Turbocharge Your Arch Linux Chromium Browser: The Ultimate Configuration Guide

Ready to fine-tune your Chromium browser on Arch Linux for maximum performance and privacy? This comprehensive guide provides everything you need to optimize your browsing experience, from installation and configuration to advanced tips and tricks. You’ll learn how to reduce CPU usage, enable hardware acceleration, and much more.

Why Choose Chromium on Arch Linux?

Chromium, the open-source project behind Google Chrome, offers a powerful and customizable browsing experience. On Arch Linux, you have complete control over its configuration, allowing you to tailor it to your specific needs.

Benefits of using Chromium:

• Open Source: Complete transparency and community-driven development.
• Customizable: Adapt the browser to your specific needs and preferences.
• Performance: Optimize for speed and reduced resource consumption.
• Privacy: Configure settings to minimize data tracking.

Installation: Choose Your Chromium Flavor

Arch Linux offers several ways to install Chromium, depending on your desired level of stability and features.

Available packages:

• chromium: The stable release, ideal for everyday use.
• chromium-dev (AUR): The development release, offering the latest features but potentially less stable.
• chromium-snapshot-bin (AUR): Nightly builds, providing the bleeding edge but with the highest risk of instability.

Google Chrome packages (AUR):

• google-chrome: Stable release.
• google-chrome-beta: Beta release.
• google-chrome-dev: Development release.
• google-chrome-canary: Canary release (the most cutting-edge and unstable).

Privacy Consideration: Be mindful that Google Chrome integrates with Google services, which are subject to Google's privacy policy. If privacy is a primary concern, consider using Chromium with privacy-focused extensions or spin-offs.

Configuration: Tailor Chromium to Your Needs

Let's dive into the configuration options that allow you to customize Chromium on Arch Linux.

Setting Default Applications

Make Chromium your default browser and manage how it handles downloaded files. See the ArchWiki article on default applications for detailed instructions.

Managing Certificates

Chromium relies on Network Security Services (NSS) for certificate management. Access certificate settings via chrome://settings/certificates.

Making Flags Persistent: Your Configuration Arsenal

Modify Chromium’s behavior through flags, which are command-line arguments that enable or disable specific features. To make these flags permanent:

1. Create a chromium-flags.conf file in $HOME/.config/ or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME. For Google Chrome, use chrome-flags.conf.
2. Add your desired flags to the file, one flag per line.
3. Restart Chromium for the changes to take effect.

~/.config/chromium-flags.conf

# Example flags
--start-maximized
--incognito

Important Considerations:

• Flags are case-sensitive.
• Lines starting with # are ignored as comments (only supported by the Chromium launcher script).

Force GPU Acceleration: Unleash Your Graphics Card

In most systems, GPU acceleration is enabled by default since Chromium 110. If your system is on the block list, manually force GPU acceleration by adding the following flags to your chromium-flags.conf file:

~/.config/chromium-flags.conf

--ignore-gpu-blocklist
--enable-zero-copy

Warning: Disabling the rendering blocklist can lead to instability. Only proceed if you understand the risks.

Hardware Video Acceleration: Smooth Streaming

Enable hardware video acceleration to reduce CPU usage during video playback.

1. Verify VA-API Support: Ensure VA-API is enabled and working correctly using vainfo. Refer to the Hardware video acceleration ArchWiki article. Install libva-nvidia-driver for NVIDIA proprietary drivers.
2. Add the Appropriate Flags: Modify your chromium-flags.conf file.

Basic VA-API Flag:

~/.config/chromium-flags.conf

--enable-features=AcceleratedVideoDecodeLinuxGL

For older Chromium versions (prior to 131): --enable-features=VaapiVideoDecodeLinuxGL

Additional VA-API Flags:

• --enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder: Essential when using ANGLE GL renderer and libva-intel-driver.
• --use-gl=egl: Force the system GL renderer (may not be needed or may cause issues on newer versions).
• --enable-features=VaapiIgnoreDriverChecks or --disable-features=UseChromeOSDirectVideoDecoder: Try these if VA-API still doesn't function out of the box.
• LIBVA_DRI3_DISABLE=1: Set this environment variable for older GPUs on X11.

Vulkan Configuration

If using Vulkan, add these flags to your chromium-flags.conf:

~/.config/chromium-flags.conf

--enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder,VaapiIgnoreDriverChecks,Vulkan,DefaultANGLEVulkan,VulkanFromANGLE

Verifying VA-API is Working

To confirm hardware video acceleration is active:

1. Open Chromium's DevTools (Ctrl+Shift+I).
2. Navigate to More tools > Media.
3. Play a video with a VA-API supported codec (VP9 or h264).
4. Check the "hardware decoder" state in the Media tab.

Note: Chromium may only accelerate videos larger than 720p.

KDE Integration: Seamless Desktop Experience

Improve Chromium integration with the Plasma desktop environment by installing plasma-browser-integration. See KDE Plasma Browser Integration for further details.

Disable the PDF Viewer Plugin

To disable the built-in Chromium PDF viewer, navigate to chrome://settings/content/pdfDocuments and check "Download PDFs".

Running on Xwayland with NVIDIA

If you encounter GPU process crashes when running Chromium on Xwayland with NVIDIA's proprietary driver, add these flags:

--use-angle=vulkan --use-cmd-decoder=passthrough

Native Wayland Support: Embrace the Future

Enable native Wayland support in Chromium using the following flags:

--ozone-platform-hint=auto

or, if that doesn't work:

--ozone-platform=wayland

For input method issues, especially with older GTK versions:

--gtk-version=4

Alternatively, when using Fcitx5:

--enable-wayland-ime --wayland-text-input-version=3

Touchpad Gestures on Wayland

Enable touchpad gestures for navigation:

--ozone-platform-hint=auto --enable-features=TouchpadOverscrollHistoryNavigation

Chromium Tips and Tricks: Beyond Configuration

Chrome:// URLs: Your Secret Settings Panel

Explore Chromium's hidden settings pages using chrome:// URLs:

• chrome://chrome-urls: A complete list of available URLs.
• chrome://flags: Access experimental features.
• chrome://extensions: Manage extensions.
• chrome://gpu: GPU status information.
• chrome://sandbox: Sandbox status.
• chrome://version: Chromium version and command-line switches.

Get a regularly updated list of Chromium command-line switches here.

Chromium Task Manager: Monitoring Resource Usage

Use Shift+ESC to open the Chromium task manager and monitor memory, CPU, and network usage of individual tabs and extensions.

Override the Preferences File

To prevent Chromium from overriding your manual Preferences file edits (located in ~/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences) when syncing with a Google Account, launch Chromium with the --disable-sync-preferences switch:

chromium --disable-sync-preferences

For background startup, use:

chromium --disable-sync-preferences --no-startup-window

Custom Search Engines

Add custom search engines like ArchWiki and Wikipedia for quick access.

Conclusion

By following this complete configuration guide, you can unlock the full potential of Chromium on Arch Linux. Optimize performance, enhance privacy, and tailor your browsing experience to perfection. Enjoy a faster, more efficient, and more secure browsing experience!