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On current desktop Chrome, the old downloads bar no longer appears at the bottom of the window. Chrome now uses a Download in progress icon and a Download tray beside the address bar. To stop the completed-download pop-up, open Settings > Downloads (or enter chrome://settings/downloads) and turn off Show downloads when they’re done. Your files and download history remain available from More > Downloads.
What “the downloads bar” means in current Chrome
Many Chrome guides use “downloads bar” to describe the horizontal shelf that used to stay along the bottom edge of a browser window. That shelf was replaced with a compact control near the address bar. Chrome’s current desktop interface shows a Download in progress icon while a transfer is active. When the transfer finishes, Chrome can open a Download tray containing recent downloads.
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The change was announced by Oliver Dunk, Chrome Extensions DevRel, on February 14, 2023: “In particular, the downloads UI will be moving from a shelf at the bottom of the window to the right side of the omnibox (near the puzzle icon).” He also described a notification bubble for downloads that are in progress or have recently completed.
That distinction matters because there are two different requests hidden behind “disable the downloads bar”:
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- Stop the automatic pop-up after a download finishes. This is supported by Chrome’s Downloads setting.
- Bring back or permanently remove the entire downloads interface. The ordinary user setting does not do this. The old shelf is not restored, and Chrome may still show an indicator for an active download.
Turn off the completed-download pop-up
The following procedure is the supported end-user solution for current desktop Chrome. It changes when the tray appears; it does not delete files, disable downloading, or erase download history.
- Open Chrome on your desktop computer.
- Open the browser menu by selecting More (the three-dot button), then choose Settings.
- Select Downloads in the Settings sidebar. You can go directly to the same page by entering
chrome://settings/downloadsin the address bar. - Find Show downloads when they’re done.
- Switch that option off.
- If you want to verify the change, download a small, known-safe test file. The completed-download tray should no longer open automatically.
The wording is important: this option controls the automatic notification when a download completes. It is not a “hide all download controls” switch. A download that is still running can continue to display Chrome’s Download in progress icon, and you can still open the download list manually.
How to access downloads after the pop-up is disabled
Disabling the automatic tray does not make your files harder to find. Chrome keeps the normal download history and provides a manual route to it.
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- Select More in the top-right corner of Chrome.
- Choose Downloads.
If the tray is visible, selecting its download controls also lets you inspect recent items. Google’s current help identifies More > Downloads as the way to view the full list when the tray is not open.
Use the manual list when you need to locate an earlier file, check whether a transfer succeeded, or open a downloaded item without re-enabling completion notifications.
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What changes—and what does not
| Behavior | After “Show downloads when they’re done” is off |
|---|---|
| Automatic completion pop-up | Suppressed for normal desktop Chrome downloads. |
| Download in progress indicator | Chrome can still show an indicator while a transfer is active. |
| Download history | Retained and available through More > Downloads. |
| Downloaded files | Remain in the download folder unless you delete or move them yourself. |
| Old bottom shelf | Not restored by this setting. |
| Download capability | Not disabled; files can still be downloaded normally. |
Can you bring back the old bottom shelf?
Current official guidance establishes the migration from the bottom shelf to the tray beside the address bar. It does not establish a permanent, supported switch that restores the legacy shelf for ordinary users.
You may still find older articles recommending the experimental flag chrome://flags/#download-bubble or a Chrome startup switch such as --disable-features=DownloadBubble. Treat both as version-specific experiments, not guaranteed fixes. Flags can be removed, renamed, or ignored as Chrome changes, and a command-line switch may stop working after an update or may behave differently depending on how Chrome is launched.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThose workarounds also solve a different problem from the Settings option. The Settings option suppresses the automatic completed-download notification. A flag or startup switch attempts to alter the underlying interface. If your goal is simply to stop an interruption after each file finishes, use Show downloads when they’re done instead of relying on an unstable interface workaround.
