LHI Chrome Profile Utils

A professional utility for Chrome profile selection and management on macOS, designed for use with Puppeteer, MCP servers, and browser automation workflows.

Features

• 🔍 Profile Detection: Automatically detects and lists all Chrome profiles on macOS
• 🎯 Profile Selection: Interactive UI dialog for selecting Chrome profiles
• 🚀 Direct Chrome Launch: Launch Chrome directly with selected profile (recommended)
• 💾 Profile Data Export: Save profile information to JSON for later use
• 🔧 CLI Interface: Command-line tools for profile management

Installation

npm install lhi_chrome_profile_utils

Usage

Recommended: Direct Chrome Launch

For the best user experience with full profile features (avatar, theme, bookmarks), use direct Chrome launching:

const { spawn } = require('child_process');
const chromeProfileUtils = require('lhi_chrome_profile_utils');

// Select a profile via UI dialog
const { chromeUserDataPath, selectedProfilePath, userDataDir } = chromeProfileUtils.getSelectedProfile();

// Launch Chrome directly
const chromeArgs = [
  `--profile-directory=${selectedProfilePath}`,
  `--user-data-dir=${userDataDir}`,
  '--disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled',
  'https://mail.google.com'
];

const chromeProcess = spawn('/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome', chromeArgs, {
  detached: true,
  stdio: 'ignore'
});

chromeProcess.unref();

Alternative: Puppeteer Integration

For automation testing (note: may not show full profile features):

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');
const chromeProfileUtils = require('lhi_chrome_profile_utils');

// Get Puppeteer launch options with the selected profile
const puppeteerOptions = chromeProfileUtils.getPuppeteerLaunchOptions();
const browser = await puppeteer.launch(puppeteerOptions);

As a Node.js Module

const chromeProfileUtils = require('lhi_chrome_profile_utils');

// List all Chrome profiles
const { chromeUserDataPath, profiles } = chromeProfileUtils.listProfiles();
console.log(`Found ${profiles.length} profiles`);

// Select a profile via UI dialog
const selectedProfilePath = chromeProfileUtils.selectProfile(profiles);

// Save profile data to JSON
chromeProfileUtils.saveProfilesJSON({ chromeUserDataPath, profiles }, './profiles.json');

Command Line Interface

The package can be used directly from the command line:

# List all available Chrome profiles
npx lhi_chrome_profile_utils list

# Select a Chrome profile via dialog
npx lhi_chrome_profile_utils select

# Get Puppeteer launch options for selected profile
npx lhi_chrome_profile_utils puppeteer-options

# Export profile data to JSON file
npx lhi_chrome_profile_utils json [output_path]

Important Notes

First-Time Login

When using direct Chrome launching (recommended approach):

• If this is your first time using a profile with this script, Chrome may require a one-time login
• After this initial login, subsequent launches will automatically use your saved profile
• This is normal Chrome security behavior when launching from a new context

Puppeteer vs Direct Launch

• Direct Chrome Launch (recommended): Full profile features, normal Chrome behavior
• Puppeteer Launch: Automation mode, may show warnings, limited profile features

Troubleshooting

If Chrome opens in a semi-incognito mode or doesn't show your profile:

1. Use the direct Chrome launch approach instead of Puppeteer
2. Ensure you've logged in at least once using the direct launch method
3. Check that Chrome is the ARM-native version on Apple Silicon Macs

API Reference

listProfiles()

Lists all Chrome user profiles with detailed information.

Returns: Object with:

• chromeUserDataPath: Path to Chrome user data directory
• profiles: Array of profile objects with details (email, name, theme color, etc.)

selectProfile(profiles)

Displays a macOS dialog for profile selection.

Parameters:

• profiles: Array of profile objects from listProfiles()

Returns: String - The path of the selected profile

getSelectedProfile()

Combines listing and selection in one step.

Returns: Object with:

• chromeUserDataPath: Path to Chrome user data directory
• selectedProfilePath: Path of the selected profile
• userDataDir: Full path to the selected profile directory

getPuppeteerLaunchOptions(headless = false)

Gets Puppeteer launch options for the selected Chrome profile.

Parameters:

• headless: Boolean indicating whether to run in headless mode (default: false)

Returns: Object - Puppeteer launch options with user data directory

saveProfilesJSON(profileData, outputPath)

Saves profile data to a JSON file.

Parameters:

• profileData: Profile data object from listProfiles()
• outputPath: Path where to save the JSON file

Returns: Boolean - Success status

Requirements

• macOS operating system
• Google Chrome installed
• Node.js 14.0.0 or higher

License

MIT © Lifehack Innovations LLC