Brave Portable Updater

Run Brave Stable, Beta or Nightly from a movable Windows folder. This repository includes two standalone launchers plus an updater for existing portapps wrappers. Neither launcher implements true registry virtualization.

Choose a launcher

Feature	Rust — portable-rust/	PowerShell — repository root	portapps/
Runs from a movable folder	Yes	Yes	Uses existing portapps wrapper
Downloads Brave	Automatically if missing	Run download_brave.ps1	Run its updater
Browser data stored locally	Data/Profile, Data/Cache, Data/AppData	Data/profile, Data/cache, Data/AppData	Managed by wrapper
Channel selection	JSON and --edition	Updater -Edition	Updater -Edition
Update checks	JSON frequency + optional scheduler	Manual updater + logon task	Manual updater + logon task
Registry and user policy capture	Optional, experimental swap mode	Enabled by default	Wrapper-dependent
True Windows registry virtualization	No	No	Not provided by this project

The MSIX experiment was removed because MSIX registration and installation conflict with folder portability.

Rust launcher — recommended for profile-only portability

See portable-rust/README.md for full instructions and limitations.

Download the built launcher from Build Portable Rust Launcher, extract BravePortable.exe together with the bundled setup-scheduler.ps1, and launch the executable from a writable folder. If App/ is missing, it downloads the selected Brave Windows x64 ZIP from official GitHub releases, checks the SHA-256 digest, and installs to App/. An existing installation can run offline.

BravePortable/
├── BravePortable.exe
├── setup-scheduler.ps1
├── App/                     # Brave binaries; downloaded if absent
└── Data/
    ├── Profile/
    ├── Cache/
    ├── AppData/
    ├── Logs/launcher.log
    ├── Registry/            # only populated by registry swap mode
    └── settings.json

Rust commands

.\BravePortable.exe
.\BravePortable.exe --edition stable
.\BravePortable.exe --edition beta
.\BravePortable.exe --edition nightly
.\BravePortable.exe --update
.\BravePortable.exe --update-only
.\BravePortable.exe --no-download
.\BravePortable.exe -- --incognito

--force / -Force and -Edition are also recognized. Unlike the original PowerShell launcher, Rust currently does not support -OutDir, -NoRegistry, -NoPolicy, or -NoWait. Rust launcher settings do not automatically configure the other launchers.

Rust JSON settings and scheduled updates

First launch creates Data/settings.json:

{
  "edition": "stable",
  "update_frequency": "daily",
  "check_on_launch": true,
  "scheduled_updates": false,
  "registry_virtualization": "off"
}

• edition: stable, beta, or nightly.
• update_frequency: never, launch, daily, or weekly. Daily/weekly are minimum intervals between launch-time release checks.
• check_on_launch: enable/disable due checks when launching normally. Initial download is still needed if Brave is absent.
• scheduled_updates: opt into Windows Task Scheduler; setting this alone does not register a task.
• registry_virtualization: off (profile isolation only), swap (risky temporary registry/policy capture), or required (refuse launch because true virtualization is not available).

To register a per-user scheduler after setting scheduled_updates to true, place setup-scheduler.ps1 beside the EXE and run:

.\setup-scheduler.ps1
.\setup-scheduler.ps1 -Remove

Re-run setup after changing frequency or moving the folder. The task executes BravePortable.exe --update-only; it checks for updates without opening a browser and runs when the user is signed in. Daily/weekly tasks currently trigger at 12:00 local time. For launch and never, no task is installed.

Rust registry / group-policy swap (experimental)

To capture portable HKCU Brave settings between sessions, set:

{ "registry_virtualization": "swap" }

This is a setting excerpt, not a replacement for the entire settings file. The Rust launcher then:

1. Refuses to start while another Brave process is detected and obtains a cross-session named lock.
2. Exports the current HKCU\Software\BraveSoftware and HKCU\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave keys to pre-session backups in Data/Registry/.
3. Records Data/Registry/active-session.json before changing live keys.
4. Temporarily replaces those keys with portable-brave.reg and portable-policy.reg, applies portable user policies, and launches Brave.
5. After Brave exits, captures the portable changes and attempts to restore the original host keys.

Warning: The keys are modified in the real Windows registry during the browser session. This is not a sandbox and not virtualization. If the program or OS crashes, the original keys might not be restored. An unfinished journal blocks subsequent swap sessions. Recovery is manual; preserve active-session.json and host backups and inspect the machine's registry before recovering. Registry changes by another Brave instance during the swap can be overwritten. Group-policy handling covers the HKCU Brave policy subtree only; HKLM or enforced machine policies are not virtualized. Back up your registry and close installed Brave before trying this experimental mode. It has not been validated by a complete Windows integration test.

Use "registry_virtualization": "off" for the safer default, or "required" to refuse launch until true virtualization is implemented.

PowerShell updater and launcher

.\download_brave.ps1                    # nightly (default)
.\download_brave.ps1 -Edition stable
.\download_brave.ps1 -Edition beta -Force

.\brave-portable.ps1
.\brave-portable.ps1 --incognito
.\brave-portable.ps1 https://example.com
.\brave-portable.ps1 -NoWait -NoRegistry -NoPolicy

Batch wrappers are available: update.bat stable and update_then_run_portable.bat stable.

The updater stages and verifies downloaded files, refuses to overwrite running portable Brave binaries, and maintains a backup during replacement. Inspect orphaned .app-backup-* folders before deleting them.

PowerShell registry behavior: The standalone launcher captures HKCU Brave and user policy state by default, temporarily removes/imports those live keys, saves portable snapshots under Data/registry, and tries to restore the host state on browser exit. Pre-session copies are retained. -NoRegistry and -NoPolicy disable the corresponding swapping; -NoWait requires both. As with Rust's optional swap mode, crashes and incomplete restoration are significant risks.

PowerShell scheduled updates

.\run_at_boot.ps1 -Edition stable
.\run_at_boot.ps1 -Remove

Despite the script's historical name, it registers a logon task, not a boot-time SYSTEM task. Output goes to brave-update.log. This is separate from Rust's JSON-configured scheduler.

Requirements, compatibility, and safety

• Rust: Windows 10/11 x64. Rust MSVC and Windows build tools are needed to compile, not to run the compiled EXE. No MSIX install or administrator privileges needed for ordinary launching.
• PowerShell: Windows PowerShell 5.1+; downloaded Brave is x64.
• Both modes need sufficient disk space for the ZIP, staging and previous binary backups; downloads need access to GitHub.
• The folder should remain writable. Move the whole folder, including Data/, to preserve browser settings.
• Neither mode guarantees that Brave or Windows will avoid all host integration writes. Redirecting APPDATA/LOCALAPPDATA is not complete filesystem isolation.
• Do not launch or update multiple Brave instances during registry swap. Updates and recovery require real-Windows verification. The Rust swap feature is an experimental placeholder, not a secure virtualization backend.

portapps integration

The portapps/ scripts update the Brave installation used by an existing portapps.io wrapper; see portapps/README.md. Their registry behavior belongs to that wrapper, not to the Rust or root PowerShell launchers.

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