Setting the ai-settings-page-refresh flag to disabled breaks settings

Feedback Nightly Builds
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1

Any brave settings URL, or trying to access from Brave > About Brave or Brave > Settings, the page fails to load. This is the console error:

Uncaught Error: Assertion failed: Could not find value for showAutofillAiControl
    at assert (assert.js:4:62)
    at LoadTimeData.getValue (load_time_data.js:4:355)
    at LoadTimeData.getBoolean (load_time_data.js:4:1455)
    at createRoutes (shared.rollup.js:83:7941)
    at buildRouter (shared.rollup.js:83:9727)
    at shared.rollup.js:83:9894
assert @ assert.js:4
getValue @ load_time_data.js:4
getBoolean @ load_time_data.js:4
createRoutes @ shared.rollup.js:83
buildRouter @ shared.rollup.js:83
(anonymous) @ shared.rollup.js:83

Going to about://flags and setting ai-settings-page-refresh to disabled is what causes this.

Brave: 1.79.77 Chromium: 136.0.7103.34 (Official Build) nightly (arm64)
Revision: ca4fbba530bb2bab7b10ec6d953b3a02ae414be1
OS: macOS Version 15.4.1 (Build 24E263)

2

@coops

Please edit your Original Post (“OP”) above, in order to include:

  • Brave Browser Nightly version numbers
  • Operating System version numbers

For testing, please Disable all extensions that you have added.

IF, in a Brave Browser New Window, you go to: brave://settings

Does the Brave Browser Settings window develop?

“Any brave settings URL” ← not specific enough

Anytime you want to start up and run Brave Browser (for MacOS) without burdens, use the following command in the MacOS Terminal.app window:

  • open -a "Brave Browser.app" -n --args --incognito --no-experiments --disable-extensions --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure 2> $HOME/Desktop/brave_console_out.txt

For that command string, the switches are intended to:

  • Start up Brave Browser, showing a New Private Window [--incognito]
  • Disable all experiments at brave://flags [--no-experiments]
  • Disable extensions [--disable-extensions]
  • Disable hardware (GPU) ie Graphic Acceleration [--disable-gpu]
  • Enable leak detection and if that failure occurs, then crash the browser [--enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure are a combo]
  • Produce error/log output to a file named ‘brave_console_out.txt’ on the MacOS Desktop

IF you start up Brave Browser, using that Terminal.app window’s command line entry, can you then succeed at going to: brave://settings ?

3

Hi-
I added my OSX version and Brave version, as well as some other info.
I disabled all extensions, and opened a new window: no effect.
By “any brave settings URL” I mean brave://settings/*.
brave://history, brave://bookmarks, brave://downloads, brave://wallet, brave://rewards all DO work.

Opening brave with those flags DID work.
Using process of elimination, the flag making the difference was “–no-experiments”.

4

Continuing to step through the error logs, it appears the issue stems from the file chrome://settings/strings.m.js not containing the value for showAutofillAiControl.

5

@coops

Starting up Brave Browser, by using the command line as you did recently:

  • open -a "Brave Browser.app" -n --args --incognito --no-experiments --disable-extensions --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure 2> $HOME/Desktop/brave_console_out.txt

In a Brave Browser New Window, go to: brave://flags

Any of those flags, that you changed from their default setting, should be listed at the top of the long list. Make a note of those “experiments” that you have altered (if any).

In the following screenshot, I Disabled Enable IPFS ← changing the setting from its default.

Screen Shot 2025-04-21 at 9.29.09 PM
Screen Shot 2025-04-21 at 9.29.09 PM800×484 42.4 KB

That screenshot is from an older version of Brave Browser for MacOS. That screenshot shows a Reset all button. You may find that button - but it may have another name by now.

Click the Reset all button. Exit / Quit everything.

Delete (move to the Trash and Empty the Trash), the following 3 items:

The BraveSoftware folder at:

  • /Users/username/Library/Caches/BraveSoftware/

The com.brave.Browser folder at:

  • /Users/username/Library/Caches/com.brave.Browser/

The com.brave.Browser.savedState folder at:

  • /Users/username/Library/Saved Application State/com.brave.Browser.savedState/

Restart the Mac. Test a normal start of Brave Browser.

6

@289wk
I have found the exact flag causing the issue: setting ai-settings-page-refresh to disabled is the sole cause.

1 Like