# WhatRuns

> Discover what runs a website - This Firefox extension helps you identify technologies used on any website at the click of a button.

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns)

## Overview

- **ID:** `whatruns`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Whatruns
- **Category:** web-development,search-tools,appearance
- **Daily users:** 4,751
- **Weekly downloads:** 69
- **Rating:** 4.05 / 5 (62 ratings)
- **Version:** 1.9.0
- **Last updated:** 2026-04-02
- **First published:** 2017-05-31
- **Size:** 1.93 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-14
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/whatruns/)
- **Website:** [https://www.whatruns.com](https://www.whatruns.com/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/whatruns/privacy/](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/whatruns/privacy/)

## Description

WhatRuns is a powerful Firefox extension designed to help you instantly identify technologies used on any website. Whether you're curious about which frameworks, content management systems, or analytics tools a site uses, WhatRuns reveals this information with a simple click. This extension streamlines the process of technology discovery, making it accessible for developers, marketers, and curious users alike. Its user-friendly interface ensures quick insights without any hassle, enhancing your web browsing and research experience.

## Rankings

- #1,245 — Overall
- #132 — Web Development
- #134 — Search Tools
- #197 — Appearance
- #21 — identify
- #26 — discover

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `tabs`
- `webRequest`
- `activeTab`
- `storage`
- `http://*/*`
- `https://*/*`

### Content script matches

- `*`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** High risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Moderate risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.
- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

User reviews show WhatRuns is unreliable and often non-functional on Firefox, and appears outdated. While it can provide insights into a site's technologies when it works, many users experience incorrect or incomplete results, and the addon raises privacy concerns (cookies, broad permissions, and openness). The maintenance gap and presence of better alternatives (e.g., Wappalyzer) contribute to a generally negative sentiment with occasional brief positives when functioning properly.

### Pros

- Useful for identifying the technologies running on a site when it works.
- Some users report positive experiences and call it a 'working' tool (e.g., 'great!', 'it's fine').
- Historically it was considered one of the best tools for discovering a site's tech stack before newer competitors like Wappalyzer.

### Cons

- Unreliable and inconsistent: it often doesn't work or only works for some sites.
- Not maintained/up-to-date: users note it has not been updated for years and Firefox support may be lagging.
- Privacy concerns: it creates cookies on startup, requests broad permissions, and questions about openness/source code are raised.
- Inaccurate or incomplete results: users report wrong data (e.g., WordPress versions) or very limited results (e.g., shows only a single item).
- Performance/UX issues: the extension can spin forever or hang, leading to a poor user experience.

## Similar extensions and apps

- [WhatRuns Pro](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns-pro) — 23 users
- [WhatRuns - Technology Profiler](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns-technology-profiler) — 2 users
- [Tech Tracker](https://chrome-stats.com/d/tech-tracker) — 14 users
- [WhatRuns Detector V2](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns-detector-v2)
- [Website Technology Detector](https://chrome-stats.com/d/website-technology-detector) — 287 users, 5.00 / 5
- [Ful.io - Technology Profiler and lookup](https://chrome-stats.com/d/fulio) — 1 users
- [TechsFound](https://chrome-stats.com/d/techsfound) — 20 users, 5.00 / 5
- [W3Techs Website Technology Information](https://chrome-stats.com/d/w3techs) — 407 users, 4.17 / 5
- [Wappalyzer](https://chrome-stats.com/d/wappalyzer) — 117,951 users, 4.40 / 5
- [Open Tech Explorer](https://chrome-stats.com/d/openexplorer_tech) — 5 users
- [SiteRecipe](https://chrome-stats.com/d/siterecipe) — 1 users
- [WhatStack](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatstack) — 12 users

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/whatruns)