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What is "chrome" in the command-line argument "-chrome <url> " for firefox; and what is its relationship to Google Chrome?

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I see only passing, brief documentation about the -chrome <url> argument (cf. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Command_Line_Options#Chrome and http://kb.mozillazine.org/Command_line_arguments#List_of_command_line_arguments_.28incomplete.29).

The documentation I have seen only addresses format for the argument, but it states nothing about the function of the argument other than it is to "load the specified chrome."

What is a "chrome"?

Is this a concept specific only to Mozilla's Firefox browser or is it also specific to other Mozilla projects, to Google's Chrome browser, or to something else?

Where is more complete documentation for this command-line argument for Firefox?

I see only passing, brief documentation about the -chrome <url> argument (cf. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Command_Line_Options#Chrome and http://kb.mozillazine.org/Command_line_arguments#List_of_command_line_arguments_.28incomplete.29). The documentation I have seen only addresses format for the argument, but it states nothing about the function of the argument other than it is to "load the specified chrome." What is a "chrome"? Is this a concept specific only to Mozilla's Firefox browser or is it also specific to other Mozilla projects, to Google's Chrome browser, or to something else? Where is more complete documentation for this command-line argument for Firefox?

All Replies (1)

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Netscape coined the tern "chrome" with regards to web browsers back in the mid-1990's, at least a dozen years before Google Chrome existed. IMO, the name "Chrome" was "promoted" as the name by a former Mozilla developer who was hired by Google for the Chromium project, from which Chrome was created. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_%28web_browser%29


https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Chrome "In a browser, the chrome is any visible aspect of a browser aside from the webpages themselves (e.g., toolbars, menu bar, tabs). This should not to be confused with the Google Chrome browser."

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Tech/XUL/Tutorial/The_Chrome_URL


References are listed at the bottom of the Command Line Options page. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Command_Line_Options#References