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netsi1964 🙏🏻
netsi1964 🙏🏻

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All the Chrome Hidden Links: The Ultimate Power User Guide

#webdev #generatedbygooglegemini #chrome

Have you ever wondered what’s going on under the hood of your web browser? While most people only ever visit chrome://settings or chrome://history, Google Chrome is packed with hundreds of internal pages. These are hidden tools used by developers, engineers, and curious power users to debug, tweak, and analyze exactly how the browser behaves.

These URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) start with chrome:// or chrome-untrusted://. They bypass the web and talk directly to the browser's internal code.

Here is your complete guide to these hidden links, what they do, and when you should actually use them.

🛠️ The Essentials (Everyday Utilities)

These are the pages you might actually use in your daily browsing life to manage the browser.

  • chrome://about or chrome://chrome-urls
    • Description: The "Master List." It displays clickable links to all other available internal URLs.
    • When to use: When you are looking for a specific tool but can't remember the exact address.
  • chrome://settings
    • Description: The standard settings interface.
    • When to use: To change your homepage, manage cookies, or search settings.
  • chrome://extensions
    • Description: The manager for all your installed add-ons.
    • When to use: When Chrome is running slow and you suspect a rogue extension, or to enable "Developer Mode" to load unpacked extensions.
  • chrome://history
    • Description: Your browsing history.
    • When to use: To find that site you visited three days ago.
  • chrome://bookmarks
    • Description: The bookmark manager.
    • When to use: To organize, import, or export your saved sites.
  • chrome://downloads
    • Description: A list of all files you’ve downloaded.
    • When to use: To find a lost file or resume a paused download.
  • chrome://version
    • Description: Displays technical details: exact Chrome version, OS, User Agent, Flash/JavaScript versions, and command-line variations.
    • When to use: Essential for troubleshooting. If you are reporting a bug, IT support will ask for this.
  • chrome://dino
    • Description: The famous T-Rex runner game usually seen when you have no internet.
    • When to use: When you are bored (you can play it even when you are online).

🧪 Experiments & Tweaks

  • chrome://flags
    • Description: The playground for experimental features that aren't quite ready for primetime.
    • When to use: To enable new features (like darker dark modes, faster download speeds) before they are officially released, or to disable annoying new UI changes.

📡 Network & Connectivity Debugging

These are critical for diagnosing internet and connection issues.

  • chrome://net-internals / chrome://net-export
    • Description: A deep-dive network event logger. net-export allows you to save a log file of your network traffic to send to support engineers.
    • When to use: If a specific website won't load, you have DNS issues, or proxy errors.
  • chrome://webrtc-internals
    • Description: Real-time statistics for WebRTC (used by Google Meet, Zoom web, Discord web).
    • When to use: Your video call is lagging or pixelated. Check here to see packet loss, bitrate, and audio graphs.
  • chrome://bluetooth-internals
    • Description: Debugger for the Web Bluetooth API.
    • When to use: If you are a developer building a web app that connects to Bluetooth devices.
  • chrome://usb-internals
    • Description: Similar to Bluetooth, but for testing WebUSB devices.
    • When to use: Testing hardware connections via the browser.
  • chrome://connection-help
    • Description: A user-friendly help page for connection errors.
    • When to use: Troubleshooting basic "This site can't be reached" errors.

💻 Developer & Performance Tools

Tools for web developers to understand how Chrome renders pages and uses resources.

  • chrome://inspect
    • Description: Port forwarding and remote debugging. Allows you to inspect open tabs on an Android device via USB.
    • When to use: You are building a mobile site and need to use the desktop DevTools to fix layout issues on your phone.
  • chrome://serviceworker-internals
    • Description: Manages Service Workers (scripts that run in the background for offline capabilities and push notifications).
    • When to use: A website is "stuck" showing an old cached version, or you want to force-unregister a worker.
  • chrome://gpu
    • Description: Detailed info on your Graphics Processing Unit and hardware acceleration status.
    • When to use: You see visual glitches, black boxes, or slow rendering on graphics-heavy sites.
  • chrome://system
    • Description: Aggregated system logs (similar to about:support in Firefox).
    • When to use: checking hardware details and OS logs specifically related to the browser.
  • chrome://blob-internals
    • Description: Inspects "Binary Large Objects" (file data) currently in memory.
    • When to use: Debugging file uploads or large data transfers in web apps.
  • chrome://indexeddb-internals / chrome://quota-internals
    • Description: Shows how much local storage space websites are using on your hard drive.
    • When to use: You need to free up disk space and want to see which web apps are hoarding data.
  • chrome://process-internals
    • Description: A deep view of the process isolation model (Site Isolation).
    • When to use: Advanced debugging of which websites are sharing which OS processes.
  • chrome://translate-internals
    • Description: Logs regarding the Google Translate feature.
    • When to use: Debugging why Chrome did (or didn't) offer to translate a foreign language page.

