How to start different profiles with Google Chrome when startup?

How do I start different profiles with Google Chrome with different favorites, and so on?

Chris_45

Posted 2010-10-21T12:14:31.090

Reputation: 1 397

2New version of Chrome (16) supports multiple users natively, so this isn't necessary anymore :) – None – 2011-12-14T15:33:56.387

Answers

You have to create a new profile folder and use a different Chrome shortcut with --profile-directory command-line argument to specify the profile's location

Here's how you can go about doing it;

Create another user from Chrome → Settings as described in this answer.
There will be a "default" profile directory & a "profile 1" directory in %localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data directory.
Create a new shortcut to Chrome: Name the new shortcut as you see fit (for example, "Chrome 2nd profile")

Right-click the new shortcut, choose Properties, paste --profile-directory="profile 1" at the end of the Target field. The result on Windows 7 should be:
```
C:\Users\YOUR-USER-NAME-HERE\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --profile-directory="profile 1"
```
That's it - you can now use the regular Chrome or "Chrome 2nd profile" and any changes made in one won't correspond in the other.

Siim K

Posted 2010-10-21T12:14:31.090

Reputation: 6 776

Thanks for the tip about --user-data-dir. BTW if you set that option to an empty directory, Chrome will populate it with new default settings, creating a new profile from scratch rather than basing it on an existing one. – intuited – 2011-03-06T15:52:12.940

This is no longer necessary. Chrome now supports [multiple users natively])http://superuser.com/questions/588639/what-exactly-are-the-differences-between-chrome-users-and-browser-profiles).

– Dan Dascalescu – 2013-04-28T02:16:20.250

Just install two copies of Chrome (for example the regular version and the canary version). Use one for one account and the other for the other. Don't know if it this can be done on windows, it certainly works on the Mac. BTW use the regular and the canary version. They have different icons.

Paul

Posted 2010-10-21T12:14:31.090

Reputation: 17

"Install two copies" - Do you mean download and install the binaries to two different locations? That seems inefficient, especially considering, as described in the other answer, you can choose which profile directory Chrome will use. – IQAndreas – 2014-06-21T09:05:37.797

This is a naive idea, and unnecessary. Starting with version 16, Chrome supports multiple users natively.

– Dan Dascalescu – 2013-04-28T02:15:43.090