How to Access Chrome net-internals in the Latest Chrome Version

Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers in the world, known for its speed, stability, and extensive developer tools. Among its advanced diagnostic features, chrome://net-internals has long been a powerful tool for analyzing and troubleshooting Chrome's network behavior.

However, if you've tried to access chrome://net-internals/ in the latest versions of Chrome, you may have noticed that it no longer works the way it used to. The traditional net-internals page has been deprecated and replaced with more modern and integrated developer tools.

In this knowledgebase article, we at Go4hosting will guide you through:

• What chrome://net-internals was used for
  

• How to access equivalent tools in the latest Chrome versions
  

• How to analyze network activity with Chrome DevTools
  

• Practical tips for diagnosing common networking issues
  

• How this knowledge is useful when troubleshooting web applications hosting on Go4hosting's cloud servers
  

What Was chrome://net-internals?

The chrome://net-internals/ page was an internal debugging page in Chrome that provided detailed information and control over the browser's network stack.

It allowed users to:

• View and export network logs
  

• Analyze DNS cache
  

• Inspect sockets and connections
  

• Test network requests
  

• View HTTP/2 and QUIC sessions
  

• Flush caches
  

Network engineers, developers, and system admins frequently used this tool to troubleshoot:

• Slow page loads
  

• DNS resolution issues
  

• SSL/TLS problems
  

• QUIC/HTTP/2 negotiation failures
  

• Proxy and VPN interactions
  

• And more
  

What Happened to chrome://net-internals?

Starting around Chrome 85 and progressively in later versions:

• The old net-internals UI was deprecated.
  

• Many of its functions were migrated to Chrome DevTools and chrome://net-export.
  

Typing chrome://net-internals/ now redirects to:

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chrome://net-internals/#events

•  But in many cases, the old interactive UI is no longer fully supported.
  

Why?

• Chrome is moving toward using standardized developer tools.
  

• The old net-internals was complex, poorly documented, and intended mainly for internal use by Google engineers.
  

• The newer Network tab in DevTools and net-export provide a better user experience.
  

How to Access Equivalent Features in the Latest Chrome

Chrome DevTools Network Tab

For most developers and administrators, the Network tab in Chrome DevTools now provides much of the functionality that net-internals used to offer.

How to open DevTools:

• Press F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I (Cmd + Option + I on Mac).
  

• Or right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect.
  

Navigate to Network tab:

• This tab shows all network activity as the page loads:
  
  

• Requests (HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, etc.)
  

• Status codes
  

• Timing breakdown (DNS lookup, connection, TTFB, etc.)
  

• Response and request headers
  

• Cache status
  

• Resource sizes
  

Advantages over net-internals:

• Works in real time.
  

• Provides a visual waterfall of network activity.
  

• Integrates with other DevTools (JS debugger, Console, Security tab).
  

• Works per-tab and per-frame.
  

Use cases:

• Analyze slow-loading pages.
  

• Diagnose mixed content (HTTP vs HTTPS).
  

• Debug CORS and preflight requests.
  

• Investigate resource caching behavior.
  

• Test how your website hosted on Go4hosting Cloud VPS behaves under different network conditions.
  

chrome://net-export

For advanced logging, Google has provided chrome://net-export.

How to access:

Type:

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chrome://net-export/

• Click Start Logging to Disk.
  

• Perform your network operation (browse, reload page, etc.).
  

• Stop logging when done.
  

• The log is saved as a .json file.
  

How to analyze the log:

• Upload the log to Google's NetLog Viewer:
  
  

• https://netlog-viewer.appspot.com
  
  

• This provides detailed insights into:
  
  

• Socket connections
  

• SSL handshakes
  

• Proxy interactions
  

• DNS resolution
  

• QUIC/HTTP/2 negotiations
  

• Retries and failures
  

When to use:

• For deep troubleshooting of subtle network problems.
  

• When working with Go4hosting support or Google support on networking bugs.
  

• When investigating intermittent connectivity issues or VPN/proxy problems.
  

chrome://dns

If you need to manage DNS cache, a common use case of net-internals:

Go to:

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chrome://dns

You can:

• View current DNS cache entries.
  

• Clear the DNS cache.
  

This is useful when:

• You migrate your website to a new IP (such as when moving to a Go4hosting Cloud Server) and want to force Chrome to pick up the new DNS.
  

chrome://net-internals (Limited Use)

You can still visit:

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chrome://net-internals/

But note:

• It now primarily redirects to chrome://net-internals/#events.
  

• The UI is no longer actively developed.
  

• It provides low-level event tracing, useful for Google engineers but not as beginner-friendly.
  

Practical Tips for Network Troubleshooting in Chrome

Whether you're developing a web app or managing servers on Go4hosting's cloud platform, here's how to make the most of Chrome's network tools:

When a page loads slowly:

• Open Network tab - Check:
  
  

• Is DNS resolution slow?
  

• Are requests blocked or delayed?
  

• Is TTFB (Time To First Byte) too high?
  

When SSL errors occur:

• Use Security tab in DevTools - Check certificate validity and chain.
  

• Export a NetLog if needed.
  

When migrating a site:

• After DNS update, go to chrome://dns - Clear host cache - Ensure Chrome uses new records.
  

• Test with Network tab to verify that the site points to the correct server.
  

When debugging WebSockets or HTTP/2:

• Network tab - Look for 101 Switching Protocols (WebSockets).
  

• Filter by Protocol column to see HTTP/1.1 vs HTTP/2 vs QUIC.
  

For deeper issues:

• Use chrome://net-export to generate a log.
  

• Share it with Go4hosting or a network engineer for analysis.
  

Summary

While chrome://net-internals is no longer fully supported, Chrome DevTools and chrome://net-export now offer a more powerful and user-friendly experience for:

• Web developers
  

• Network engineers
  

• System administrators
  

• Hosting customers (like Go4hosting users)
  

If you're managing a site or web app hosted on Go4hosting's Cloud VPS or dedicated servers, mastering these tools will help you:

• Troubleshoot performance issues
  

• Verify correct DNS and SSL configurations
  

• Debug HTTP/2 and QUIC support
  

• Monitor resource loading and caching
  

At Go4hosting, our expert support team can also assist you in analyzing Chrome network logs if you face issues with:

• CDN integration

• SSL certificates

• Reverse proxies

• Slow content delivery

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