Choosing the right approach
| Approach | What it changes | Who can use it | Stability | Incognito status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show downloads when they’re done | Stops the automatic completed-download pop-up; does not restore the shelf or remove every download indicator. | Ordinary desktop Chrome users. | Current user-facing setting. | Not confirmed by the available Chrome Help Community guidance. |
chrome://flags/#download-bubble |
Attempts to change the download-bubble interface. | Users willing to test experimental flags. | Version-dependent; no durable behavior should be promised. | Not established. |
--disable-features=DownloadBubble |
Attempts to disable a Chrome feature at launch. | Users who control how Chrome starts. | Version-dependent and potentially ignored after updates. | Not established. |
chrome.downloads.setUiOptions({enabled:false}) |
Hides the download UI through the Chrome downloads API. | Extension developers with the required permission. | Documented for Chrome 105 and later; not a normal Settings control. | Extension behavior must be tested for the target context. |
Troubleshooting the setting
The tray still appeared once after I switched the option off
Close any tray that is already open, then start a new, small test download. The option is intended to control the completion notification for subsequent downloads; it does not necessarily dismiss a tray that was already displayed before the change.
I cannot find “Show downloads when they’re done”
Confirm that you are using Chrome on a desktop and that you opened the Downloads section rather than a similarly named privacy or site-settings page. Enter chrome://settings/downloads directly to bypass the Settings navigation. Chrome can revise labels and layout between versions, so an older guide may show a different arrangement even when the destination is the same.
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I turned it off, but I still see a download icon
The setting targets the automatic pop-up after completion. Chrome’s current design can still show a Download in progress icon while a transfer is underway. Seeing that active-download indicator does not mean the completion-notification setting failed.
I need to find a file after hiding the notification
Open More > Downloads to see the complete history. The setting does not remove entries from that list, and it does not move or delete files from the folder Chrome uses for downloads.
An old flag guide worked on one computer but not another
Flags and startup switches are tied to Chrome’s implementation at a particular version. Different installations may update at different times, and a switch that once affected the shelf may no longer map to the current tray. If the only requirement is a quiet browser after a download finishes, return to the supported Downloads setting rather than troubleshooting an experimental flag.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Incognito windows: what is known
A February 14, 2025 Chrome Help Community answer recommends the same Downloads setting for the download bubble but explicitly says the responder was not sure whether it applies in Incognito. Do not assume that the normal-window behavior is guaranteed in a private window.
If Incognito behavior matters to you, test it separately:
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- Set Show downloads when they’re done to off in a regular Chrome window.
- Open a new Incognito window.
- Download a small, safe file that you are permitted to retrieve.
- Observe whether the completion tray opens, then use More > Downloads to check the resulting history.
Because the available guidance does not confirm Incognito support, treat the result as behavior for your installed Chrome version rather than a universal promise.
For extension developers: hide the download UI programmatically
Chrome provides a downloads API for extension authors who need to control the browser’s download interface. In Chrome 105 and later, an extension can call:
chrome.downloads.setUiOptions({ enabled: false });The extension must request the downloads.ui permission. This API is intended for an extension’s own functionality and permissions model; it is not a setting that a regular user can paste into Chrome’s address bar.
The older setShelfEnabled method should not be used for new work. Chrome has marked it deprecated since Chrome 117. An extension that still depends on that method may need to migrate to setUiOptions, then test its behavior against the Chrome versions and download flows it supports.
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A practical decision checklist
- If you only want Chrome to stop opening a bubble when a file finishes, turn off Show downloads when they’re done.
- If you need to inspect files later, use More > Downloads; disabling the pop-up does not remove the history.
- If you want the old bottom shelf back, understand that current official guidance does not provide a supported restoration switch.
- If you experiment with
chrome://flags/#download-bubbleor--disable-features=DownloadBubble, expect the result to change with Chrome versions and do not treat it as a permanent solution. - If you are building an extension, use the documented
chrome.downloads.setUiOptions({enabled:false})route with thedownloads.uipermission, and avoid deprecatedsetShelfEnabled. - If you rely on Incognito, verify the behavior in an Incognito window because current community guidance does not confirm that the setting applies there.
Bottom line
Chrome’s “downloads bar” is now a top-right Download tray rather than the former bottom shelf. For a normal desktop installation, the reliable way to stop the completed-download pop-up is Settings > Downloads > Show downloads when they’re done: switch it off, then use More > Downloads whenever you need the list. Restoring the old shelf with flags or command-line switches is not a stable, supported outcome, and Incognito behavior remains unverified.
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