Content & labels

Chromium reads short. Every visible button across chrome://settings, chrome://bookmarks, chrome://downloads, chrome://extensions, and the in-browser side panels is one or two words. The longer the label, the further the surface drifts from native feel — multi-word buttons are the single most visible "this is a webapp" tell.

This page covers the words. Layout, geometry, and colour are elsewhere.

Button labels

Rule. Aim for one word. Two is acceptable when the verb genuinely needs a noun ("Save changes", "Add account", "Restore defaults"). Three or more is wrong.

Result

Live Editor

<div style={{ display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column', gap: 12, maxWidth: 360 }}>
  <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'flex-end', gap: 8 }}>
    <Button>Cancel</Button>
    <Button variant="action">Save</Button>
  </div>
  <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'flex-end', gap: 8 }}>
    <Button>Cancel</Button>
    <Button variant="action">Add</Button>
  </div>
  <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'flex-end', gap: 8 }}>
    <Button variant="destructive">Remove</Button>
  </div>
</div>

The verb is the work of the button. Nouns belong on the surface around it — in the dialog title, the panel header, the row's primary text. A footer's primary action does not have to re-state what it acts on; the surface already says that.

Why short

The verb scans first. Users land on a footer and see only the leftmost word of the primary. "Start" communicates faster than "Start new scrape" — the rest is noise once the action is clear.
Short labels stay content-sized. A three-word label like "Start new scrape" is too wide for a content-sized button on a 360px panel without crowding adjacent controls. The instinct is then to stretch the button (see anti-pattern #19) — which compounds the deviation.
Long labels feel like a webapp. Verbose CTAs are a SaaS / marketing convention ("Get started for free", "Generate insights now"). Even a single one of those in a footer drags the whole surface out of Chromium's idiom.

Canonical Chromium verbs

Pick from this list before inventing prose. It is not exhaustive — but if your verb is not in it, check whether one of these covers the same intent first.

Save and apply	Add and create	Remove and clear
Save · Apply · Continue · Done · OK	Add · Create · New · Import	Remove · Delete · Clear · Reset

Open and view	Edit and modify	Sync and refresh
Open · View · Show · Expand	Edit · Rename · Change · Update	Sync · Refresh · Reload · Restore

Confirm and proceed	Cancel and dismiss	Specialised
Confirm · Allow · Accept · Install	Cancel · Discard · Ignore · Close	Pin · Unpin · Hide · Block · Trust · Sign in · Sign out

Two-word combinations that occur in native Chromium and are safe to use:

Save changes (when "Save" is ambiguous about scope)
Add account, Add device, Add extension
Restore defaults, Reset settings
Show more, Show all
Sign in, Sign out
Try again

Anything longer than two words on a button is the wrong shape — split the surface, move the noun into the title or row text, or pick a tighter verb.

Section headings

Rule. Sentence case. No ALL CAPS. No bold display sizes. The settings-page section heading is <h2> at 14px, weight 400 — see Typography.

ALL CAPS section labels (the 11px letter-spaced "APPEARANCE" / "PRIVACY" pattern from older Material designs) are not Chromium-native and are explicitly removed from this library's recipes.

Row primary text

Rule. Sentence case, full sentences are fine, no terminal punctuation unless the line is genuinely a sentence ending in a period.

Show home button
Block third-party cookies
Continue running background apps when Chrome is closed

The third one is long because the setting itself is long; that is fine. What is not fine is padding short settings out into long sentences for "clarity" — Block third-party cookies does not become friendlier as Always block third-party cookies from accessing your data.

Row secondary text

Rule. One sentence. Summarise the current value or describe the behaviour, never re-state the primary.

Primary: Theme
Secondary: System default

Primary: Block third-party cookies
Secondary: When sites can't read or write cookies from other sites

Two-line secondary is acceptable when the description genuinely needs it. Three lines means the row should be a drill-in; the description belongs on the subpage.

Toast and inline message bodies

Short. One sentence. No "Oops! Something went wrong." tone — Chromium errors say what failed and (when actionable) what the user can do.

Couldn't sync. Check your connection.
Bookmark added.
Extension removed.

Avoid:

Exclamation marks, except when reporting genuinely surprising state ("New version available!").
Apologetic copy ("Sorry, …", "We're really sorry, but …").
Marketing voice ("Awesome! Your changes are saved.").

Capitalisation summary

Element	Rule
Button label	Sentence case (`Save changes`, not `Save Changes`)
Section heading	Sentence case
Row primary	Sentence case
Row secondary	Sentence case
Dialog title	Sentence case
Toast	Sentence case
Header / Header title	Sentence case
Tab label	Sentence case (and short — one word preferred)

There is no place in a Chromium-native UI for Title Case headings.

Button labels​

Why short​

Canonical Chromium verbs​

Section headings​

Row primary text​

Row secondary text​

Toast and inline message bodies​

Capitalisation summary​