Browser Harbor 🚢

Portable browsers without the ritual sacrifice.
A small native Windows tool for downloading, verifying, installing, updating, and configuring 15 Chromium- and Firefox-family browsers.

简体中文 · User guide · Changelog · Gitee mirror

_{Browser setup · Chrome++ configuration · Example screenshots; version numbers may differ from the current release.}

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😵‍💫 Why does this exist?

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.

⚡ What it does

• Downloads from declared sources with direct links. Official vendor endpoints, release APIs, signed metadata, and approved mirrors. The browser overview panel provides direct clickable hyperlinks to each browser's official website or GitHub Releases page. No mystery .exe from page four of a forum thread.
• Spends less time waiting on slow routes. Prefer responsive accelerators, switch away from stalled ones, and resume interrupted downloads before running the same mandatory integrity check.
• Trusts bytes only after checking them. Browsers, Chrome++, Libportable, and local packages require trusted integrity data; LibreWolf additionally gets an OpenPGP signature check.
• Domestic Gitee mirror & signed offline verification. Verification metadata prefers the project-maintained Gitee mirror for fast access in mainland China, with signed offline cache fallback. Cached fallback never bypasses signature, size, or digest checks.
• Keeps the layout sane. Program, data, profile, optional cache, and auto-created shortcuts have predictable places.
• Safe replacements with file-lock protection. Inspects running processes and Windows kernel file write locks before directory replacements; safely blocks replacements while browser executables or libraries are in use to prevent crashes.
• 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.dll import.
• 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, with security guidance. Diagnostics are read-only. Actionable guidance helps diagnose whether antivirus software (e.g. ESET, Windows Defender) quarantined missing executables. 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.json beside the EXE for a portable setup. Existing manager.json files are migrated automatically.
• Reuses a matching local package. Enable Use a local package instead of downloading under Global settings → Advanced. The package must match the checked release; importing other versions is not supported.
• 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.

🌐 Supported browsers

Family	Browsers
Chromium	Brave, Catsxp, Chrome, Edge, Helium, Thorium, Turbo, Ungoogled Chromium, Vivaldi
Firefox	Firefox, Floorp, Iceweasel, LibreWolf, SkyKakapo, Zen

Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Catsxp support 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.

🚀 Quick start

1. Download the BrowserHarbor-<version>-x64.exe file from GitHub Releases. If GitHub is unreachable, use the Gitee mirror.
2. Put it in any writable folder and run it.
3. Select a browser and confirm its Browser Root and data paths.
4. 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.

🧨 Known rough edges

• Antivirus heuristic false positives: Portable runtime DLL redirection (Chrome++'s version.dll or Libportable) can trigger heuristic detection (e.g. @Object.Suspicious) in security software such as ESET Security, Windows Defender, or third-party suites, potentially terminating running browser processes or quarantining executables. If an installed browser executable unexpectedly disappears, check your antivirus logs and consider adding the browser directory (e.g., D:\Tools\Browser\) to your antivirus exclusions.
• Moving Vivaldi to another PC: Vivaldi's official Standalone mode does not support moving saved passwords and extensions just by copying the folder. Use Vivaldi Sync beforehand; websites and extensions may still require a fresh sign-in. The app also shows this limitation when Vivaldi is selected.
• Remote Desktop: Some graphics-driver and remote-session combinations may prevent the app from opening. Try the local desktop.
• 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 needs a live lookup: Its download addresses expire, so installation requires a working connection to Microsoft. If the lookup fails, retry later or check your network settings.
• 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.

🙅 What it deliberately does not do

• 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 disclosure & license

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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More reading:

• User guide / 中文用户指南
• Changelog / 中文更新记录
• Security / Privacy
• Third-party notices
• Contributing