Google Retires Web Vitals Extension, Moves Everything to DevTools

Google has officially closed its Web Vitals Chrome extension with the release of Chrome 132.

All of its key features are now fully integrated into DevTools’ Performance panel, making it the go-to tool for measuring basic web vitals.

While nearly 200,000 users have used the extension, the Chrome team decided to focus exclusively on DevTools, which offers a more powerful and centralized platform for debugging website performance.

Why was the extension withdrawn?

The Web Vitals extension was great for tracking Core Web Vitals early on, but DevTools now offers the same functionality—and more.

By moving everything into DevTools, Google provides developers with a seamless performance optimization workflow.

What’s new in DevTools?

The Performance panel in DevTools now replicates and extends the extension capabilities:

• Live metrics: Real-time Core Web Vitals data for your local tests.
• Field data: Compare local metrics with CrUX data for URLs and sources, including desktop and mobile views.
• Details on Largest Content Imaging (LCP).: Find the specific element behind your LCP score, see a breakdown of phases such as Time to First Byte (TTFB) and Render Latency.
• Interaction To Next Paint (INP) interaction log.: Track interactions that contribute to INP with a detailed timeline for input latency, processing, and presentation.
• Cumulative Change Log (CLS).: See the grouped layout offsets that contribute to your CLS score.
• Diagnostic metrics: Includes TTFB and First Contentful Paint (FCP).

DevTools provides everything the extension did, plus advanced debugging tools, all in one place.

What developers should do next

If you’re still using the Web Vitals extension, it’s time to switch to DevTools.

Google even created migration guide to make the transition easier.

For those unable to migrate, Google has shared instructions for maintaining a local copy of the extension.

However, the CrUX API key associated with the extension will soon be revoked, so field data integration may break if you do not generate a new key through the CrUX API docs.

A look ahead

The move signals Google’s commitment to making DevTools the best performance monitoring tool for developers. The Performance panel covers everything from Core Web Vitals to advanced diagnostics, with more updates coming.

The Web Vitals extension was a useful tool, but its best features now live in DevTools, making it easier for developers to monitor and optimize website performance from one place.

For more details, see official announcement or GitHub repository.

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