demo · v146

Virtual Desktop Client

The motivating use case from the explainer: a VDI client that needs every pixel of the window for the remote session, and paints its own chrome so the OS titlebar doesn't waste a 32px strip.

Developer trial. Unframed mode is gated to Isolated Web Apps on ChromeOS via the chrome://flags/#enable-unframed-iwa flag. The mockup below shows what the same app looks like in each display mode.
display_override:
remote-session — vdi.example.com
remote-session — vdi.example.com
connected · 1080p · 60fps
FILE
MAIL
TERM
remote desktop session
start — files · mail · terminal
running context
—
display-mode (CSS)
—
windowControlsOverlay
—
webkit-app-region drag
—

the manifest

{
  "name": "Acme VDI",
  "id": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "display_override": ["unframed", "window-controls-overlay", "standalone"],
  "isolation": { "type": "signed-bundle" }
}

Listing unframed first means: try unframed; if unsupported, fall back to window-controls-overlay (a 32px strip plus the rest); if also unsupported, regular standalone. This mirrors how VDI vendors have historically degraded from full custom chrome to OS-managed chrome.

why VDI cares

A virtual desktop client is, in effect, a window containing another window manager. The remote session already has its own taskbar, its own minimise/close affordances, its own move handles. Stacking the OS titlebar on top of that produces a doubled UI: two close buttons, two title strips, two move handles. Worse, the 32px the OS reserves comes off the top of the remote session, distorting its aspect ratio. Unframed mode lets the client own the whole window — paint a single, integrated chrome (or none at all) and hand the rest to the remote session at 1:1.

see also