Google Chromes Process Sharing Could Reduce RAM Usage

Google Chrome is currently experimenting with a feature called "process sharing." This feature would help Chrome's performance by allowing multiple tabs from the same website share a single renderer process, instead of each tab having its own dedicated process.

Most web browsers use sandboxing to isolate different tabs and windows for improved security, but that comes with the disadvantage of increased memory usage. Google is now looking for ways to reuce that, at least for tabs with the same site open (which would presumably be less of a security issue). The primary goal of this experiment is to speed up page loads and reduce memory usage. The rationale is that by consolidating processes for same-site tabs, Chrome can reuse resources like cached data and decoded assets. This way, it doesn't have to load an image or pieces of the cache already ready in another tab. Google is actively seeking feedback on the process sharing experiment and has asked any users who want to test to share their experiences and issues through a feedback tracker.

However, this process sharing idea could be bad for developers who use Chrome DevTools for debugging and performance analysis. Since tabs might share a process and its main thread, certain actions in one tab could impact others sharing that process. For example, if a breakpoint is set and paused in one tab, it could inadvertently affect other tabs within the same site. Also, performance analysis tools like heap snapshots and performance recordings might capture data from multiple tabs, which could make the results harder to read. As a way to address these potential developer experience issues, Chrome will display a warning message when DevTools is open in a tab that shares its process with others. The message would tell the user about the shared process situation and its potential impact on debugging and performance analysis.

Google

The process sharing experiment is currently turned off by default for certain user groups, including Chrome Enterprise users, Chrome For Testing, Chrome Headless, and developers who have recently used DevTools. You can opt into the experiment with a command line flag, though it's only intended for developers right now.

If successful, this could be a great way to lower how much RAM is used just by opening a browser, which is a real win. We'll have to wait and see if Google rolls it out to all Chrome users.

Source: Google