Helium Portable
Stable · Ad-blocked, de-Googled
Stable builds of imputnet/helium — a Chromium fork that blocks ads and strips Google telemetry by default.
Helium · Windows x64 · Portable
Helium Portable
Helium is a Chromium fork that blocks ads and strips telemetry by default. This is its Windows x64 portable build.
Tracks imputnet/helium-windows official stable Releases.
Downloads
Archives come straight from the Helium_Portable Releases, each with a SHA256 checksum.
What is Helium?
Helium, maintained by imputnet, is a Chromium fork that removes the parts of the browser that don’t serve you: ads blocked by default, Google telemetry and background reporting stripped, promo surfaces and account-nag flows cut — while keeping the full Chromium engine and extension compatibility.
If you like Chrome’s performance and extensions but not the bundled Google stack, Helium is a solid landing spot. This repo layers Chrome++ portability on top so it never touches your system install.
Versions and updates
Upstream currently publishes stable Releases only. This repo checks daily and packages the latest version. Every upstream version gets its own GitHub Release, so older builds stay downloadable.
To update: quit the browser, back up Data from the old Helium folder, delete the old folder, extract the new one next to it, then restore Data.
How to use
- Download the archive you need from Releases.
- Extract anywhere.
- Double-click 开始.bat for a shortcut, or run Helium\chrome.exe.
- Profile and cache appear as Helium\Data and Helium\Cache.
How to update
Quit the browser, back up Data from the old Helium folder, delete the old folder, extract the new one next to it, then restore Data. This repo tracks upstream daily and auto-publishes new builds.
Verify your download
Every Release lists the SHA256 of each archive. Run one PowerShell command after download and compare — a match means the file is byte-identical to the build output.
certutil -hashfile .\Helium_version_date.7z SHA256Build logs are public on GitHub Actions, so you can confirm the archive came from that exact run.
Chrome++ extras out of the box
Powered by Bush2021/chrome_plus. These are enabled by default and can be tuned or turned off in chrome++.ini.
- Profile and cache live in Data and Cache folders next to the app
- Double-click a tab to close it, keeping the last tab open
- Scroll the tab bar while hovering to switch tabs
- Address-bar text and bookmarks open in a new foreground tab
- View saved passwords without typing your Windows login password
- Right-click close, boss key, translate hotkeys, key mapping, launch/exit hooks (off by default)
FAQ
How is this different from the official installer?
Same engine and features — both come from official packages. Portable builds skip installation: no registry writes, no background updater. Profile and cache live in Data and Cache next to the app. Move the folder freely, or delete it to uninstall cleanly.
Does it auto-update?
No. Portable builds don’t register a system updater. This project checks official channels daily with GitHub Actions and publishes new archives to Releases. Download and overwrite manually; keep the Data folder to preserve everything.
How do I verify a download wasn’t tampered with?
Each Release body lists filename, size, and SHA256. After download, run certutil -hashfile yourfile.7z SHA256 in PowerShell and compare. Full build logs are public in Actions so you can match the archive to the run that produced it.
Where is my data, and how do I migrate PCs?
In the Data folder next to the browser (cache in Cache). Copy the whole folder to the new machine — bookmarks, passwords, extensions, and logins come along.
Antivirus flags the file. What now?
Chrome++ implements portability by injecting version.dll into the browser process (DLL side-loading). Some security tools heuristically flag that. Build scripts, workflows, and logs are public on GitHub; archives come from GitHub Actions with SHA256. You can also build locally from the repo if you prefer.
Is 32-bit or Windows 7 supported?
Only Windows x64 builds are published. System requirements follow upstream browsers, which have dropped Windows 7 / 8.1. Use Windows 10 or 11.
Can I run it next to an installed browser?
Yes. Portable builds use an isolated profile directory and can run side by side with an installed copy.
Is this paid or ad-supported?
Neither. The pipeline only unpacks, integrates Chrome++, injects, and compresses — no homepage changes, no preinstalled extensions, no bundled promo. Source is MIT-licensed and fully public.
Windows SmartScreen or Defender flags the download. Is it safe?
SmartScreen reputation is built per-file over time; brand-new GitHub Release assets often look unknown. Defender may also heuristically flag Chrome++ because it injects version.dll (a side-loading technique). The build scripts, workflows, and full logs are public on GitHub, archives ship from GitHub Actions with SHA256, and you can build locally from source if you prefer. If you still prefer not to run it, skip the download — nothing here is forced.
Can I sign in to Google or Microsoft and use sync?
Yes. Profile data lives in the portable Data folder, so bookmarks, passwords, and extensions sync the same way as an installed browser. Remember that a portable profile on a shared or public PC still contains those credentials — treat the folder like any other sensitive data.
Does it run from a USB drive or another PC?
Yes. Extract the archive anywhere with write access (USB stick, external disk, another computer). User data stays next to the app. Some security software may still block execution from removable media; if that happens, copy the folder to a local disk first.