Hide Bookmarks Bar in Google Chrome (macOS)

Root Cause

Chrome always shows the Bookmarks Bar in a new tab — overriding any user toggle or shortcut.

What Doesn't Work

Method	Why it fails
⌘ + Shift + B	Overridden when Bookmark Bar folder has items
Settings toggle (chrome://settings/appearance)	Same — Chrome re-enables it automatically
defaults write com.google.Chrome BookmarkBarEnabled -bool false	Sets Recommended level only — Chrome can override it

Diagnosis via chrome://policy

Look for BookmarkBarEnabled in the policy list:

Status	Meaning
Not listed	No policy set. Toggle/shortcut should work.
Listed, no value	Recognized but inactive. Try user-level plist.
Value: false, Level: Recommended	Set but overridable → upgrade to Mandatory
Value: false, Level: Mandatory	Correctly enforced ✓

The Fix — Mandatory Policy

Write to /Library/Managed Preferences/ (system-level = Mandatory).

# Step 1 — Create a directory
sudo mkdir -p /Library/Managed\ Preferences/

# Step 2 — Write plist entry
sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy \
  -c "Add :BookmarkBarEnabled bool false" \
  /Library/Managed\ Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist

# Step 3 — Set correct permissions
sudo chmod 644 /Library/Managed\ Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist
sudo chown root:wheel /Library/Managed\ Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist

# Step 4 — Fully quit and relaunch Chrome (⌘+Q)

Verify in chrome://policy → Level column should show Mandatory.

Key Concept: Recommended vs Mandatory

• Recommended — ~/Library/Preferences/ (user-level). Chrome can override.
• Mandatory — /Library/Managed Preferences/ (system-level). Chrome cannot override.