What is it?

Fork of chromium/google-chrome to fix the white flash issue explained in this video

Chromium version 57.0.2925.0

What's the fix?

Changed the background color from white to black in chrome pages. Removes the flash.

There are 2 main bugs in white flash

1. when clicking links and opening them in new tabs or moving between tabs
2. when opening new windows.

This fixes both of them in commit https://github.com/hbtlabs/chromium-white-flash-fix/commit/b1c4d8efd43fa46c61b9dc695f387f41a16947fb

Why doesn't the chrome team merge this?

Because it replaces the white by black and most websites have a white background and most people don't use a dark theme. Hence, the white flash is a non issue for the majority of users. Also, the webkit fix changes the background of chrome:// pages to black

What is the chromium team doing about this issue?

Issue has been logged multiple times since https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1373 Most recent progress is https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=470669 The issue has been broken down since they are attempting an algorithmic fix https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=21798

Algorithmic fix: determining what's the background color of the current page or theme page then applying it during rendering instead of choosing white by default.

Where to download the binaries?

Linux Ubuntu 14.04 x64

Package is for ubuntu64 precise and would install as chromium-beta

deb package libs to be unpacked (optional)

Windows

Limited to version chrome v56

Jonathan Timbaldi is working on turning all chrome pages dark here Windows binaries with this fix have been built.

Instructions here Binaries here MIRROR of chrome version 56

What about other platforms?

If there is demand, I will compile for other platforms. Since compiling for other platforms that I don't use requires installing mac/windows + building the project and its deps, it's not worth doing. Feel free to do it and share the binaries.

How to fix black background in chrome:// pages ?

Use a chrome extension that has access to the chrome:// pages and inject whatever stylesheet you want. Example: https://github.com/hbt/chromedotfiles

How to build code base for windows (from scratch)?

Instructions

Why is the fix not working?

Try disabling your theme. Some themes e.g https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/developer-edition-dark/lglfmldlfmbbehalkgiglehhjblbfcjo are known to create a micro white flash

Why is flash player not working?

download flash player and load it manually

Example:

nohup /opt/chromium.org/chromium-beta/chrome --disable-infobars --ppapi-flash-path=/home/hassen/programs/flash_player_ppapi_linux.x86_64/libpepflashplayer.so --allow-file-access %U --disk-cache-dir="/tmp/ram" &> /dev/null &

Why is netflix not working?

Chromium is not google chrome. It doesnt have the widevine codec plugin. Check in chrome://plugins

Why is the browser not syncing my bookmarks, extensions etc.?

Chromium doesnt come with google features. You can include them by create API keys on your google account. Instructions

Where is the latest browser version and auto-updating?

The links enclosed point to chrome 57 binaries. The browser does not auto-update. You can compile the branch to the latest version or wait until binaries are released and linked on this README.

Main reasons this is not done frequently are:

• code changes and this fix has to be adjusted (takes time)
• compile + release process is manual (takes time)

Contributors Section

How to build and update codebase?

[chromium build instruction] (https://www.chromium.org/developers/how-tos/get-the-code)

Build from Docker using [https://github.com/hbt/chromium-white-flash-docker] (https://github.com/hbt/chromium-white-flash-docker)

How to do a quick update + publish work?

In latest versions, the code has changed and this fix might no longer apply.

Steps:

• use docker image
• select version and build
• fix any build issues
• apply white flash fix
• produce deb files

Checklist:

• fix works (new tab, moving between tabs and new window)
• minimal side effects from fix (black background in chrome pages)
• deb files do not require libs (view below)
• docker repo is up-to-date
• a branch with the right tags exists
• links in this readme are up-to-date

How to build deb files and install?

For some chromium versions, building a deb file results in error (cannot link libraries) Use these instructions to install the binary, copy the libraries and update the path

export IGNORE_DEPS_CHANGES=1
ninja -C out/Release  "chrome/installer/linux:beta_deb"
sudo dpkg -i chromium-browser-beta_57.0.2925.0-1_amd64.deb

# copy the libs manually
sudo -s
cd /opt/chromium.org/chromium-beta
mkdir libs
cp -R /media/hassen/linux-tmp/chromium/src/out/Release/*.so . 

# fix the path 
echo "/opt/chromium.org/chromium-beta/libs" > /etc/ld.so.conf.d/chrome_beta.conf

sudo ldconfig

# run browser
chromium-browser-beta

Experiencing SSL issues?

Getting "ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR" or "This site can’t provide a secure connection" go to chrome://flags Set TLS to 1.2

What's next?

This fork will be flagged as deprecated the moment those bugs are solved. It's been a few years, so don't hold your breath.