Brave

ApplicationBrave Software, Inc.

Also called brave browser

Brave Software, Inc.Browsers

A Chromium browser with Brave Shields. The process is brave.exe, not chrome.exe.

What you need to know

Brave is Chromium with a different vendor and exe name.

brave.exe is Brave Software's browser. Shields and optional Rewards are Brave features. Process isolation still looks like Chrome. The path should say BraveSoftware.

What is it?: A Chromium browser
Is it Chrome?: Same engine family, different product
Many processes?: Yes

Feex says

If you installed Brave to get away from Google Chrome, the engine family is still Chromium. The process name is the easy tell: brave.exe versus chrome.exe.

What is Brave?

Brave is a Chromium-based browser from Brave Software, Inc. Profiles live under AppData\Local\BraveSoftware, not Google\Chrome.

If you have never used it

If you installed Brave to get away from Google Chrome, you still get a Chromium engine with a different vendor. Download it from brave.com/download. The process is brave.exe. Shields are on by default. You do not need Chrome installed for Brave to work.

What is it used for?

Web browsing

Daily tabs. Site compatibility is Chromium-class, not Gecko.

Shields

Brave's tracker and ad blocking. This is why some sites look different than in Chrome.

Optional Rewards

A Brave-specific program. Turn it off in settings if you do not want that helper.

Who is it for?

People who want Chromium with Brave Shields
Users who already have a Brave sync chain
Anyone comparing exe names instead of logos

Current status

Actively developed on the Chromium cadence. This article is the desktop Windows browser.

How old is it?

Brave Software shipped the browser in 2016. Brendan Eich, who created JavaScript and formerly led Mozilla, is the company founder. It is newer than Firefox and Chrome, and it is not a 2024 AI browser. Muon was an early engine experiment. Current Brave is Chromium.

Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Release

Beta

Nightly

System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

Minimum

Minimum system requirements
RAM	4 GB class machines run it. More tabs want more RAM
Operating system	A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per Brave

Resource profile

CPU demand: Tabs and Shields
RAM demand: Chromium tab cost
GPU demand: When acceleration is on

Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

Installed processes
brave.exe	Browser, tabs, GPU

Startup components

Brave can keep background apps after the last window. That is a Brave setting.

File locations

Common Brave locations
Typical install	C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\

File formats

HTMLPDFPNGJPEG

Common problems

People apply chrome:// URLs blindly

Some internals exist. Shields settings are the Brave-first stop.

Rewards questions

Disable Rewards in Brave if you do not want that helper.

Getting unstuck

Check Shields before you call a site broken

The lion icon on the URL bar. Down for a site is the first test, not a GPU driver.

Confirm the path says BraveSoftware

brave.exe under BraveSoftware is this product. chrome.exe under Google is Chrome.

Install from brave.com/download

A "Brave browser turbo" listing is junk. The official installer is on Brave's site.

Alternatives

Firefox if you want Gecko. Chrome and Edge if you want stock Chromium. Pick them for sync, not a process-count myth.

Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

Official contacts
Download	brave.com/download/ Official Windows installer
Help Center	support.brave.app/ Shields, sync, and desktop issues
Community	community.brave.app/ Brave-hosted forums
GitHub	github.com/brave/brave-browser Product issues

Related hardware

Same class as Chrome: RAM first, then a current GPU driver.

Technical details

Per-version file hashes and volume-license paths are not verified in this preview.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

Brave · Official download
Brave Help · Product help
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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