If you're using Chromium on Linux with an Intel integrated GPU and noticing high CPU usage during YouTube playback, you're probably missing hardware video acceleration. Here's how to fix it.

Requirements

• Intel GPU (Broadwell or newer for VP9 support)
• Arch Linux (or similar distro)
• Wayland session

Step 1: Install Intel Media Driver

sudo pacman -S intel-media-driver libva-utils

Verify VAAPI is working:

vainfo

You should see VP9 profiles listed:

VAProfileVP9Profile0            : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP9Profile2            : VAEntrypointVLD

Step 2: Configure Chromium Flags

Edit ~/.config/chromium-flags.conf:

--ozone-platform=wayland
--enable-features=VaapiVideoDecoder,VaapiVideoEncoder
--ignore-gpu-blocklist
--enable-zero-copy
--enable-gpu-rasterization

Important: Do NOT add --use-gl or --use-angle flags. Let Chromium auto-select the backend.

Step 3: Restart Chromium

Close all Chromium windows and reopen. Verify at chrome://gpu:

• Video Decode: Hardware accelerated
• Video Encode: Hardware accelerated

Step 4: Force VP9 on YouTube (Optional)

If your GPU doesn't support AV1 (pre-11th gen Intel), install enhanced-h264ify and block AV1/H.264 to force VP9.

Verify It's Working

• Play a YouTube video
• Run intel_gpu_top - the "Video" engine should show activity
• Right-click video → "Stats for nerds" → Codecs should show vp09.xxx

Troubleshooting

If chrome://gpu shows everything disabled:

• Clear GPU cache: rm -rf ~/.config/chromium/Default/GPUCache ~/.config/chromium/ShaderCache
• Remove any --use-gl flags from your config
• Test with a fresh profile: chromium --user-data-dir=/tmp/test

Hardware Support Reference