How to Find Error Logs to Troubleshoot Chrome Issues
Error logs are an essential part of troubleshooting software, and almost all software is capable of producing them. If you are experiencing an unexpected problem when using Google Chrome, checking the error debug logs could help you diagnose the problem.
Unfortunately, it isn’t immediately obvious if Chrome creates logs or where they are stored, let alone how to interpret them. Here’s how you may use error logs in Chrome.
Is There a Chrome Error Log?
The simple answer is yes, but you need to enable Chrome error logging before they are created for you to use in your troubleshooting. There is no simple option in the Chrome settings to do this. Instead, you need to add a command line flag to tell Chrome to collect a log each time it is launched.
Sometimes also called command line switches, command line flags are a fairly easy way to run a program with special conditions. In this case, they are added to theTargetfield of the Chrome shortcut and are activated every time the app gets launched using that shortcut.
Error logs are different from crash reporting, which can be enabled from the Chrome settings. Crash reporting automatically sends details of any unexpected browser crashes to Google, to help them prioritize fixes and improvements.
If you want to enable crash reporting, in Chrome go toSettings > You and Google > Sync and Google services, and enableHelp improve Chrome’s features and performance. it’s possible to view a list of crash reports, but not their details, by going toChrome://crashes.
There are several reasons why Chrome might crash, hang, or otherwise behave strangely. If viewing the debug logs as described below doesn’t help you solve the problem, our guide towhy Google Chrome keeps crashingcould help.
Enabling Chrome Error Logs
The exact way you enable Chrome error logging is slightly different depending on which operating system you are using Chrome on.
How to Enable Chrome’s Error Logs on Windows
How to Enable Chrome’s Error Logs on macOS
If you are unsure about using Terminal in macOS, ourbeginner’s guide to using the Mac Terminalwill help.
How to Enable Chrome’s Error Logs on Linux
You can find out more about choosing a good terminal emulator for Linux, which is a very useful tool to have at hand, in our guide tothe best Linux terminal emulators.
Where to Find Chrome Debug Logs
Now that you have enabled Chrome error logs, you need to know where to find them. Chrome debug logs get overwritten each time you launch Chrome, so it is important to grab them after the problem has occurred, but before you open Chrome again.
Finding Chrome’s Debug Logs on Windows
Finding Chrome’s Debug Logs on macOS
Finding Chrome’s Debug Logs on Linux
How to Read the Error Logs
If you need the logs to send to Google or a third party as part of a support ticket, you can save the file to your desktop and then attach it to the ticket/send where required. Reading the logs as they are created, and working out why the problem is occurring, will probably take some advanced knowledge of how Chrome works.
Each line of the log contains several pieces of information, running from left to right, including the process ID, thread ID, day, month and time, logging level, and source code filename.
You could search the log file to see if “ERROR” appears anywhere, usually in the logging level part of the line. Even if it does, this might not refer to the cause of the problem, but will be a good starting point.
You can also check for multiple repeated instances of the same process. If you see the same process repeated lots of times in quick succession, it could be a sign that there is a problem with that process.
Troubleshooting Chrome With Error Logs
Enabling Chrome error logs isn’t as easy as it could be, and they can be very confusing when you do actually find them. But if you want to try troubleshooting a persistent problem Chrome is having, or if you need logs to attach to a support ticket, the error logs provide a lot of information and could be the key to making Chrome work as it should.
Why does Google Chrome use so much RAM? What can you do to keep it in check? Here’s how to make Chrome use less RAM.
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