Why has chrome so many processes with 1 tab?

Question

I have already read this answer but in my case I am puzzled that just launching chrome, with only one tab open (google), would give me the following output with ps -aux | grep chrome:

 38.2  1.3 906908 213872 tty1    SLl+ 10:58   0:02 /opt/google/chrome/chrome
  0.4  0.3 431084 52732 tty1     S+   10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=zygote --no-zygote-sandbox
  0.4  0.3 431084 52360 tty1     S+   10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=zygote
  0.0  0.0  27332  4204 tty1     S+   10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/nacl_helper
  0.1  0.0 431084 15216 tty1     S+   10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=zygote
 10.8  0.9 709252 149584 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=gpu-process --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --gpu-preferences=QAAAAAAAAAAgAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAAAAAAAAA --shared-files
 10.2  0.5 529892 84036 tty1     SLl+ 10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=utility --utility-sub-type=network.mojom.NetworkService --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --service-sandbox-type=network --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  0.5  0.2 475520 36340 tty1     Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=utility --utility-sub-type=storage.mojom.StorageService --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --service-sandbox-type=utility --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  0.0  0.1 517864 31208 tty1     S+   10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=broker
  4.5  0.6 4768136 101568 tty1   Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=10 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  8.7  0.6 4769868 110192 tty1   Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=9 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  1.2  0.5 4754992 89304 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --extension-process --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=5 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  1.1  0.5 4745764 81900 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --extension-process --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=6 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  1.1  0.4 4747812 79564 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --extension-process --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=7 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  3.1  0.5 4762152 90288 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --extension-process --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=8 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  2.1  0.5 4760104 83992 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --extension-process --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=11 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  4.5  0.6 4765288 103976 tty1   Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=12 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  0.0  0.1 469756 29404 tty1     Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=utility --utility-sub-type=data_decoder.mojom.DataDecoderService --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --service-sandbox-type=utility --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  0.5  0.3 4736288 51700 tty1    Sl+  10:58   0:00 /opt/google/chrome/chrome --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=1441856381286841073,7865066266003832000,131072 --lang=en-US --disable-client-side-phishing-detection --origin-trial-disabled-features=SecurePaymentConfirmation --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-main-frame-before-activation --renderer-client-id=17 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --shared-files=v8_context_snapshot_data:100
  0.0  0.0  14432  1116 pts/0    R+   10:58   0:00 grep --color=auto chrome

Especially --gpu-preferences=QAAAAAAAAAAgAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAAAAAAAAA --shared-files ?? edit: found answer here

output of nvidia-smi:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 450.102.04   Driver Version: 450.102.04   CUDA Version: 11.0     |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name        Persistence-M| Bus-Id        Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp  Perf  Pwr:Usage/Cap|         Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|                               |                      |               MIG M. |
|===============================+======================+======================|
|   0  GeForce MX150       Off  | 00000000:01:00.0 Off |                  N/A |
| N/A   43C    P0    N/A /  N/A |    521MiB /  2002MiB |      3%      Default |
|                               |                      |                  N/A |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
                                                                               
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes:                                                                  |
|  GPU   GI   CI        PID   Type   Process name                  GPU Memory |
|        ID   ID                                                   Usage      |
|=============================================================================|
|    0   N/A  N/A      1492      G   /usr/lib/xorg/Xorg                204MiB |
|    0   N/A  N/A      1876      G   /usr/bin/gnome-shell              153MiB |
|    0   N/A  N/A     15171      G   ...gAAAAAAAAA --shared-files      135MiB |
|    0   N/A  N/A     21514      G   ...AAAAAAAAA= --shared-files       25MiB |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I use Ubuntu 18.04

Is it normal that so many processes are running?

Indeed, Chrome is a major memory hog! When you launch Chrome, you are not only launching Chrome but also all the plug-ins, etc. The more you have the more memory it takes. One way to watch it is to run `inxi -t m20` that will list the Top 20 highest memory usages. Also, for your GPU line there if you run `nvidia-smi` you should see it on list of GPU processes. This is only assuming that you have a NVIDIA graphics card. — Terrance, Feb 26 '21 at 16:17
@terrance very very nice `inxi -t m20`, was using htop before, it is way more convenient!, you may give an official answer I will select it — Antonin GAVREL, Feb 26 '21 at 16:45
Yes, it's normal. The preferences thing is *likely* to be Google's way of representing certain internal settings for the GPU. Emphasis is on *likely*. One would probably have to be pretty familiar with the code to know for certain. Presumably the string of characters represents the preferences that the browser uses. Note that this doesn't mean they're necessarily preferences you can personally adjust. — KGIII, Feb 26 '21 at 19:09

Terrance · Answer 1 · 2021-02-27T15:23:02.180

This really isn't an answer of why Chrome launches so many processes but more of an answer to show that Chrome in general uses more resources than other browsers. I am comparing Firefox with it as an example.

Web browsers use both CPU and RAM when they launch. Unfortunately, you are not only launching the web browser, but also launch the plug-ins, etc. Also, a lot of it is up to the programmers of the web browsers in how they actually run in the system and what they feel needs to be running at the same time.

The following examples of using inxi (one of my favorite tools to see usage on a system) to see both CPU and RAM usage of Chrome and Firefox compared to each other.

From the examples of the top 1000 CPU and RAM listings from inxi and both browsers having 1 tab open. From these examples we can see that Firefox uses a bit more of the overall CPU usage than Chrome does. But, we can also see that Chrome uses more of the overall used RAM. A lot of this really boils down to preference of what browser you want to use.

CPU usage:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t c1000 | grep -E "firefox|chrome"
  1: cpu: 17.3% command: firefox pid: 3910531 
  3: cpu: 9.5% command: firefox pid: 3910586 
  4: cpu: 6.2% command: firefox pid: 3910656 
  6: cpu: 4.7% command: chrome pid: 3900194 
  8: cpu: 2.0% command: firefox pid: 3910707 
  9: cpu: 1.3% command: chrome pid: 3900266 
  11: cpu: 1.0% command: chrome pid: 3900302 
  13: cpu: 0.9% command: chrome pid: 3900235 
  14: cpu: 0.8% command: chrome pid: 3900233 
  15: cpu: 0.8% command: firefox pid: 3910735 
  17: cpu: 0.5% command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 pid: 3910759 
  20: cpu: 0.2% command: chrome pid: 3900333 
  21: cpu: 0.2% command: chrome pid: 3900339 
  24: cpu: 0.1% command: chrome pid: 3900369 
  25: cpu: 0.1% command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 pid: 3900463 
  26: cpu: 0.1% command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 pid: 3900470 
  326: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900204 
  327: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900205 
  329: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900209 
  330: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900240 
  331: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900257 
  332: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900316 
  333: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900321 
  334: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900349 
  335: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900426 
  336: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900449 
  337: cpu: 0.0% command: chrome pid: 3900478

RAM usage:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep -E "firefox|chrome"
  1: mem: 330.1 MiB (1.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910531 
  2: mem: 230.6 MiB (0.9%) command: firefox pid: 3910586 
  3: mem: 222.3 MiB (0.9%) command: firefox pid: 3910656 
  4: mem: 198.4 MiB (0.8%) command: chrome pid: 3900194 
  5: mem: 149.2 MiB (0.6%) command: chrome pid: 3900233 
  6: mem: 137.7 MiB (0.5%) command: firefox pid: 3910707 
  7: mem: 124.8 MiB (0.5%) command: chrome pid: 3900266 
  9: mem: 111.6 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 3900302 
  10: mem: 94.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900339 
  11: mem: 94.3 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900333 
  12: mem: 86.3 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900369 
  13: mem: 85.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900449 
  14: mem: 83.9 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900321 
  15: mem: 83.7 MiB (0.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910735 
  18: mem: 80.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900316 
  19: mem: 79.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900235 
  21: mem: 75.6 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 3900349 
  30: mem: 56.0 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 3900478 
  33: mem: 53.4 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 3900204 
  34: mem: 52.9 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 3900205 
  35: mem: 51.0 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 3900426 
  52: mem: 34.9 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  53: mem: 34.8 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  54: mem: 34.5 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  56: mem: 31.9 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 3900240 
  58: mem: 31.1 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 3900257 
  82: mem: 14.9 MiB (0.0%) command: chrome pid: 3900209

Also to note that each tab you open uses more RAM as well, but very little extra CPU.

