from managed macOS devices to reduce security risks, enforce organizational browser standards, and maintain control over the extensions installed across their device fleet. Unapproved or malicious extensions can pose a risk to corporate data, while outdated extensions can conflict with company policies. Administrators remove extensions to remediate malicious extensions across multiple Macs and establish a clean baseline before deploying a company-approved extension list.

Using Hexnode UEM’s Execute Custom Script feature, administrators can remotely deploy scripts to remove a single Chrome extension or all extensions from the active user’s Default profile.

How Google Chrome Stores Extensions

Google Chrome manages extensions by downloading them into a hidden directory within the user’s specific Chrome profile. For example, extensions installed in the Default profile are stored in the Default/Extensions directory. Each extension is assigned a unique 32-character alphanumeric ID (such as kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen).

Both scripts, the one targeting a specific Chrome extension and the one targeting all extensions, automatically detect the currently logged-in macOS user, locate the user’s Default Chrome profile, and remove the specified (or all) extensions from the profile.

Technical Execution

Prerequisite: Disable Google Chrome extension sync for the users before running the scripts. If sync remains enabled, Chrome may automatically redownload the removed extensions from the users’ Google accounts.

Remove a Specific Chrome Extension

The Remove a Specific Chrome Extension script removes a single extension from the active user’s Default Chrome profile and deletes its corresponding entries from Chrome’s Preferences and Secure Preferences files.

Administrators target the unique ID of a compromised or malicious extension to remediate it across managed Macs. Before deploying, replace the value assigned to the extension variable in the code with the 32-character ID of your target extension, for example, kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen.

How to Obtain a Chrome Extension ID

Administrators can remotely retrieve the IDs of extensions installed in the Default Chrome profile of a managed Mac by executing a script through the Execute Custom Script action in Hexnode UEM.

To retrieve the extension IDs, refer to Script to fetch Google Chrome extensions installed on Mac.

Remove All Chrome Extensions

The Remove All Chrome Extensions script removes all extensions from the active user’s Default Chrome profile and deletes their corresponding entries from Chrome’s Preferences and Secure Preferences files.

Administrators run it to establish a clean baseline before deploying a company-approved extension list, or to remove extensions from the previous user’s Default Chrome profile before a Mac is reissued.

Script Variables

Scripts deployed through Hexnode UEM execute with system-level (root) privileges. To ensure the extension removal commands target the active user’s Chrome extension and configuration files rather than the system root directory, the scripts rely on the following variables:

How the Chrome Extension Removal Script Works

Script Action	Bash Command	Operational Significance
Active User Resolution	ls -l /dev/console | awk '{print $3}'	Identifies the currently logged-in user and extracts their exact username to build the correct path to their Chrome files.
Chrome Termination	osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to quit'	Quits Google Chrome before the extension removal process begins.
Target Removal	rm -rf	Removes the targeted extension folder from the Chrome Extensions directory.
ID Extraction	basename	Extracts the extension ID from the folder path during the bulk removal process so that the corresponding extension settings can be removed from Chrome’s preference files.
Configuration Cleanup	plutil -remove	Cleans up Chrome’s internal preference files to prevent the corrupted extension error, as displayed in the following screenshot:
Chrome Relaunch	open -a "Google Chrome" --args --restore-last-session	Launches Google Chrome and restores the previous browsing session after the extension removal process.

Deploying the Script via Hexnode UEM

Phase 1: Script Integration

1. Log in to the Hexnode UEM Portal.
2. Navigate to Content > Add Content.
   
3. Select the Upload File option from the drop-down list.
   
4. Click Upload and select your .sh script.
5. Click Save to upload the script.

Phase 2: Targeting & Execution

1. Navigate to the Manage tab and select the target macOS device.
2. Select Actions > Deployments > Execute Custom Script. The Choose File window is displayed.
   
3. Select the Hexnode Repository option.
4. Search and select the uploaded .sh file.
   
5. Verify the binary path and click Execute to run the script.

Phase 3: Verification

1. Navigate to the Action History tab of the target device.
2. Locate the Execute Custom Script action.
3. Verify that the Status is Success.
   

End-User Experience

The following images demonstrate the user’s browser extensions page before and after the script’s execution:

Chrome Extension Before Removal

Chrome Extension After Removal

Technical Limitations

• Secondary Chrome Profiles: The scripts target only the primary Default Chrome profile. Extensions installed in secondary Chrome profiles will not be affected.
• Enforced Policies: Extensions mandated by Google Workspace or macOS profiles will automatically reinstall when the browser is launched.
• Chrome Sync: If a user has Google Chrome Sync enabled, removed extensions may automatically redownload from their Google account. Disable extension sync before running the scripts.