Portable browsers without the ritual sacrifice.
A small native Windows tool for downloading, verifying, installing, updating,
and configuring 14 Chromium- and Firefox-family browsers.
简体中文 · User guide · Changelog
Browser setup · Chrome++ configuration
Portable browser setup is mostly manual file management with extra steps.
The installer expects system-wide access. The versioned folder changes with the
next update. The profile ends up somewhere you did not choose. Then there are
version.dll and the INI files to sort out. Calling that "portable" is generous.
Browser Harbor handles that work: download, verify, extract, arrange, and preserve. The next update does not require rediscovering the layout.
Windows also remembers monitors that were unplugged in 2022. Fixing that is an exorcism for another day; Browser Harbor settles for keeping its own window on the current desktop.
- Downloads from declared sources. Official vendor endpoints, release APIs,
signed metadata, and approved mirrors. No mystery
.exefrom page four of a forum thread. - Trusts bytes only after checking them. Browsers, Chrome++, Libportable, and local packages require trusted integrity data; LibreWolf additionally gets an OpenPGP signature check.
- Keeps the layout sane. Program, data, profile, optional cache, and auto-created shortcuts have predictable places.
- Handles Chromium’s awkward corners. Check and update Chrome++ independently,
reuse one verified download across targets, keep other running browsers out of
the way, and patch Edge’s dynamic version directories and
version.dllimport. - Makes every Firefox-family target directly portable. Firefox, Floorp, LibreWolf, and Zen use Libportable; Iceweasel and SkyKakapo keep their native runtimes. Redundant Floorp/LibreWolf launchers are removed.
- Relocates without guessing. Choose the new Browser Root and Browser Harbor
remaps the paths. A known different browser is rejected even when its
executable is also named
chrome.exe; an unknown custom build gets an explicit warning first. - Checks before it repairs. Diagnostics are read-only. Path fixes require confirmation, a closed browser, and an INI backup.
- Keeps the window on a screen that exists. Saved coordinates are clamped to the current virtual desktop.
- Saves immediately. Every valid edit is persisted. Keep manager state in
the per-user configuration directory or move
BrowserHarbor.jsonbeside the EXE for a portable setup. Existingmanager.jsonfiles are migrated automatically. - Looks at home on Windows. Follow the system theme or choose light/dark; switch between Chinese and English when required.
- Notices its own updates. The footer quietly marks a newer stable Browser Harbor release and opens a compact menu for the GitHub or Gitee release page.
- Deletes only rebuildable downloads. Cache cleanup leaves programs, profiles, bookmarks, and logins alone.
| Family | Browsers |
|---|---|
| Chromium | Brave, Catsxp, Chrome, Edge, Helium, Thorium, Turbo, Ungoogled Chromium |
| Firefox | Firefox, Floorp, Iceweasel, LibreWolf, SkyKakapo, Zen |
Chrome and Edge support Stable and Beta; Brave supports Stable and Beta; Firefox supports Stable, ESR, and Beta. Iceweasel supports ESR and Release. Thorium provides CPU-specific builds for SSE3, SSE4, AVX, AVX2, and AVX512.
- Download
BrowserHarbor-0.6.6-x64.exefrom GitHub Releases. If GitHub is unreachable, use the Gitee mirror. - Put it in any writable folder and run it.
- Select a browser and confirm its Browser Root and data paths.
- Use Check configuration for an existing setup, or Download and install/upgrade for a clean install.
No installer. No administrator rights. No background service. No WebView2.
The EXE is enough for normal use. The separately attached manifest, signature, and public key are optional for independent verification. Compare the EXE with the SHA-256 in the release notes if you prefer to know exactly what you are running.
- Experimental labels: Brave, Helium, and Ungoogled Chromium are usable, but their deeper Chrome++ compatibility remains experimental.
- SmartScreen warnings: The binary is not Authenticode-signed yet. A warning is expected.
- Edge Beta is online-only: Microsoft's complete Beta payload uses a short-lived CDP URL, so it is resolved live rather than stored in the signed fallback manifest.
- Manual orientation required: Existing folders do not import themselves. Select the target, then use Check configuration or Relocate….
- Windows x64 only: Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11. Older systems are not supported.
- It does not launch or supervise browsers.
- It does not register a default browser or create taskbar pins.
- It does not read browser history.
- It does not execute downloaded installers as setup programs.
- It does not treat a download mirror as proof of authenticity.
You get a browser downloader and manager—not another tray resident that develops opinions.
AI drafted a large share of the code, tests, parsers, and release plumbing. A human supplied the constraints, tested real browsers, rejected ideas that compiled but should not have existed, and remains responsible for the result.
The compiler held veto power. Clippy offered persistent feedback. Neither was allowed near the default-browser registry, which conveniently does not exist here.
The project is available under either the MIT License or the
Apache License 2.0, at your option (MIT OR Apache-2.0).
Third-party browsers and runtime components retain their own licenses, notices,
and signing requirements.
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