Firefox uses the chrome:// protocol to store internal schemas. This is used to keep track of the different Firefox features and how they are related. This helps Firefox to be more organized and easier to use.
Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.
The Question
SuperUser reader ChocoDeveloper really wants to know what the deal is with Firefox and the “chrome://” schema:
It is a rather curious designation, no? It’s almost like finding out that the secret configuration menu on your new Ford truck has the password “Honda”. What’s the story?
When I want to configure an addon, for example Ghostery, the tab shows a URL like this one:
chrome://ghostery/content/options.html
What does it mean? Does it have something to do with the Chrome browser?
The Answer
SuperUser contributor Mark Henderson clears things right up:
Another contributor, Konrad Rudolph offers further insight into the naming of Chrome:
See here for more details – but no; nothing to do with Google Chrome.
So Chrome is both the term for the adornments and GUI surrounding the browsing pane as well as the name of a browser that eschews all of it for a cleaner browsing experience.
Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.
