How to publish new version of Chrome Extension only to testers

Question

I have a chrome extension with a lot of users, and I want to update it. I have everything ready but I need to test the update in order to make sure that the current users won't lose the data. Is there any way to publish the new version only to the trusted testers?

• I created a tester group.
• I insert trusted testers e-mail accounts.
• I am signed to Google Chrome browser under the testing account
• I am signed to Google Chrome webstore under the testing account

But I still can't see the new version. The button "Publish to tester accounts" is only on the unpublished extension.

Answer 1

The only way I was able to publish a new version to testers is by doing exactly that, creating a new version specifically for testing.

The way that the dashboard is currently set up you would have to un-publish your current application before you can publish it to the test accounts, and that is something I doubt you want to do.

So in your case, I'd do the following

1. Set up a 'testing' version of your application with your current code.
2. Publish it to your test group and have them use it for a while until they have the data you are concerned about.
3. Update the 'testing' version with your changes and see if the data is missing.

Answer 2

Google has recently solved this with a new update. So right now there is a option to publish the new version just to the testers. The extension will be hidden for a while, but when you publish it again to public, it is all done.