Where Chrome keeps profile folders on a Mac (and how to open them)

On a Mac, Google Chrome keeps its profiles in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/. Inside it, the first profile is a folder called Default and later ones are Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on. The names you see in Chrome, such as “Work” or “Personal”, are stored separately in a file called Local State in the same folder.

Here is how to open that folder, how to tell which profile is which, where other browsers keep theirs, and what is safe to do in there.

What is inside the Chrome folder

Open ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/ and you will see several folders and files. The ones that matter for profiles are:

• Default: the first profile you ever used in Chrome.
• Profile 1, Profile 2, …: each profile you added later, numbered in the order you created them. Deleting a profile does not renumber the rest, so gaps are normal.
• Local State: a text file (in JSON format) that Chrome uses for settings shared by all profiles. Among other things, it lists each profile folder together with its display name.

Each profile folder holds that profile’s own bookmarks, history, extensions, cookies and settings. That is why two profiles can be signed in to different Google accounts at the same time without mixing anything up.

How to open the folder in Finder

The ~/Library folder is hidden in Finder by default, so the quickest way in is Go to Folder:

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock so Finder is the front app.
2. Press ⇧⌘G (Shift, Command, G), or choose Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
3. Paste ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/ and press Return.

The ~ means your home folder, so you do not need to type your user name.

If you prefer Terminal, open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/ opens the same folder in Finder.

How to tell which folder is which profile

The folder names do not match the names you gave your profiles. To match them:

1. Open a Chrome window in the profile you are curious about.
2. Go to chrome://version.
3. Read the Profile Path line. It ends with the folder name, such as Profile 2.

This is also the name you need for the --profile-directory option in Terminal. Our guide on opening a Chrome profile from Terminal shows how to use it.

Where other browsers keep their profiles

Each browser uses its own folder inside ~/Library/Application Support/:

Browser	Profile folder on a Mac
Google Chrome	~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/
Brave	~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/
Microsoft Edge	~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge/
Vivaldi	~/Library/Application Support/Vivaldi/
Firefox	~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/

Brave, Edge and Vivaldi are built on Chromium, so they follow the same pattern as Chrome: profile folders plus a Local State file with the display names. In Brave and Edge, brave://version and edge://version show the Profile Path.

Firefox works differently. Its profile folders sit in the Profiles folder, and the list of profiles is kept in a file called profiles.ini in ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/. Type about:profiles in Firefox to see every profile and open its folder. For more on Firefox and related browsers, see the Firefox page.

What is safe to do in these folders

Most of the time you do not need to touch anything here. If you do, a few rules keep your data safe:

• Quit the browser first. Chrome reads and writes these files constantly while it runs. Editing, moving or renaming anything while it is open can corrupt a profile or get your changes overwritten. Quit with ⌘Q, not just by closing windows.
• Back up before you delete. Copy the whole Chrome folder somewhere safe (or make sure Time Machine has a recent backup) before you remove a profile folder by hand.
• Prefer Chrome’s own tools. To remove or rename a profile, use Chrome’s profile menu or settings rather than deleting folders. Chrome then updates Local State for you.
• Do not rename profile folders. Chrome expects the names it created. A renamed folder can leave a profile missing from the list.
• Treat it as private. These folders contain cookies and saved sign-ins, so do not share them or upload them anywhere.

Reading the files, for example opening Local State in a text editor to see profile names, is harmless as long as you do not save changes.

How Chrome Profile Switcher uses this folder

Chrome Profile Switcher is a small Mac menu bar app from ZwayStudios that gives each browser profile its own Dock icon. To know which profiles you have and what they are called, it reads the Local State file in the browser’s folder. It only reads it: it does not change Local State or anything in your profile folders.

It then matches your open windows to those profiles. Chrome, Brave, Edge and Vivaldi add the profile name to the end of each window title when you have more than one profile, and the app reads those titles through the macOS Accessibility permission. One consequence: two profiles with exactly the same name cannot be told apart, so give each profile a different name. For Firefox based browsers it reads profiles.ini instead.

Nothing is sent anywhere. The app has no account and no analytics, and it only goes online to check for updates. The profile icons it creates are small launcher apps stored in ~/Applications/Chrome Profiles, separate from the browser’s own folder, so your browser data stays as it was.

To see what it does with those icons, read how to add multiple Chrome profiles to the Mac Dock, or download it. It is free during the beta and needs macOS 14 or later.

Questions

Where is the Chrome Default profile on a Mac? In ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default. Open it in Finder with ⇧⌘G and paste the path.

Where are Chrome profile names stored? In the Local State file in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/. The folders themselves are named Default and Profile N.

Can I delete a profile folder by hand? You can, but quit Chrome and back up first. Removing the profile from inside Chrome is the safer way.

Does Chrome Profile Switcher change my Chrome profiles? No. It reads Local State to learn profile names and does not change anything in the browser’s folders.