🔒 Security, Privacy & Identity

  • chrome://policy
    • Description: Shows policies enforced on the browser (common on work/school computers).
    • When to use: To see why an extension is forced-installed or why you can't change a specific setting ("Managed by your organization").
  • chrome://password-manager / chrome://password-manager-internals
    • Description: The UI for your saved passwords and the internal logs of how the manager is working.
    • When to use: To export passwords or debug why a "Save Password" prompt isn't appearing.
  • chrome://certificate-manager / chrome://view-cert
    • Description: View and manage SSL/TLS certificates.
    • When to use: Importing a custom certificate for a corporate intranet or identifying an expired certificate.
  • chrome://privacy-sandbox-internals / chrome://topics-internals / chrome://attribution-internals
    • Description: Controls and data regarding Google's replacement for third-party cookies (Topics API, FLEDGE, etc.).
    • When to use: Developers understanding how ad-targeting works without cookies.

🖼️ UI Components (Side Panels & Interfaces)

Chrome is built of many smaller web pages. These links open specific parts of the user interface directly.

  • Side Panels:
    • chrome://bookmarks-side-panel.top-chrome (Bookmarks panel)
    • chrome://history-side-panel.top-chrome (History panel)
    • chrome://customize-chrome-side-panel.top-chrome (Theme customization)
    • chrome://read-later.top-chrome (Reading List)
    • chrome://shopping-insights-side-panel.top-chrome (Price tracking)
    • chrome://comments-side-panel.top-chrome (Google Workspace comments)
  • New Tab & Search:
    • chrome://newtab / chrome://new-tab-page (The homepage)
    • chrome://omnibox-popup.top-chrome (The search suggestion dropdown)
    • chrome://tab-search.top-chrome (The arrow icon to search open tabs)
  • Login & Profile:
    • chrome://profile-picker (The "Who is using Chrome?" startup screen)
    • chrome://signin-internals (Logs about the Google account login process)

⚠️ "Untrusted" & Sandbox

You will see links starting with chrome-untrusted://. These are pages that handle content requiring strict isolation for security reasons.

  • chrome-untrusted://print: The Print Preview window (sandboxed to prevent printer drivers from crashing the browser).
  • chrome-untrusted://lens / lens-overlay: The Google Lens image search integration.
  • chrome-untrusted://read-anything-side-panel.top-chrome: The Reader Mode panel (strips ads/formatting).

📋 The Complete Index (The Rest)

Here are brief descriptions of the remaining links from your list:

