I had a similar issue with Brave Browser (chromium base, so probably applies to most chromium browsers like Chrome) on Debian/Linux (the system is probably irrelevant).

I realized it happened whenever I didn't have my external drive plugged, where I happen to have the extension files. So it seems the browser isn't exporting it, but rather just using the existing extension folder.

The solution? In my case I put it in the local drive and it worked.