"Aw, Snap" when data uri is too large

Question

I'm writing a chrome extension which does the following:

Downloads a file from a website to memory using XMLHttpRequest
Adds additional data to the file and then base64 encodes the result to the variable total_encoded_data
Offers the data to the user using <a href=data:application/octet-stream;charset=utf-8;base64,' + total_encoded_data+' download='file.bin'>Click to Download</a>. Where total_encoded_data is added to href using jQuery.

I have found, through a manual binary search, that if the size of total_encoded_data is greater than 2097100 characters, then I will get an Aw, Snap message when I click the link. If the size is smaller, then I can download as expected.

In addition to testing the filesize, I also used atoi to ensure that the base64 encoding is valid, and it operates without error.

The Aw, Snap messages don't produce any crash reports in chrome://crashes nor any unexpected output in the chrome_debug.log

How do I avoid an Aw, Snap message when serving a data uri where the base64 encoded string length is greater than 2097100?

perhaps this trivia tidbit might be of some use in designing a workaround strategy - `2097100 + 52` = `8^7` aka `2^21`. As for even closer to that number, `2097100 + 1` neatly factors into `1399 x 1499` — RARE Kpop Manifesto, Jun 19 '22 at 20:06

score 57 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

57

It's a known chromium bug. The recommended workaround is to use a blob URL. Also see Creating a Blob from a base64 string in JavaScript.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

Community

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answered May 26 '13 at 18:48

rhashimoto

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3.5 years later... still not fixed. God damn it, Chrome. – kangax Sep 27 '14 at 11:44
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Almost 7 years later... and solved the same old issue with the blob url trick! – aBertrand Dec 19 '16 at 07:09
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If anybody is wondering, the maximum size is based on 2MB in bytes... 2 * 1024 * 1024 bytes. – PaulMest Oct 20 '17 at 08:23
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Honestly guys this is ridiculous, it's almost 2018 and still there... I know why I dumped Apple... Unfortunately I have lots of clients with iPhones *raises fist* :) – megachill Nov 07 '17 at 13:59
This answer just helped me out so much. Thank you @rhashimoto ! – jamesplease Oct 30 '19 at 00:21
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2020 and we're still waiting! – user11153 Mar 27 '20 at 09:02
2022 still not solved – Mahendra Waykos Aug 26 '22 at 08:46
2023... wen :(((( – HudsonGraeme Jul 12 '23 at 20:48

"Aw, Snap" when data uri is too large

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