Automatically install web apps

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  DevicesChromeApps & extensions. The Overview page opens by default.

   If you signed up for Chrome Browser Cloud Management, go to Menu  Chrome browserApps & extensions.

3. Click Users & browsers, Kiosks, or Managed guest sessions.
4. (Users only) To apply the setting to a group, do the following:
   1. Select Groups.
   2. Select the group to which you want to apply the setting.
5. (Optional) To apply the setting to a department or team, at the side, select an organizational unit. Show me how
6. (Optional) If you haven’t already, add the web app:
   1. Point to Add   Add by URL .
   2. Enter the URL.
      Use URLs that do not redirect to a different origin. For example, for Google Maps, use https://google.com/maps, not https://maps.google.com.
   3. Click Save. 
7. Go to the app that you want to automatically install.
8. Under Installation policy, choose one of the following:
   • Force install
   • The relevant install and pin option:
     • Force install + pin
     • Force install + pin to ChromeOS taskbar
     • Force install + pin to browser toolbar
   • Installed
9. Click Save.

Using Group Policy

In the Group Policy Management Editor (Computer or User Configuration folder):

1. Go to Policies  Administrative Templates  Google  Google Chrome.
2. Open Configure list of force-installed web apps.
   Tip: If you don’t see the policy, download the latest policy template.
3. Enable the policy and enter its compact JavaScript^® Object Notation (JSON) data in the text box.
   Note: Enter JSON data as a single line with no line breaks. You can use a third-party JSON compression tool to validate policies and compact them into a single line.
4. Set your desired web app policies:
   1. Add the URLs of the web apps that you want to automatically install on users’ computers. Use URLs that do not redirect, except to possibly change query parameters. For example, for Google Maps, use https://google.com/maps, not https://maps.google.com.
   2. (Optional) To open URLs in a new tab or window, set default_launch_container to tab or window. By default, web apps open in a new tab.
   3. (Optional) To create a desktop shortcut, set create_desktop_shortcut to true.
5. Deploy the update to your users

The example shows how to:

• Automatically install Google Maps and Google Docs.
• Add a desktop shortcut for Google Maps.
• Open Google Maps in a new window.
• Open Docs in a new tab.

Example JSON data

[
{
    "create_desktop_shortcut": true, 
    "default_launch_container": "window", 
    "url": "https://google.com/maps"
  }, 
  {
    "default_launch_container": "tab", 
    "url": "https://docs.google.com"
  }
]

Compact JSON data

[{"create_desktop_shortcut":true,"default_launch_container":"window","url":"https://google.com/maps"},{"default_launch_container":"tab","url":"https://docs.google.com"}]

1. Add or update the following keys in the <WebAppInstallForceList> key: 
   1. Add the URLs of the web apps that you want to automatically install on users’ computers. Use URLs that do not redirect, except to possibly change query parameters. For example, for Google Maps, use https://google.com/maps, not https://maps.google.com.
   2. (Optional) To open URLs in a new tab or window, set the <default_launch_container> key to <string>value</string>, where value is tab or window.  By default, web apps open in a new tab, and the <create_desktop_shortcut> key has no effect on users’ Mac machines.
2. Deploy the change to your users.

The example shows how to:

• Automatically install Google Maps and Google Docs.
• Open Google Maps in a new window.
• Open Docs in a new tab.

<key>WebAppInstallForceList</key>
<array>
  <dict>
    <key>default_launch_container</key>
    <string>window</string>
    <key>url</key>
    <string>https://google.com/maps</string>
  </dict>
  <dict>
    <key>default_launch_container</key>
    <string>tab</string>
    <key>url</key>
    <string>https://docs.google.com</string>
  </dict>
</array>

Using your preferred JSON file editor:

1. Go to your /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed folder.
2. Create or update a JSON file.
3. For WebAppInstallForceList:
   1. In url, add the URLs of the web apps that you want to automatically install on users’ computers. Use URLs that do not redirect, except to possibly change query parameters. For example, for Google Maps, use https://google.com/maps, not https://maps.google.com.
   2. (Optional) To open URLs in a new tab or window, set default_launch_container to tab or window. By default, web apps open in a new tab.
   3. (Optional) To create a desktop shortcut, set create_desktop_shortcut to true.
4. Deploy the update to your users. 

The example shows how to:

• Automatically install Google Maps and Google Docs.
• Add a desktop shortcut for Google Maps.
• Open Google Maps in a new window.
• Open Docs in a new tab.

WebAppInstallForceList: [
  {
    "create_desktop_shortcut": true, 
    "default_launch_container": "window", 
    "url": "https://google.com/maps"
  }, 
  {
    "default_launch_container": "tab", 
    "url": "https://docs.google.com"
  }
]