Google Chrome is a wonderful browser offering many hidden features like omnibox search, auto translate bar, video play controls and much more. Chrome also offers URL commands which can be directly entered in the address bar like a website address in the format chrome://command. These commands are very powerful and can be used as a shortcut to access the features quickly.
Top 10 Google Chrome URL Command Shortcuts
Here is a list of top 10 Chrome URL shortcuts. You can enter these URLs directly on the address bar without http in the front.
1. Access Chrome Settings
Syntax: chrome://settings
Normally, you can access the settings page through the menu icon. But you can simply access Chrome’s “Settings” page by entering the command “chrome://settings” in the address bar without going through the menu.
2. Check Version and Update
Syntax: chrome://chrome
Enter “chrome://chrome” to reach the “About” page of the Chrome browser. Basically you can check out the latest version of your Chrome and update it if it is not up to date. Chrome version also can be checked using URL “chrome://version“.
3. Check Browsing History
Syntax: chrome://history
Access browsing history with this URL command instead of going through the menu.
4. View Extensions
Syntax: chrome://extensions
View complete list of installed extensions on your Chrome browser.
5. Check Flags for Experimental Features
Syntax: chrome://flags
This is URL command to see all experimental features offered by Chrome. As mentioned in the page use any of these features at your own risk.
6. View Bookmarks
Syntax: chrome://bookmarks
Quickly open Chrome Bookmarks Manager and view the list of your bookmarked pages.
7. Chrome Crash Report
Syntax: chrome://crashes
View crash report of your browser using this Google Chrome command URL. You need to enable the option “Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports to Google” available under “Settings > Privacy” menu in order to enable crash reports.
8. Chrome DNS Prefetch
Syntax: chrome://DNS
View host names for which Chrome will prefetch DNS.
9. View HTTP Cache Files
Syntax: chrome://view-http-cache
Google Chrome has a powerful caching mechanism to load pages faster on subsequent viewing of pages from the same website. Though this feature is useful for general users, it may be annoying for web developers as the changes will not be reflected immediately. Using this command URL, you can view the files cached on the browser. Also, you can click on the file link to see the HTTP header status like how long the cache is valid.
10. View Site’s Thumbnail
Syntax: chrome://thumbnails
When you open Chrome, the home page contains the thumbnails of the latest visited websites. Using this URL command you can view the list of top sites having thumbnail shortcut in your browser. Also you can right click on the image and download to your computer. So, this is one of the easy ways to generate thumbnails for the websites.
Bonus URL Command
Well, this is the one URL command you should probably remember. You can check the complete list of all Google Chrome URL commands using the following command.
Syntax: chrome://about or chrome://chrome-urls
Complete List of Shortcut URLs:
Below is a complete list of available Chrome URLs:
| Chrome URL | Description |
|---|---|
| chrome://about | List all Chrome URLs |
| chrome://accessibility | Enable native accessibility API support for web content like screen reader. |
| chrome://appcache-internals | Show location of Chrome cache instances |
| chrome://apps | Show Google apps like Web Store, YouTube, Gmail, etc. |
| chrome://blob-internals | Show Binary Large Objects (blob) internal storage data. |
| chrome://bluetooth-internals | Show Bluetooth device details. |
| chrome://bookmarks | Show Chrome bookmarks. |
| chrome://chrome | Go to settings help to view version and update Chrome. |
| chrome://chrome-urls | Show list of Chrome command URLs |
| chrome://components | List all components and option to check for update. |
| chrome://crashes | View all previous crashes. |
| chrome://credits | List license and homepage details for all Chrome components. |
| chrome://device-log | Monitor the available device details, you can add parameter to this URL to auto refresh and monitor the connected devices. |
| chrome://devices | View available devices connected in the network, you should login to your Google account to view devices. |
| chrome://dino | Play T-rex dinosaur game displayed generally during no internet connection. |
| chrome://discards | Discard any of the opened tab. |
| chrome://dns | Show DNS details that will be prefetched during startup. |
| chrome://download-internals | Monitor downloads and status. |
| chrome://downloads | View all downloaded files. |
| chrome://extensions | View list of all installed extensions. |
| chrome://flags | Show all experimental features. |
| chrome://flash | View Flash player plugin details. |
| chrome://gcm-internals | Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) monitoring. |
| chrome://gpu | View details of Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). |
| chrome://help | View version and update Chrome. |
| chrome://histograms | Historical status from startup of Chrome. |
| chrome://history | View all browsing history. |
| chrome://indexeddb-internals | Show indexedDB storage details. |
| chrome://inspect | Inspect with Chrome developer tools. |
| chrome://interventions-internals | Control preview allowed and blacklist. |
| chrome://invalidations | Invalidations debug information. |
| chrome://local-state | Technical details of Chrome features and enabled state. |
| chrome://media-engagement | Media engagement settings and details. |
| chrome://media-internals | Show players, audio and video device details. |
| chrome://nacl | About Chrome Native Client (NaCl). |
| chrome://net-export | Network log export. |
| chrome://net-internals | Show all network events. |
| chrome://network-errors | List of all network errors shown in Chrome. |
| chrome://newtab | Open Chrome New Tab. |
| chrome://ntp-tiles-internals | View sites shown on Chrome New Tab Page (NTP). |
| chrome://omnibox | Test Chrome omnibox search. |
| chrome://password-manager-internals | Password manager logs. |
| chrome://policy | View Chrome policies. |
| chrome://predictors | View auto complete and resource prefetch details. |
| chrome://print | Chrome print screen. |
| chrome://quota-internals | View statistics of usage and quota by viewed sites. |
| chrome://safe-browsing | View safe browsing page details. |
| chrome://serviceworker-internals | Details of service worker script. |
| chrome://settings | Go to Chrome settings page. |
| chrome://signin-internals | Chrome signin details. |
| chrome://site-engagement | Details of engagement of all viewed sites. |
| chrome://suggestions | Show recommended suggestions. |
| chrome://supervised-user-internals | Supervised user account details. |
| chrome://sync-internals | Sync details with your Google account, if summary is ready then account is in sync. |
| chrome://system | Check system details like OS version, memory usage and installed Chrome extensions. |
| chrome://taskscheduler-internals | Task scheduler details. |
| chrome://terms | Google Chrome terms of service. |
| chrome://thumbnails | View thumbnails of top sites shown in New Tab page. |
| chrome://tracing | Record tracing log. |
| chrome://translate-internals | Language translation settings. |
| chrome://usb-internals | Test USB device. |
| chrome://user-actions | List all user actions. |
| chrome://version | View Chrome version. |
| chrome://webrtc-internals | Show current Real Time Communications (RTC). |
| chrome://webrtc-logs | Real Time Communications (RTC) logs. |
| chrome://memory-exhaust/ | Exhaust memory and show Aw! Snap! page. |
| chrome://quit/ | Close Chrome. |
| chrome://restart/ | Restart Chrome. |
Note: Google adds and removes command URLs in every new version. Hence, some of the above listed commands may not work in the latest version and you will see a message “This site can’t be reached” with an error “ERR_INVALID_URL”. You can always use chrome://about to find the list of available URLs for your browser’s version.
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