How To Enable chrome://flags/#enable-command-line-on-non-rooted-devices​ On Your Chromebook And Other Devices?

For developers and testers seeking to enable advanced features in Google Chrome on Android devices without root access, the experimental flag chrome://flags/#enable-command-line-on-non-rooted-devices offers a viable solution.

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to activating and utilizing this feature effectively.​

How To Enable chrome://flags/#enable-command-line-on-non-rooted-devices or Command-Line Flags on Non-Rooted Android Devices

1. Activate the Experimental Flag

• Open Chrome on your Android device.
  
• Navigate to chrome://flags.
  
• Search for “Enable command line on non-rooted devices”.
  
• Set this flag to Enabled.
  
• Relaunch Chrome to apply the changes.​
  

This step allows Chrome to read additional command-line flags from a designated file on the device.​

2. Create the Command-Line File

Using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), create a file containing the desired command-line flags:​

adb shell 'echo "_ --your-flag-here" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line'

Replace –your-flag-here with the specific flag you wish to enable. For example, to set a custom user agent:​

adb shell 'echo "_ --user-agent=MyCustomAgent" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line'

Ensure that the file is correctly formatted and saved in the specified directory.​

3. Restart Chrome

After creating the command-line file:​

• Force stop Chrome to ensure it reads the new configuration.
  
• Reopen Chrome.
  
• Navigate to chrome://version to verify that your flag is active.​
  

Note: The “Relaunch” button within chrome://flags may not suffice; a complete restart is recommended.​

 Important Considerations

• File Location: The command-line file should be placed in /data/local/tmp/ as chrome-command-line.
  
• Permissions: Ensure that the file has the appropriate permissions to be read by Chrome.
  
• Flag Persistence: Some flags may not persist after Chrome updates or device restarts; reapplying the configuration may be necessary.​
  

Use Cases

Enabling command-line flags can be beneficial for:​

• Custom Testing: Setting up specific environments for web development and testing.
  
• Feature Activation: Accessing experimental features not available through standard settings.
  
• Debugging: Gathering detailed logs and performance metrics.​
  

Debug DNS Internals Directly in Chrome

Now that you’ve enabled command‑line flags, you can also leverage Chrome’s built‑in DNS debugger—even on non‑rooted devices—by navigating to:

On this page, you can:

• Inspect the Host Resolver Cache to see exactly which DNS records Chrome is holding.

• Clear Host Cache to force Chrome to re‑resolve domains (useful after mapping hosts via your chrome-command-line file).

• Reset Sockets (switch to the chrome://net-internals/#sockets tab) to flush any lingering connections.

By combining custom host‑resolver flags in /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line with the live DNS internals page, you get full control over how your test device resolves and caches domain names—no root required.

Conclusion

By enabling the chrome://flags/#enable-command-line-on-non-rooted-devices flag and configuring the appropriate command-line file, you can customize Chrome’s behavior on Android devices without root access.

This approach is particularly useful for developers and testers seeking advanced control over the browser’s features.