Testing Install of Prompt API on Chromebook Plus

[Dustin Byers]

Hello all, I've been using the Prompt API in my browser extension, and am working to debug /test some issues happening specifically on installations on a Chromebook Plus. I am looking for a way to reset the state of a the model/feature installation on browser profile to uninstalled/default. 

I was able to do this on a Macbook by:

1. Uninstalling extension

2. Resetting browser flags

3. Removing the model download from the filesystem

On the Chromebook, I haven't been able to find an easy way to do #3

I am hoping to not have to use a fresh profile for each test, due to authentication flow complexities unrelated to the feature (and that it is a pain  to do:-P ) - Is there an easier way to facilitate this? 

Dustin

[Thomas Steiner]

Hi Dustin,

The usual recommended flow is to start Chrome with a command line flag pointing it at a temporary user data directory. You may be able to locate the model file by going to chrome://on-device-internals/ and then the Model Status tab. It should be listed there. Not sure if you have the access rights to make changes there, though. I don't have a Chromebook Plus device to test. Let me know how far you get. If you're stuck, we can investigate further. 

Cheers,

Tom

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[Lance Adams]

I have a Chromebook Plus, and if I remember to test I will try to -- but I have two suggestions to look at first:

1. Are you running Chrome Beta\Dev\Canary?  This may or may not help.

2. Alternative, slightly annoying but can-work:  Install Linux, open and run Chrome Developer channel install, then you can do anything you need.

I only recently did #2 cause it was taking so long for Gemini-in-Chrome (the real one) to appear for ChromeOS -- it just did last week!!! lol

[Dustin Byers]

Thanks for the suggestions! I kinda put this down for a bit, since it is so cumbersome to test between installs, but the response here is timely, as there is renewed product push to figure it out lol.

@Thomas is this possible on a Chromebook? I assumed it wasn’t, since everything “is chrome”, and there isn’t really an independent browser.

1. I am just running the standard OS channel - I also use this to debug and reproduce customer issues, so I didn’t want to muck with the OS too much - though I did install Linux.

2. I’m not sure this would help, but if I did install dev channel, is it easy to switch between stable and dev in case I need to use it for the reasons mentioned above?

Maybe I am not utilizing the Linux install properly? Are there any other ways to develop/test UX for the install flow?

[Thomas Steiner]

Hey Dustin,

On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 10:11 PM Dustin Byers <dustinb...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions! I kinda put this down for a bit, since it is so cumbersome to test between installs, but the response here is timely, as there is renewed product push to figure it out lol.

@Thomas is this possible on a Chromebook? I assumed it wasn’t, since everything “is chrome”, and there isn’t really an independent browser.

There's now an Uninstall button on `chrome://on-device-internals`, which lets you go through the model download stages again. This screenshot is from macOS, as I don't have a Chromebook Plus, but I hope it's available there as well.

 

 

1. I am just running the standard OS channel - I also use this to debug and reproduce customer issues, so I didn’t want to muck with the OS too much - though I did install Linux.

2. I’m not sure this would help, but if I did install dev channel, is it easy to switch between stable and dev in case I need to use it for the reasons mentioned above?

Maybe I am not utilizing the Linux install properly? Are there any other ways to develop/test UX for the install flow?

On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 12:02 AM Lance Adams <lance....@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Chromebook Plus, and if I remember to test I will try to -- but I have two suggestions to look at first:

1. Are you running Chrome Beta\Dev\Canary?  This may or may not help.

2. Alternative, slightly annoying but can-work:  Install Linux, open and run Chrome Developer channel install, then you can do anything you need.

I only recently did #2 cause it was taking so long for Gemini-in-Chrome (the real one) to appear for ChromeOS -- it just did last week!!! lol

On Friday, December 12, 2025 at 5:05:11 AM UTC-6 Dustin Byers wrote:

Hello all, I've been using the Prompt API in my browser extension, and am working to debug /test some issues happening specifically on installations on a Chromebook Plus. I am looking for a way to reset the state of a the model/feature installation on browser profile to uninstalled/default. 

I was able to do this on a Macbook by:

1. Uninstalling extension

2. Resetting browser flags

3. Removing the model download from the filesystem

On the Chromebook, I haven't been able to find an easy way to do #3

I am hoping to not have to use a fresh profile for each test, due to authentication flow complexities unrelated to the feature (and that it is a pain  to do:-P ) - Is there an easier way to facilitate this? 

Dustin

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