Google Chrome

Where Google Chrome keeps its logs

Google Chrome logs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\chrome_debug.log on Windows.

Google Chrome logs to ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/chrome_debug.log on macOS.

Google Chrome logs to ~/.config/google-chrome/chrome_debug.log on Linux.

Paths are printed exactly as Google Chrome writes them. Environment variables like %LOCALAPPDATA% and $XDG_STATE_HOME are never expanded, so a path can be pasted straight into a shell. Where a path differs between installer types or shipping flavours, each one is racked as its own card below - why that happens.

Finding your way around Windows, macOS and Linux.

How to turn on debug logging for Google Chrome

1. Windows: Add --enable-logging --v=1 to the end of the Chrome shortcut Target.
2. macOS: Run /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --enable-logging --v=1.
3. Linux: Start Chrome with --enable-logging --v=1.
4. To set levels per module, add --vmodule=module1=N with a comma-separated list of modules.
5. To log to the console instead, use --enable-logging=stderr (on Windows this misses sandboxed renderer output).
6. To write the log to another file, set the CHROME_LOG_FILE environment variable.

How to collect Google Chrome logs

1. Copy chrome_debug.log from the Chrome user data directory before restarting Chrome, as each restart overwrites it.
2. Review the log before sharing it; it can contain URLs.
3. For network problems, open chrome://net-export and record a net log.
4. For crashes, open chrome://crashes and note the crash IDs.
5. Windows: For a per-user install problem, collect %TMP%\chrome_installer.log.
6. Windows: For a system install problem, collect chrome_installer.log from %systemroot%\SystemTemp or C:\Windows\Temp.
7. Windows: For update problems, collect updater.log from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\GoogleUpdater\ (per user) or %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Google\GoogleUpdater\ (system).
8. macOS: For update problems, collect updater.log from ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/ or /Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/.