To fully appreciate WebView2's Evergreen model, it's worth comparing it to the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), another popular approach for embedding browser engines.
Mastering Evergreen WebView2: The Future of Embedded Web Content
Developers simply check for the runtime existence ( GetAvailableCoreWebView2BrowserVersionString ) and, if missing, launch the Evergreen bootstrapper. No need to bundle 100+ MB of Chromium binaries.
A tiny executable (~2MB) bundled with your installer. If the target machine lacks the runtime, the bootstrapper downloads and installs the correct architecture-specific components in the background. evergreen webview2
WebView2 uses a process model where a browser process is shared, but render processes are isolated, enhancing stability. Conclusion
As a final safety net, even if your application is set to use the Evergreen model, it is considered a best practice to include the WebView2 Runtime bootstrapper or installer as part of your application's own installation process. This ensures that the runtime is present on the client machine, covering the "edge case" where it might not have been pre-installed by the operating system or another application.
| Solution | Update Model | Shared Runtime | Vendor Support | Modern Web APIs | |-------------------|-------------------|----------------|----------------|------------------| | | Automatic (OS) | Yes | Microsoft | Yes (Edge/Chromium) | | Fixed Version WV2 | Manual (app) | No | Microsoft | Pinned version | | CEF (Chromium) | Manual (app) | No (usually) | Community | Yes | | WebBrowser (IE) | OS (but outdated) | Yes | Microsoft | No (legacy) | | Electron | Manual (app) | No | OpenJS | Yes (Chromium) | To fully appreciate WebView2's Evergreen model, it's worth
By adopting Evergreen, you gain:
// Fallback to a fixed version you bundled in a subfolder env = await CoreWebView2Environment.CreateAsync( browserExecutableFolder: "./FixedWebView2/" );
Because the Evergreen Runtime is preinstalled on Windows 11 devices and widely distributed to Windows 10 systems, best practice is to first check whether the runtime is already present before attempting installation. If present, you can proceed directly to launching your application. A tiny executable (~2MB) bundled with your installer
It does not require bundling a massive browser engine with your app, keeping application footprints small. Why Choose Evergreen WebView2?
WebView2 requires a folder to store browser data like cookies, cache, and local storage. Never let the runtime use the default application directory, as it often lacks write permissions. Explicitly map the UDF to a secure location like AppData.