Selection of HTML One-Click Packaging EXE Tool Kernel
This article mainly introduces the Chrome kernel and Webview2 kernel in the HTML one-click packaging EXE tool.
WebView2 is a control provided by Microsoft that allows developers to embed web technologies (such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) in native applications. WebView2 uses Microsoft Edge as the rendering engine to display web content in native applications.
Chrome is a free web browser developed by Google. It quickly became one of the most popular browsers worldwide due to its simple design and advanced features. Chrome supports multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
Although WebView2 and Chrome belong to Microsoft and Google respectively, they are both developed based on the Chromium kernel, so their functions are similar, and the underlying rendering technology and JS engine are the same.
In the HTML one-click packaging EXE tool, you can see the options for kernel selection, including Chrome and WebView2. They have the following differences.
Detailed Comparison
System Environment Requirements
Chrome Kernel
When using the Chrome kernel for packaging, the entire Chrome kernel will be packaged into the EXE file, so there are no special environment requirements for the user's computer. Even if the user's system does not have Chrome installed, it does not affect the operation of the packaged file. Therefore, it can run normally as long as it is a version above Windows 7.√
WebView2 Kernel
When packaging with WebView2, the kernel files will not be packaged. The packaged EXE relies on the WebView2 control in the system, so the generated EXE requires the user's system to have WebView2 installed. For Windows 10 and Windows 11, the WebView2 control is already built into the system, so there is no need to worry about environmental issues. However, for older systems, such as Windows 7, the user needs to install the WebView2 runtime environment to run it normally.
File Size
Chrome Kernel
Since the Chrome kernel will be packaged into the EXE, the packaged file will be larger. Generally, the kernel itself will occupy about 160M (about 70M after compression for the installation version).
WebView2 Kernel
The WebView2 kernel does not package any kernel files, so the size is very small, generally within 10M.√
Compatibility
Chrome Kernel
Since the Chrome kernel is packaged into the EXE, the kernel version is fixed, so the effect of opening the EXE is the same for users of different systems, resulting in better compatibility and consistent behavior across different systems.√
WebView2 Kernel
Since the EXE packaged with WebView2 relies on the WebView2 control installed in the system, and the WebView2 control version in different users' systems may be inconsistent, the compatibility of HTML/JS/CSS may vary, and the same code may behave differently on different computers.
Browser Features
Chrome Kernel
Since the Chrome kernel will be packaged into the EXE, to ensure that all systems (Windows 7 and above) can run normally, the packaging software can only select a relatively stable kernel version that is compatible with all systems. Therefore, some of the latest browser features may not be supported.
WebView2 Kernel
The WebView2 kernel uses system controls, so it can be updated with system updates. Therefore, in the latest Windows systems, the WebView2 kernel will be the latest. The WebView2 kernel can use the latest browser features. For example, in our previous article, we introduced a program that uses the WebView2 kernel to package the latest WebGPU feature of the browser to run a local AI model to remove image backgrounds.√
Functionality
Chrome Kernel
The Chrome kernel has been updated and iterated in the HTML one-click packaging EXE tool for 7-8 years, so it supports many functions, and all functions are very stable and fully supported.√
WebView2 Kernel
The WebView2 kernel was released with version 2.0 of the HTML one-click packaging tool, and new features are still under development. Therefore, some setting options are not yet supported, and subsequent updates will gradually adapt.
The above is a detailed introduction to the differences and usage scenarios of the WebView2 and Chrome kernels in the HTML one-click packaging tool. If you want to learn more, you can check out our previous articles: