I often need multiple browsing sessions for logging into multiple services with different accounts at one time. I don't want to have to use multiple browsers, nor do I want to use a different release of Google Chrome. I would be open to running multiple instances of Google Chrome. However, I've tried using open -na Google\ Chrome and it won't open a second instance. Is there a way to do this on a Mac with Google Chrome?
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daviesgeek
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Chrome supports multiple user profiles, you can make use of this to have multiple browsing sessions.
Click on the Chrome Menu (Mac users: Chrome-Preferences) → Click on Add New User. Now, there's a new instance of Chrome with a entirely different profile from the current user, so the cookies and the like are not shared.
Now, when you launch a new window, you can select a user profile to switch between & hence have multiple sessions.
Sathyajith Bhat
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1Thanks! Sorry it took me so long to accept. I forgot about the question :-) – daviesgeek Sep 14 '12 at 16:26
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1@daviesgeek hehe, not a problem – Sathyajith Bhat Sep 15 '12 at 06:20
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+1 This answer perfectly solves my needs! Too bad I didn't know about this feature before... – pedromanoel Nov 07 '12 at 18:14
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3For me, on a Mac, I had to choose the following from the menu: "Chrome | Preferences" then look for "Users" and click "Add New User", using Chrome Version 24.0.1312.52 ("Chrome | About Google Chrome") – Brad Parks Jan 15 '13 at 13:24
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@Sathya can you have multiple sessions (users) opened at the same time? – Howie Jul 11 '13 at 09:46
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1@Howie yes, that's possible. – Sathyajith Bhat Jul 11 '13 at 09:51
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Excellent! I was actually using Safari for my other profile, this Chrome option is much better! – Kel Solaar Sep 20 '14 at 07:27
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I don't know about the MAC, but
mkdir newProfile
chrome --user-data-dir=newProfile
Works great here on Linux!
Peter V. Mørch
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2And on osx `/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --user-data-dir=my-profile-dir` (http://superuser.com/questions/157484/start-google-chrome-on-mac-with-command-line-switches) – Drew LeSueur Feb 11 '14 at 17:36
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Try using an Incognito window.
Double AA
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5Thanks for your answer. I have used an incognito window, but I can't run more than two sessions at one time. I need several sessions open at one time. – daviesgeek Apr 23 '12 at 05:16
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Found this marvellous solution: https://sites.google.com/a/yarina.org/dougs-notes/home/mac-os-x/multiple-instances-of-chrome
I would probably alter the solution a bit by having the chrome function point to a time stamped directory in /tmp/. That way a new instance could be created each time by typing in only chrome rather than chrome /tmp/junk/.
I've also been using http://watir.com/ which launches new Chrome instances. Would be nice to look into watir's source to see how they do it.
iDev247
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This one: http://techparade.blogspot.com/2011/03/multiple-user-profiles-in-google-chrome.html allows you to set up a full-fledged Application for multiple instances of chrome.
Ohad Kravchick
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1Avoid simply linking to the solution as links can sometimes disappear over time. Post an excerpt or key parts instead. – Will May 29 '13 at 18:44
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If you do not want to use google account for loggin in, then use this plugin https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/freshstart-cross-browser/nmidkjogcjnnlfimjcedenagjfacpobb?hl=en
vsingh
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