How do I move off Chrome Manifest V2 Final Removal and Enterprise Policy End in Chrome 139 without getting stuck?
Decide whether to finish an extension's Manifest V3 migration now or rely on the short-lived enterprise escape hatch before Chrome 139 removes the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy.
Blockers
- Manifest V2 extensions stop working for all users on Chrome 139 and later.
- Enterprises can still use ExtensionManifestV2Availability through Chrome 138.
- Chrome 138 is the final version that can still support Manifest V2 when paired with the ExtensionManifestV2Availability enterprise policy.
Who this is for
- enterprise
- compliance
Candidates
Finish the Manifest V3 migration now
As of 2026-03-28, Chrome's official Manifest V2 timeline says Chrome 138 is the final version that can still support Manifest V2 when paired with the ExtensionManifestV2Availability enterprise policy, and Chrome 139 removes that policy. Chrome also states that Manifest V2 extensions cease to function for any user upgrading to Chrome 139 and later. The Chrome Web Store no longer accepts Manifest V2 extensions. Google's migration guidance identifies the main blocker areas as replacing background pages with an extension service worker, replacing blocking webRequest listeners with Declarative Net Request where applicable, and removing remotely hosted code and arbitrary string execution.
When to choose
Use this if the extension is business-critical, customer-facing, security-sensitive, or distributed beyond a tightly controlled enterprise fleet. It is the only path that remains valid once Chrome 139 lands, and it avoids betting your rollout on holding devices at Chrome 138.
Tradeoffs
Most engineering work now, but lowest operational risk later. You must absorb MV3 architectural changes and retest behavior, especially around background execution and request modification.
Cautions
Do not treat this as a manifest-only edit. Official migration docs call out service worker lifecycle changes, offscreen-document moves for DOM-dependent logic, webRequest-to-DNR replacement work, and remote-hosted-code restrictions as common migration blockers.
Use ExtensionManifestV2Availability only as a short bridge on Chrome 138
As of 2026-03-28, this is only a temporary enterprise holdout path. Chrome's official timeline says enterprises can still use ExtensionManifestV2Availability through Chrome 138, but the policy is removed with Chrome 139, at which point Manifest V2 extensions stop working for all users on Chrome 139 and later. This means the escape hatch is no longer a long-term strategy; it only buys time if you can keep managed devices on Chrome 138 while finishing migration.
When to choose
Use this only for a narrowly scoped enterprise-controlled environment where admins can deliberately hold Chrome at 138 for a short period and where the MV3 migration is already underway. The decisive factor is whether you truly control browser version rollout; without that, this option collapses as soon as users update.
Tradeoffs
Buys limited time for staged testing or regulated change windows, but creates immediate fleet-management and deadline risk. It reduces short-term migration pressure at the cost of increasing operational complexity and making Chrome 139 a hard stop.
Cautions
As of 2026-03-28, the broad user-side re-enable window has already passed and Chrome says Manifest V2 was disabled everywhere in Chrome 138 on 2025-07-24. This path depends on enterprise policy plus version pinning, not on end-user toggles, and it does not help with Chrome Web Store acceptance because new MV2 submissions are no longer accepted.
Try with your AI agent
$ npm install -g pocketlantern $ pocketlantern init # Restart Claude Code, Cursor, or your MCP client, then ask: # "How do I move off Chrome Manifest V2 Final Removal and Enterprise Policy End in Chrome 139 without getting stuck?"