  • chrome://access-code-cast: Interface for casting to a device using a pin code (Education/Enterprise).
  • chrome://accessibility: Shows the internal accessibility tree for screen readers.
  • chrome://actor-overlay: Internal testing overlay.
  • chrome://app-service-internals: Diagnostics for installed Web Apps and Android Apps (on ChromeOS).
  • chrome://app-settings: Settings for specific web apps.
  • chrome://apps: The launcher page for installed Chrome Apps.
  • chrome://autofill-internals: Logs explaining why forms did/didn't autofill.
  • chrome://batch-upload: Internal data upload interface.
  • chrome://browser-switch: For admins; controls switching between Chrome and legacy browsers (IE).
  • chrome://cast-feedback: Submit logs regarding Chromecast issues.
  • chrome://chrome: Usually redirects to the updates page or version.
  • chrome://chrome-signin: Internal sign-in flow.
  • chrome://compare: New feature for comparing products in shopping.
  • chrome://components: Check for updates to individual components (like Widevine for Netflix).
  • chrome://connection-monitoring-detected: Notification page for network monitoring.
  • chrome://connectors-internals: Enterprise security connectors.
  • chrome://contextual-tasks: AI/ML suggestions based on browsing.
  • chrome://crashes: Lists recent crash reports (if reporting is enabled).
  • chrome://credits: A long list of open-source licenses used in Chrome.
  • chrome://debug-webuis-disabled: Error page for when WebUI is off.
  • chrome://device-log: Logs for hardware events (USB, HID).
  • chrome://extensions-internals: JSON data about extensions (dev use).
  • chrome://extensions-zero-state: The screen shown when no extensions are installed.
  • chrome://feedback: Opens the "Report an Issue" dialog.
  • chrome://gcm-internals: Google Cloud Messaging (Push notifications) status.
  • chrome://glic / chrome://glic-fre: Related to Google Lens Image Context (Visual search features).
  • chrome://histograms: Text-based stats on browser performance metrics.
  • chrome://history-clusters-side-panel.top-chrome: "Journeys" view in history.
  • chrome://history-sync-optin: The setup screen for syncing history.
  • chrome://internals: A directory for various internal pages.
  • chrome://intro: The "Welcome to Chrome" first-run experience.
  • chrome://managed-user-profile-notice: Notice for supervised accounts.
  • chrome://management: Shows if your browser is managed by an admin.
  • chrome://media-engagement: Scores determining if sites can autoplay video.
  • chrome://metrics-internals: Real-time browser metrics logging.
  • chrome://new-tab-page-third-party: NTP for search engines other than Google.
  • chrome://newtab-footer: Footer element for the new tab page.
  • chrome://ntp-tiles-internals: Debugging the shortcut icons on the New Tab Page.
  • chrome://on-device-translation-internals: Debugging local AI translation models.
  • chrome://predictors: Auto-complete predictions for the address bar.
  • chrome://print: The print dialog.
  • chrome://privacy-sandbox-base-dialog / dialog: Popups related to privacy consent.
  • chrome://private-aggregation-internals: Privacy sandbox reporting data.
  • chrome://profile-customization: Avatar/color picker.
  • chrome://profile-internals: Data about the loaded user profile.
  • chrome://reset-password: Password reset flow.
  • chrome://saved-tab-groups-unsupported: Error state for tab groups.
  • chrome://search-engine-choice: The "Choose your search engine" screen (EU specific).
  • chrome://segmentation-internals: How Chrome groups users for feature rollouts.
  • chrome://signin-dice-web-intercept.top-chrome: Part of the account login interception.
  • chrome://signin-email-confirmation: Email verification screen.
  • chrome://signin-error: Login error display.
  • chrome://signout-confirmation: Confirming sign out.
  • chrome://site-engagement: A score of how much you interact with sites (affects resource throttling).
  • chrome://suggest-internals: Debugging omnibox suggestions.
  • chrome://support-tool: Generates support logs.
  • chrome://sync-confirmation: "Turn on Sync?" dialog.
  • chrome://sync-internals: Vital for debugging why bookmarks/passwords aren't syncing.
  • chrome://tab-group-home: Overview of saved tab groups.
  • chrome://terms: Chrome Terms of Service.
  • chrome://user-actions: Logs user clicks and actions for debugging.
  • chrome://watermark: Internal overlay (rarely used).
  • chrome://web-app-internals: PWA debugging.
  • chrome://webui-browser: Visualizer for WebUI.
  • chrome://whats-new: The "What's New" update page.
  • chrome-untrusted://compose: AI writing assistance container.
  • chrome-untrusted://data-sharing: Internal data sharing UI.
  • chrome-untrusted://ntp-microsoft-auth: Authentication for Microsoft modules (specific integrations).

Conclusion

Chrome is much more than a window to the web; it is a complex application with its own internal operating system. By knowing about chrome:// URLs, you transition from a standard user to a Power User.

Whether you need to debug a slow internet connection with net-internals, check for rogue extensions with extensions, or just play the dino game, these links give you total control.

Which of these hidden pages will you try first?

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