I have 7 Chrome extensions and apps and, as a chronic numbers addict, I like to keep track of their user numbers (WAU), and ratings.
I use a spreadsheet (Google Sheet) to collect the data, and analyze trends, and catch (to diagnose) outliers. The same spreadsheet also functions as a JSON-providing backend for data being funneled elsewhere (e.g. for user numbers on this page).
While the analysis part, and the JSON-feed worked well, the data collection part was painful. Google doesn’t provide an API to fetch extension data, so I’ve had to fill the data manually into the spreadsheet every day!
For a long time, I used to open my Chrome Web Store (CWS) developer dashboard every morning, and one-by-one fill in the numbers into the spreadsheet cells. While this was relatively easy, if menial, on the desktop, it’s quite painful on the phone – copying numbers between two apps on the small screen.
Continue reading How I automate fetching Chrome Web Store user counts & ratings