Firefox with 1 tab:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep firefox
  1: mem: 394.1 MiB (1.6%) command: firefox pid: 3910531 
  2: mem: 351.5 MiB (1.4%) command: firefox pid: 3910586 
  3: mem: 175.7 MiB (0.7%) command: firefox pid: 3910656 
  4: mem: 137.3 MiB (0.5%) command: firefox pid: 3910707 
  6: mem: 83.9 MiB (0.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910735

Firefox with 3 tabs:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep firefox
  1: mem: 354.3 MiB (1.4%) command: firefox pid: 3910531 
  2: mem: 313.5 MiB (1.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910586 
  3: mem: 177.1 MiB (0.7%) command: firefox pid: 3910656 
  4: mem: 170.7 MiB (0.7%) command: firefox pid: 3910707 
  6: mem: 83.9 MiB (0.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910735

Firefox with 5 tabs:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep firefox
  1: mem: 358.6 MiB (1.4%) command: firefox pid: 3910531 
  2: mem: 313.2 MiB (1.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910586 
  3: mem: 177.7 MiB (0.7%) command: firefox pid: 3910656 
  4: mem: 177.7 MiB (0.7%) command: firefox pid: 3910707 
  6: mem: 83.9 MiB (0.3%) command: firefox pid: 3910735

Chrome with 1 tab:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep chrome
  3: mem: 201.3 MiB (0.8%) command: chrome pid: 4007777 
  6: mem: 145.7 MiB (0.6%) command: chrome pid: 4007815 
  7: mem: 122.3 MiB (0.5%) command: chrome pid: 4007853 
  9: mem: 111.1 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4007889 
  10: mem: 92.7 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007920 
  11: mem: 91.8 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007923 
  12: mem: 85.4 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007981 
  13: mem: 85.0 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007962 
  15: mem: 82.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007916 
  18: mem: 79.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007903 
  20: mem: 76.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007817 
  21: mem: 74.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007925 
  30: mem: 56.2 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4008026 
  33: mem: 53.6 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007786 
  34: mem: 53.5 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007787 
  35: mem: 51.9 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4008005 
  52: mem: 34.8 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  54: mem: 32.1 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007822 
  56: mem: 31.0 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007844 
  80: mem: 14.9 MiB (0.0%) command: chrome pid: 4007791

Chrome with 3 tabs:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep chrome
  3: mem: 205.7 MiB (0.8%) command: chrome pid: 4007777 
  6: mem: 156.8 MiB (0.6%) command: chrome pid: 4007815 
  7: mem: 126.5 MiB (0.5%) command: chrome pid: 4007853 
  8: mem: 115.2 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4008005 
  10: mem: 110.9 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4007889 
  11: mem: 100.4 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4012062 
  12: mem: 92.7 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007923 
  13: mem: 92.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007920 
  14: mem: 85.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007962 
  16: mem: 82.5 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007916 
  19: mem: 79.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007903 
  20: mem: 76.7 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007817 
  22: mem: 74.6 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007925 
  31: mem: 56.3 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4008026 
  34: mem: 53.6 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007786 
  35: mem: 53.5 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007787 
  36: mem: 51.0 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4012075 
  53: mem: 34.8 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  55: mem: 32.2 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007822 
  57: mem: 31.0 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007844 
  81: mem: 15.0 MiB (0.0%) command: chrome pid: 4007791

Chrome with 5 tabs:

terrance@terrance-ubuntu:~$ inxi -t m1000 | grep chrome
  3: mem: 211.4 MiB (0.8%) command: chrome pid: 4007777 
  5: mem: 158.7 MiB (0.6%) command: chrome pid: 4007815 
  7: mem: 131.2 MiB (0.5%) command: chrome pid: 4007853 
  8: mem: 129.3 MiB (0.5%) command: chrome pid: 4008005 
  10: mem: 109.5 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4007889 
  11: mem: 105.8 MiB (0.4%) command: chrome pid: 4012062 
  12: mem: 92.9 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007923 
  13: mem: 92.8 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007920 
  14: mem: 85.2 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007962 
  16: mem: 82.6 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007916 
  19: mem: 79.4 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007903 
  20: mem: 77.9 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007817 
  22: mem: 74.6 MiB (0.3%) command: chrome pid: 4007925 
  31: mem: 56.3 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4008026 
  34: mem: 53.6 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007786 
  35: mem: 53.5 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4007787 
  36: mem: 51.2 MiB (0.2%) command: chrome pid: 4012075 
  53: mem: 34.8 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome-gnome-shell started by: python3 
  55: mem: 32.2 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007822 
  57: mem: 31.0 MiB (0.1%) command: chrome pid: 4007844 
  81: mem: 15.0 MiB (0.0%) command: chrome pid: 4007791

Why has chrome so many processes with 1 tab?

1 Answers1