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It's #FrontendFriday - Hidden internal pages in Google Chrome

It is again #FrontendFriday! Do you use Google Chrome as your web browser and have you ever seen the prefix "chrome://..." in your URL address bar? That was a (hidden) internal page of Chrome! In this blog post, I would like to show you where you can find all the hidden, internal pages in Google Chrome and give you an overview of the pages that could be particularly interesting and useful for web developers or Chrome power users.

To access the internal pages, you must copy the respective address and paste it into your Google Chrome address bar. Disclaimer: Please do not use any features or change any settings that have not been introduced here. Your Google Chrome installation may no longer function properly as a result.

chrome://about

Here you will find an overview of all the internal pages of Chrome. I have picked out the most useful ones from this list. Under internals/session-service you will find, for example, a Chrome log showing when the browser was started/crashed or closed.

chrome://whats-new

This page is displayed by default when Google Chrome is updated to a major version. Here you will find all the new features of the currently installed version.

chrome://serviceworker-internals

On this page you can debug service workers in Chrome. If you find a service worker here that should not (or no longer) be running in the background, you can deactivate it if necessary (unregister).

chrome://net-export

Here you can log all network traffic to a JSON file. Just try it out by clicking on "Start Logging to Disk" and surf the Internet a little. You can then open and inspect the log file.

chrome://system

Here you will find information about your system and the hardware on which Chrome is running. Particularly practical: under "mem_usage_with_title" you can see exactly how much memory each tab requires.

chrome://flags

On this page, you can enable or disable experimental features in Chrome. For example, to activate the latest design of Google Chrome, you can activate the flags for "Chrome Refresh 2023" and Chrome will have the modern, rounded corners - just like Edge.

chrome://bluetooth-internals

Here you will find an overview of all connected Bluetooth devices. You can also access these devices with JavaScript via the Web Bluetooth API access.

chrome://password-manager

Chrome's password manager with all your saved passwords. Tip: with one click (top right) on "Install", you have the password manager as a Progressive Web App is always available in Windows - even when Chrome is closed.

 

I hope this blog post is also a good overview of the most useful internal Chrome pages for you. If you're a web developer, I hope you've also discovered one or two useful features. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments.

 

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Markus Wingler

About ME

Markus Wingler is a Senior Software Developer, specialist team leader for "Fullstack JavaScript Applications" and has been working at doubleSlash since 2010. After successfully completing his training as an application developer, he studied Applied Computer Science (B. Sc.) at the DHBW Stuttgart. His many years of experience have made him an expert in the development and design of modern Web applications in the B2B environment. He also specializes in the field of mobile apps. He is particularly enthusiastic about new technologies and trends in the mobile and web sector.

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