Install the companion

The Channel Hub companion is not in the Chrome Web Store yet. Until it is, you install it by hand from a download. This page shows how, once per computer, and how to update it later. No terminal and no administrator rights are needed.

Before you begin

Who can do this: anyone who packs or ships marketplace orders on a desktop computer with Chrome (Edge loads it the same way, but Chrome is the one we support). For what the companion does, see The Channel Hub companion.

Time needed: about 2 minutes to install, about 1 minute to update.

What you need: your Microsoft account, the same one you use for Channel Hub.

Install

1. Download the companion: channel-hub-companion-latest.zip. It lands in your Downloads folder.

2. Put it in Documents.

   • Windows: right-click the downloaded file, choose Extract All, click Browse, choose Documents and click Extract.
   • Mac: double-click the downloaded file in Downloads. Then drag the Channel Hub companion folder onto Documents.

   You now have a folder Channel Hub companion in Documents, and manifest.json is directly inside it.

3. Open Chrome's extensions page. Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter. Turn on Developer mode, the switch at the top right.

4. Click Load unpacked and choose the folder Channel Hub companion in Documents. The companion appears in the list.

5. Pin it. Click the puzzle-piece icon next to the address bar, then the pin beside Channel Hub companion. Pinned, its badge is visible when an update arrives.

6. Sign in. Click the companion's icon and choose Sign in to Channel Hub, as described in Sign in. The popup shows the companion's version at the bottom.

Don't move or delete the folder

Chrome loads the companion from the folder Channel Hub companion every time it starts. If you move or delete it, the companion disappears from Chrome. Put it back, or install it again from step 1.

Update

Chrome does not update this copy by itself. The companion tells you when a newer version exists, within 6 hours of its release, or when you open its popup, if it has not checked in the last 15 minutes.

What you see	What it means
A blue NEW on the companion's icon. In its window: "Version 0.7.0 is available (you have 0.6.0)." with Update. At the end of the Channel Hub line in Odoo and Seller Center: "Companion 0.7.0 is available".	A newer version is out. Everything keeps working. Update when convenient.
A red !. In its window: "This version no longer works with Channel Hub. Update to 0.7.0." Where an order would show: "Update required: this companion is too old for Channel Hub." with Update.	This version is too old. It shows no orders until you update.
An amber !. In its window: "Install the companion from the Chrome Web Store, then remove this copy."	The store (or IT) now provides the companion. Install it from there, then remove this copy.

Click Update. A page opens with three steps:

1. Download. Click Download. The new version lands in your Downloads. Keep the update page open while you copy the files: if you copy them without it and without restarting Chrome, old and new code can mix until Chrome restarts.

2. Replace the folder.

   • Windows: open the downloaded file. It opens like a folder. Drag the Channel Hub companion folder onto Documents in the left column and choose Replace the files in the destination.
   • Mac: open the downloaded file. Finder unpacks it into a folder named Channel Hub companion (or Channel Hub companion 2). Open that folder, select everything in it (⌘A) and drag it onto the Channel Hub companion folder in Documents. Tick Apply to all and choose Replace.

   Installed the companion somewhere else? Use that folder instead.

3. Wait. The page says "Waiting for the new files…". Within a few seconds it checks that every file is in place, restarts the companion and closes. A new tab says "Updated to 0.7.0." and the popup shows the new version.

If something is wrong, the page says what:

• "Some files did not copy. Drag the folder again and choose Replace." The copy stopped half way, or a file is missing. Nothing breaks: the companion keeps running its current version until every file is there. Do step 2 again.
• "Still the old files. Check that you dropped the folder onto Documents itself, not into the Channel Hub companion folder." Two minutes after the download, nothing has changed in the folder. On Windows, drop the folder onto Documents itself. A folder inside a folder, Channel Hub companion / Channel Hub companion, is the usual cause.
• "This is an older version than the one you run." You used an old download. Press Download on the update page for the right one.

Remove

1. Open chrome://extensions.
2. Find Channel Hub companion and click Remove. Confirm.
3. Delete the folder Channel Hub companion from Documents.

If you later install the companion from the Chrome Web Store, remove this copy first, so that only one runs.